I rode from Urbana to Bellefontaine and back today. It's a nice trail. Most of it is shaded, which compares favorably to Hilliard's Heritage Trail, and parts of the Ohio to Erie, such as Cedarville to South Charleston. It's probably pretty when it is in bloom, but it's still a bit too early in the year for that with our late spring. Still, it was a very calm ride, with only two other riders and a couple hikers spotted on the entire section, out-and-back, and all near Bellefontaine.

The surface is mostly chip-and-seal (other than 1.5 miles north of Urbana), which is fine, and kicks up much less dirt than crushed limestone, for those who haven't ridden chip-and-seal before. There is one rough spot on the paved section just south of where the chip-and-seal ends, and for the first couple miles north of Urbana you have to keep an eye out for railroad spikes on the trail, but otherwise the condition of the trail is good.

There's a well-reviewed coffee shop by the trail in Urbana, and several restaurants that look promising in Bellfontaine, including a brewery that you'll find if you continue north of the northern end of the trail on the dirt trail that continues to parallel the railway for another block, and then follow the bike route signs towards town.

Along the way, if you're paying attention, you'll see some unusual animals for Ohio trails, specifically goats and what I'm pretty sure are elk. Although Wikipedia will tell you there are no elk in Ohio, I counted eight of them visible from the trail, and my research indicates they are likely domestic elk at a farm that neighbors the trail. Now I'll leave it as an exercise to the reader to figure out exactly where they are. You might want to start soon - once the leaves are out it might be much more difficult to see them.

Overall, I'd put this slightly above 4/5. It's not as picturesque as central Ohio's top trails - the Kokosing Gap and Alum Creek Trails - but I'd put it above the Heritage, Camp Chase, and Ohio to Erie west of London. Worth the drive if you're looking for somewhere new to explore, and keep an eye out for the elk.

Started on Batavia end which was promising and pretty but after a short distance, we were just walking on a road within the East Fork Park. I don't consider walking on a road with cars to be a Hiking Trail. Will try from the Williamsburg side next time to see if it's better.

The OTET is not the ETOT. I found out why when cyclists were flying past me Northbound as I fought headwinds Southbound. Yes the winds wind up the Ohio Valley hence the trail is named Ohio To Erie Trail. I was southbound because after my glorious arrival and celebration in Cincinnati I continued through Louisville, Mammoth Cave and Nashville to our daughters horse farm in Shelbyville TN totaling 721 wondrous miles of memories and new acquaintances both 2-legged and 4-legged. I suggest using credit card

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 discovered this trail at the southern end of the Cardinal Greenway, and figured why not check out the trail by the gorge? It may well be the most scenic part of the entire connected trail system, going up to Gaston and including the White River Greenway Trail in Muncie. There's lots of green, a river (albeit usually hidden from view), and a good amount of elevation change in a short time. Definitely worth adding on to a Cardinal Greenway ride if you have the stamina to spare.

There also are some nice parks along the way, including by the piano/record factory, and at the veterans park near the northern edge, where you can see the difference in size between a light tank and a main battle tank in real life.

Still, there are a couple shortcomings that make this a trail that could easily be a 5, but isn't quite there yet. The largest is that there is a section near the southern end where the pavement is quite rough, which also corresponds with the steepest area, making it potentially hazardous. The connector up to the high school is even steeper and in rougher condition. There should be the next priority for fixing up.

There also was a tree across the trail almost at the southern terminus, which appeared to have been there for some time, and several of the wooden benches in the southern section were not in great condition any more.

It did look like the section by the veterans park was pretty new trail, and that the overseers were still working on an overlook above that park, so this trail may well still be receiving investment. With a little TLC on the southern section as well, it would definitely be a 5 star trail.

I rode the section of the trail from Richmond to Gaston over two days - essentially, all except the part above the gap to the north. It's a really good trail, but there are just enough shortcomings that I hesitate to put it at 5 stars, particularly compared to trails I've been on in West Virginia and Pennsylvania earlier in the year.

First, I'll note that I didn't notice any pig farms, despite expecting to on the southern section, nor any Rottweilers. There were some cow farms and a horse farm, but the only hazard were the many walnuts on the trail. I did see two cats, a lot of chipmunks, and quite a few blue jays, though ironically not a single cardinal.

The scenery is mostly fairly narrow wooded areas, with farms on the other side, though there are a few areas of denser wooded areas, notably by the nature preserve south of Muncie. This can be pretty, but it's also only partially shaded, and the afternoon sun slices through the trees pretty effectively. If you're doing a longer section, I recommend going northwest in the morning, and southeast in the afternoon if possible. I was going northwest and west in the afternoon of the first day, and the sun was doing an admirable job of trying to blind my left eye.

Amenities are good, but just short of great. There are restrooms every 4-5 miles, most of them with hand sanitizer, which is quite good. There are a decent number of water fountains as well, but of the three I tried on the northern section, two smelled bad, and one (by the Hitching Post, technically off of the White River Greenway but close to the Cardinal Greenway) didn't work. The southern section was reliable in this area. Outside of Muncie, there aren't a lot of places to pick up water in the northern section either, so err on the side of packing more water than you'll need.

The trail condition is generally very good, though it can be a bit bumpy in spots in Muncie. McGalliard Road is a more highly trafficked road crossing than most trails have, but it has an island in the center so you only need half of it to be clear at a time. I recommend jogging the bike across halfway at a time if it's a busier time of day.

The elevation gain is not negligible. Including segments on the White River Greenway in Muncie, and the Whitewater Gorge Trail in Richmond, I logged over 2000 feet of elevation gain, and it was noticeable, especially on the southern section where there were moderate, but extended, hill climbs. By comparison, I logged less than 1200 feet of elevation gain on the Greenbrier Trail in West Virginia, which is also longer. So don't assume that because it's in Indiana, you won't have some decent climbs!

I also should note that it's worth going into town in Muncie, whether that's the White River Greenway, which intersects with the Cardinal Greenway in two places, or grabbing some food at some of the excellent restaurants or breweries downtown, which is easily accessible from the trail. I always try to find a cool town or city to serve as a base when exploring a new trail, and Muncie did a great job in that regard.

Got 6 miles in starting by Muncie.
This portion of the trail is just as the other couple parts I've experienced.
The paved trail is mostly flat, level and equally shaded/open.
The one thing to be aware of is a couple bad spots/cracks in the pavement that could result in an ankle injury or biking issue, but this should not deter one from using the trail.
So as always, if in the area and want to get a couple miles in, this should do.

I came from Florida to do this trail. It’s very well maintained, sections have shade with other areas open, and it’s not crowded.