Find the top rated bike trails in South Charleston, whether you're looking for an easy short bike trail or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a bike trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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I only recommend the 2 1/2 mile section from the Great Miami Trail to the Medler Conservation Area. There is a climb made somewhat easier by the switchbacks but the scenery is worth the effort. You will pass through woods and meadows. Medler offers a nice place to rest and refresh. Coming back down is a blast. We add this trail on to our ride from Franklin to Miamisburg.
Not many scenic trails of this length have a great brewery, literally on trail, at the midpoint (Austin OH). The trail runs from Chillicothe to Washington Courthouse. There is a little urban clutter/noise at either end but other than that it’s a peaceful, beautiful ride. Lots of shade. You’ll never be in the sun for long stretches. That’s all the good news. The bad news is the trail is completely closed for repairs 9 miles out of Chillicothe and also closed, for the same, about 10 miles out of Washington Courthouse. The construction sites are impassable, and there are no official detours. The whole trail needs repaved but the WCH side is particularly bad. Could be a 5 star with the proper attention.
While there's no real breathtaking scenery along this route, it's a really nice ride. Well maintained, smooth, with a few towns and other places to stop. I did a video of my ride if you're interested in seeing more. https://youtu.be/tIFhje88VpQ
I rode a simple out-and-back ride of 1.9 miles on the Wilberforce Switch Trail. This is a connector trail the connects Central State University to the Prairie Grass Trail. It keeps cyclists off the very narrow Wilberforce Switch Road. Students can ride into Xenia, Ohio on the Prairie Grass Trail which is probably a safer alternative than attempting to cycle 3.5 miles along US-42 into Xenia.
While the trail is in good condition, its utility is limited primarily to Central State University students. If you are riding along the Prairie Grass Trail and want to check out the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center, located on the CSU campus, then this trail can connect you to the museum.
I rode both portions on a beautiful spring day. The surface on the gravel trail varies from crushed gravel, packed dirt and larger gravel stones. Your experience may vary depending on your tire size and bike, when it was last groomed, and any past nasty weather. Parts are shaded, but expect most to be in the sun, depending on the time of day of course. The northern portion was flat to rolling hills, but (I felt) it would be doable by most riders. The scenery of the lakes in the northern portion was great. The maps were helpful. The southern portion was flatter. I'm glad I saw the bison. I tried to imagine horses on the track as I pedaled along side it. I put in 20 miles doing both sections.
This trail is good for local people and college students and staff to get to various places close to the Ohio Wesleyan University. A few people were using it at mid-day on a Wednesday during April. It was in fairly good condition. Warning lights help with street crossings. I parked in the lot off of S Liberty St and then biked in both directions.
The Western Fayette Bike Path is an 3 mile extension of the Xenia-Jamestown Connector. It extends the Xenia-Jamestown Connector eastward from the Greene County/Fayette County border to Water Street in the village of Octa, Ohio.
The trail surface of this trail extension was in great condition considering that it is just a few years old. You cross over 3 roads on your way to Octa. None of them are heavily travelled, but there are trail stop signs at every crossing. The trail passes through a tunnel underneath Interstate 71 before reaching Octa. The trail dead ends into a picnic shelter on the other side of Water Street. This shelter appears to have been built on what was once the Octa train depot.
The importance of the Western Fayette Bike Path is that it expands the reach of Miami Valley Trail Network by connecting Fayette County to the Greene County Xenia Station Trail Hub (4 different trails). It has removed one of the major trail connectivity obstacles by tunneling under Interstate 71. More importantly, the possibility of extending this trail from Octa into Washington Court House, Ohio would create a great multi-day regional trail by connecting to the Xenia-Jamestown Connector to 35 mile long Paint Creek Recreation Trail.
Nice trail well maintained. Loved the scenery and the rolling hills. Would love to see this grow longer.
The last time I rode this trail was in July of 2018. The ultimate goal of this developing trail is to connect the county seats of Clinton County (Wilmington, OH) and Fayette County (Washington Court House, OH). In 2018, the trail consisted only of what I would now call the southwest section of the trail. It ran, and still runs, from North Borum Road in Sabina, Ohio to Melvin Road in Melvin, an unincorporated community in Richland Township, Clinton County, Ohio. In 2018, the trail was paved only from the Sabina water tower to Reesville. Today, this southwest section of the trail is completely paved.) In addition, there is now an additional section of trail near Washington Court House, Ohio which I am identifying as the northeast section of the trail. This section runs from Jamison Rd NW to Bush Rd NW outside of Washington Court House.
While I did not encounter anyone else riding or walking on either section of this trail on the day I rode both of them, it appears that the southwest section of the trail through Sabina seems to get more use. I would attribute this impression due to the condition of the trail surface and addition of trail signage along the southwest section of trail. The northeast section of the trail has numerous places where grass is growing up through cracks in the pavement, indicating that it does not get much use. There is very little that connects the northeast section of the trail to the city of Washington Court House. Currently, there is a gap of about 1.25 miles into Washington Courthouse. Closing this gap would allow users of the popular Paint Creek Recreation Trail to connect to this trail section. There is very little shade along the northeast portion of the Clinton-Fayette Friendship Trail as this runs through corn and soybean fields. Between Sabina and Melvin, the trail is tree lined and the resulting shade provides some relief from the summer sun. If the 4.5 mile gap between Sabina’s N. Borum Rd. and the Washington Court House’s Bush Rd. and the 1.25 mile gap between Jamison Rd. and West Market Street in Washington Court House can be developed then I think the Clinton-Fayette Friendship Trail would get a lot more use. Eventually, the 6.5 mile gap between Melvin and Wilmington would need to be completed to connect the two county seats as intended.
That final section is now paved. This Trail's length helps it be a good start for the new year. Notice, however there is a West Wind that goes the entire length. Most of the time it's not too bad because the overhanging trees break it up.
Pumphouse Rd bridge is out due to repairs. No way to cross Beaver Creek at this time.
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