I ride from my house starting at iron horse trail going north across Linden to creekside trail connector and follow it to Xenia Station which gives me a total of 30 miles up and back. The last 2 times I have been on my ride I have seen a total of 6 deer. I seen 4 deer today crossing the bikeway at Factory Rd. I ride this trail 3 times a week for a total of 90 miles. If you have not biked on this trail it is well worth it. The trail is mostly flat with lots of scenery along the way. It is a little crowded on the weekends so I bike m-w-f and just a few walkers and bikers. I will be 70 the end of this month and biking in my opinion is a great way to stay in shape.

A huge shoutout to the organizations that put this trail together, maintain, and promote it - its remarkably well done. There are a few spots that could use some more signage (Westerville is pretty bad) but overall from top to bottom it's hard to get lost. I did this trail in 4.5 days from Cincinnati to Cleveland the last week of October with almost no bike experience. I also used a busted up old mountain bike from the 90s and had pretty much no problem with it.

I tried to ride from New Bremen to St. Mary’s. I read some reviews, but it wasn’t clear. I also talked via phone to someone who lives in New Bremen and he encouraged me to take the path. Well, 1 mile north of town it was just tall thick grass. Had to do a detour on busy roads

I recently rode 18.73 miles on an out-and- back ride on the Sawmill Parkway Trail between the cities of Powell and Delaware, Ohio. This trail is an example of a trail type that is indicative of many midwestern cities, such as Columbus, Ohio, where surrounding once rural farming communities are transitioning into more developed suburbs. This trail is similar to other Columbus area trails such as the the Buckeye Parkway Multi-Use Path in Grove City and the Hellbranch Trail in Hilliard. It appears that the Sawmill Parkway Trail is destined to become the spine of a developing trail system between the communities of Powell and Delaware as this area of Delaware County transitions into a Columbus suburb. As you travel north on this trail you can see that it is much easier to put these trails in before open land is developed rather than trying to fit in a trail after an area has built up. Kudos to local government officials for being forward thinking. At present, the northern end of the trail is much more rural. Here, farm land is found on both sides of Sawmill Parkway, but there are already roadway cut-ins into these fields anticipating continued development of the land into future residential, retail, and commercial areas. As growth occurs, more trails will need to be built along the streets crossing Sawmill Parkway in order to create greater access for the area’s present and future residents in order to make the Sawmill Parkway Trail into a useful alternative transportation network.

As for the trail itself, it is a paved pathway that is in good shape, although the southern end in Powell is beginning to show its age. The trail itself crosses Sawmill Parkway twice, once at Big Bear Avenue in Powell and again at the US-42 intersection in Delaware. Definitely use the crosswalk call buttons at these crossings. Automobile traffic on Sawmill Parkway is heavier on the southern end of the trail from the shopping district to Olentangy Liberty High School. Extra caution should be taken at street crossings in this area by following pedestrian crossing signals. Starting with the Sawmill Parkway-Hyatts Road intersection, traffic lights have been replaced with roundabouts. There are five of these roundabouts along northbound Sawmill Parkway until you reach a final traffic light where the parkway runs into US-42 in Delaware. The trail’s street crossings at these roundabouts have been moved out from the center of the circles. Visibility is good for the trail users at these traffic circles but caution should still be practiced here, particularly when traveling south on the trail. This is because southbound cars could be turning right onto the street you’re crossing from behind your line of sight. Traffic becomes lighter as you enter more rural areas the further north you go along the trail. However, as the area along the parkway develops, traffic will become heavier and these crossings at the roundabouts may become more problematic.

The Buckeye Parkway Multi-use Path in Grove City, Ohio is one of those trails where you sometimes wonder why it is listed in TrailLink. It is a trail that parallels a street (Buckeye Parkway) for almost its entire length. It is certainly not a rail trail. However, it seems to be a type of trail that is indicative of the suburbs and exurbs of midwestern cities, such as Columbus, Ohio and Indianapolis, Indiana, where once rural farming communities became developed. It appears that the trail will become the spine of a developing trail system in the southeast section of Grove City. It currently connects the Southwest Acres, Meadow Grove, Holton Estates, Creekside and Pinnacle Club neighborhoods to the Parkway Centre Shopping Center located along Stringtown Road.

As for the trail itself, it is a paved pathway that is currently in good shape. However, a section of the trail was closed off when I rode it as some infrastructure work such as a gas line or cable line was either being installed, repaired, or improved along this bike path. Automobile traffic on Buckeye Parkway is heavier on the northern end of the trail closer to the shopping district and the Interstate 71 entrance/exit at Stringtown Road. Extra caution should be taken at road crossings in this area. Traffic becomes lighter the further south you go on the trail as you then enter into residential areas. There is a small 2/10ths of a mile on-road section included within this trail between the Indian Trails Park and Hawthorne Parkway. There didn’t seem to be any reason why the trail couldn’t have been completed through this stretch, but currently this gap exists.

The Buckeye Parkway Multi-use Path is a useful trail for the residents who live along its length. It provides residents a non-motorized connection to a park, a golf club, and a retail area. It could become more useful to a greater number of local residents if additional extensions are built into the neighborhoods that are located along Buckeye Parkway. It is not a trail that people outside of Grove City need to seek out, at least, not at this time.

Enjoyed the well maintained trail but at a few points it was confusing.

Well maintained, easy ride.

I parked at the train station in Trotwood and rode north west to the end of the trail in Verona and back. Trail is in good condition with places to take a break. The trail goes through the country and is very scenic. If you’re looking for a nice easy enjoyable ride this is it.

This is a trail of considerable contrast. The central part of the current trail encircles Austin Landing, a mixed-use retail district that includes retail stores, restaurants, motels, office buildings and contemporary apartments. There is lots of traffic in and around this mall as commuters enter and exit Interstate 75 at adjoining Exit 41. The trail along Austin Pike (or Boulevard, in front of the Mall) is very busy. At each intersection between trail and roadways there are crossing buttons at the crosswalks. However, with the exception of the crossing at the intersection with Springboro Pike none of these buttons work. You’ll just have to wait for the automated timing for the crosswalk signals to activate in order to cross these streets and highway ramps. My suggestion is to avoid riding along Austin Boulevard as much as possible by riding the portion of the trail that loops around Austin Landing.

There is much less traffic as you move toward either the current eastern or western end of the trail. To the east you will ride around the Miamisburg Soccer Association soccer fields and then through the Medlar Conservation Area. The conservation area is a preserve of over 400 acres that contains mature woods, fields, shrub-scrub habitat and wetlands that protects some of the last quality open space in southern Montgomery County. When you enter the Medlar Conservation Area after coming from Austin Landing it’s like you are in an entirely different world. The trail meanders through this preserve as it makes its way toward the Great Miami River Trail on the eastern bank of the Great Miami River. Once you enter the Medlar you will quickly become aware that you are dropping in elevation. That's not so bad if you are only traveling westward, but challenging if you know you will have to climb back out to return to your start. Fortunately, the planners of this trail put in enough switchbacks into this portion of the trail to make the climb reasonable for most adult riders. Young children would find this climb difficult.

The trail east of Austin Landing runs for about 2 miles along Austin Boulevard/Pike. This portion of the trail is less developed and mostly residential. It passes by Dayton Wright Brothers Airport, a small public civil aviation airport, and ends near Robert F. Mays Park in Washington Township, Ohio. This trail is intended to connect the Great Miami River Trail with the Little Miami Scenic Trail. The trail will be extended further east into either Greene or Warren County depending on the route selected to connect it to the Little Miami Scenic Trail. When this connection between the two river trails will be completed is unknown at this time.