Find the top rated bike trails in University Heights, 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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The Maple Highlands Trail totals more than 20 miles. A majority of the trail follows an abandoned Baltimore & Ohio Railroad corridor through a mostly rural landscape, heavily wooded in places. The...
The North Chagrin Reservation All Purpose Trail offers a 4.2-mile route traversing its namesake park, which lies on the northeastern outskirts of Cleveland. Beginning just south of US 6 (Chardon...
The Great American Rail-Trail highlights some of the country’s most iconic landmarks, well-known geography and storied history across a 3,700-miles-plus route between Washington and Washington....
The Niles Greenway is a paved, multi-use path running north–south between the county line on the south and the town of Niles. The pleasant trail passes through a mix of wooded areas, scattered light...
Big Creek Reservation All Purpose Trail provides a paved pathway connecting the Mill Stream Run Reservation, Big Creek Reservation, and the Fern Hill Picnic Area. At its southern end, you can connect...
Cleveland Metroparks’ Lake to Lake Trail links Lake Isaac and Lake Abram in Middleburg Heights via an asphalt- and boardwalk-surfaced path. The two lakes are the largest remaining glacial wetlands in...
The Berlin Lake Trail lies mid-way between Cleveland and Pittsburgh in Deerfield Township of Portage County. The 2-mile crushed limestone rail-trail crosses Berlin Lake, traveling through wooded areas...
The Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway extends 17 miles along the city's Lake Erie shoreline, between the suburbs of Euclid and Lakewood. The bikeway has on-road sections, and the route is signed. The...
The Chippewa Inlet Trail runs for nearly 4 miles between Lafayette Road/State Route 42 and the Chippewa Nature Area. The trail traverses an open, pastoral landscape along the Chippewa Inlet, which...
When completed, the Cleveland Foundation Centennial Trail will make a critical connection between Cleveland's downtown neighborhoods and the vast Lake Erie. As of August 2015, the first phase of the...
The Western Reserve Greenway travels 43 miles through a scenic, mostly rural area, cutting a north–south course from Ashtabula to Warren in northeastern Ohio. The route follows much of the...
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Northern Ohio's Freedom Trail currently offers more than 7 miles of tree-lined pathway along the former Freedom Secondary Railroad. From Eastwood Avenue in eastern Akron, the paved trail follows a...
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The North Coast Inland Trail will one day stretch across northern Ohio from Indiana to Pennsylvania on a network of connecting off-road trails. Today, large sections of the trail, especially from the...
The Stark Electric Railway Trail runs on a former interurban rail line that linked Canton and Salem via Louisville, Alliance and Sebring from 1902 to 1939. The company was nicknamed the ‘Bachelor...
The Ohio to Erie Trail is a colossal project, not just for the state of Ohio but also nationally. Dreamed up more than 25 years ago, this route will eventually connect the Ohio River in Cincinnati to...
The Rocky River Reservation All Purpose Trail parallels Valley Parkway through several western suburbs of Cleveland, but this is no traditional suburban side path. Instead, the winding trail through...
The Morgana Run Trail runs on a former Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway corridor through Cleveland’s historic Slavic Village neighborhood. The paved rail-trail connects residents to Cleveland...
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The Iron Horse Trail runs along the corridor of a railroad that originally connected Alliance and Minerva. The north section runs from State St, across from the University of Mount Union, to the...
The Harrison-Dillard Bikeway is a north-south urban path that not only connects the Lake Erie shoreline with the University Circle district, but connects trail users with Cleveland’s cultural past....
The Lester Rail Trail in Ohio's Medina County runs 3 miles between Abbeyville Road and Lester Road in York Township. The trail passes through bucolic farmland with scattered remnants of prairie, where...
The Heartland Trail is a developing rail-trail project that will one day connect the northeastern Ohio communities of Orrville and Clinton. A mile of the pathway is already on the ground in Orrville,...
The Harrison-Dillard Bikeway is a north-south urban path that not only connects the Lake Erie shoreline with the University Circle district, but connects trail users with Cleveland’s cultural past....
The Great American Rail-Trail highlights some of the country’s most iconic landmarks, well-known geography and storied history across a 3,700-miles-plus route between Washington and Washington....
The Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail is an amazing trail journey that takes users from the heart of this country’s industrial might in cities like Cleveland and Akron, to some of the most beautiful...
The Chippewa Inlet Trail runs for nearly 4 miles between Lafayette Road/State Route 42 and the Chippewa Nature Area. The trail traverses an open, pastoral landscape along the Chippewa Inlet, which...
Though not far from two of Ohio’s largest cities, Cleveland and Akron, the Bike and Hike Trail passes alongside beautiful natural areas, including the 65-foot Brandywine Falls, a stunning cascading...
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The County Line Trail travels the path of the former Erie Lackawanna Railroad between Rittman and Creston. A highlight of the trail is a former Baltimore & Ohio freight station located just west of...
The Maple Highlands Trail totals more than 20 miles. A majority of the trail follows an abandoned Baltimore & Ohio Railroad corridor through a mostly rural landscape, heavily wooded in places. The...
The Niles Greenway is a paved, multi-use path running north–south between the county line on the south and the town of Niles. The pleasant trail passes through a mix of wooded areas, scattered light...
Cleveland Metroparks’ Lake to Lake Trail links Lake Isaac and Lake Abram in Middleburg Heights via an asphalt- and boardwalk-surfaced path. The two lakes are the largest remaining glacial wetlands in...
Euclid Creek Reservation All Purpose Trail offers a paved, scenic excursion in the northeastern Ohio community of Euclid, a suburb of Cleveland. The trail is currently divided into two disconnected...
The short North Olmsted Walking & Bike Trail parallels Interstate 480 and provides an alternate, non-motorized route linking neighborhoods with green spaces and business districts.
The North Chagrin Reservation All Purpose Trail offers a 4.2-mile route traversing its namesake park, which lies on the northeastern outskirts of Cleveland. Beginning just south of US 6 (Chardon...
The Rocky River Reservation All Purpose Trail parallels Valley Parkway through several western suburbs of Cleveland, but this is no traditional suburban side path. Instead, the winding trail through...
The Western Reserve Greenway travels 43 miles through a scenic, mostly rural area, cutting a north–south course from Ashtabula to Warren in northeastern Ohio. The route follows much of the...
The Brideway Trail is found within the Black River Reservation, a park in Lorain County, where you can walk, jog, inline skate, cross-country ski or bike. The trail runs between Day's Dam in Lorain...
The Portage Hike and Bike Trail stretches nearly 10 miles between Kent and Ravenna, about 40 miles southeast of Cleveland and the southern shores of Lake Erie. As of December 2015, its entire length...
Northern Ohio's Freedom Trail currently offers more than 7 miles of tree-lined pathway along the former Freedom Secondary Railroad. From Eastwood Avenue in eastern Akron, the paved trail follows a...
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Ohio's Nickel Plate Trail runs for 2.5 miles from 5th Street near Ravenna Avenue (Metzger Park) to Swallen Avenue south of town. The wooded corridor follow an old railroad right-of-way through parks,...
The Lake Metroparks Greenway Corridor runs for more than 5 miles through Painesville, Painesville Township and Concord Township. The elevation rises a little more than 200 feet from Painesville (north...
For nearly 9 miles, the Mill Stream Run Reservation All Purpose Trail runs through a wooded park in Berea, a western suburb of Cleveland. Though the trail loosely parallels Valley Parkway, you will...
The Western Reserve Greenway travels 43 miles through a scenic, mostly rural area, cutting a north–south course from Ashtabula to Warren in northeastern Ohio. The route follows much of the...
The Chippewa Inlet Trail runs for nearly 4 miles between Lafayette Road/State Route 42 and the Chippewa Nature Area. The trail traverses an open, pastoral landscape along the Chippewa Inlet, which...
The Lake Metroparks Greenway Corridor runs for more than 5 miles through Painesville, Painesville Township and Concord Township. The elevation rises a little more than 200 feet from Painesville (north...
The Stark Electric Railway Trail runs on a former interurban rail line that linked Canton and Salem via Louisville, Alliance and Sebring from 1902 to 1939. The company was nicknamed the ‘Bachelor...
The Brideway Trail is found within the Black River Reservation, a park in Lorain County, where you can walk, jog, inline skate, cross-country ski or bike. The trail runs between Day's Dam in Lorain...
The Morgana Run Trail runs on a former Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway corridor through Cleveland’s historic Slavic Village neighborhood. The paved rail-trail connects residents to Cleveland...
The Heartland Trail is a developing rail-trail project that will one day connect the northeastern Ohio communities of Orrville and Clinton. A mile of the pathway is already on the ground in Orrville,...
The short North Olmsted Walking & Bike Trail parallels Interstate 480 and provides an alternate, non-motorized route linking neighborhoods with green spaces and business districts.
The Steel Mill Trail is a 2-mile continuation of the Bridgeway Trail, which lies within the Black River Reservation, a scenic wooded park in Lorain. The Steel Mill Trail picks up at the north end of...
The Niles Greenway is a paved, multi-use path running north–south between the county line on the south and the town of Niles. The pleasant trail passes through a mix of wooded areas, scattered light...
Ohio's Nickel Plate Trail runs for 2.5 miles from 5th Street near Ravenna Avenue (Metzger Park) to Swallen Avenue south of town. The wooded corridor follow an old railroad right-of-way through parks,...
Cleveland Metroparks’ Lake to Lake Trail links Lake Isaac and Lake Abram in Middleburg Heights via an asphalt- and boardwalk-surfaced path. The two lakes are the largest remaining glacial wetlands in...
Big Creek Reservation All Purpose Trail provides a paved pathway connecting the Mill Stream Run Reservation, Big Creek Reservation, and the Fern Hill Picnic Area. At its southern end, you can connect...
The North Chagrin Reservation All Purpose Trail offers a 4.2-mile route traversing its namesake park, which lies on the northeastern outskirts of Cleveland. Beginning just south of US 6 (Chardon...
The North Coast Inland Trail will one day stretch across northern Ohio from Indiana to Pennsylvania on a network of connecting off-road trails. Today, large sections of the trail, especially from the...
The Ohio to Erie Trail is a colossal project, not just for the state of Ohio but also nationally. Dreamed up more than 25 years ago, this route will eventually connect the Ohio River in Cincinnati to...
When completed, the Cleveland Foundation Centennial Trail will make a critical connection between Cleveland's downtown neighborhoods and the vast Lake Erie. As of August 2015, the first phase of the...
Euclid Creek Reservation All Purpose Trail offers a paved, scenic excursion in the northeastern Ohio community of Euclid, a suburb of Cleveland. The trail is currently divided into two disconnected...
The Bruce G. Rinker Greenway offers a north-south walking and biking route through Mayfield Village, a suburb of Cleveland. The paved pathway connects Mayfield Center Elementary School, the...
I rode the All Purpose Trail in the Cleveland Metroparks’ Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation. This park parallels the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail and in fact part of the Towpath runs through the park.
The Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation is a beautiful little park that lies just south of Cleveland’s Industrial Valley. Together with the Cuyahoga River, the northernmost remaining 4.4 miles of watered canal provides wildlife management areas, fishing opportunities and scenic beauty. I find it hard to believe that this beautiful nature preserve can be so close to the heavy industry of steel mills and petroleum tank farms and yet thrive.
TrailLink.com lists the trail length as 7.2 miles but I did not get nearly that milage when I rode just the routes indicated on TrailLink's own map. Perhaps they counted the length of the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail through the park as well, but if they did I'm not certain why considering that the Towpath gets its own separate listing on this site.
This is a pretty little park that is a green oasis in the middle of Garfield Heights, Ohio. The loop in the body of the park has one steep climb/descent depending on which direction you decide to ride the loop. Make sure you also ride the Mill Creek Trail out of the park. If you follow this trail along the creek you will be rewarded at the trail’s end by the 48 foot Mill Creek (or Cataract) Falls — the tallest in Cuyahoga County. Whether you walk or ride this trail I think you will like it. However, it is too short for 5 stars in my opinion
No matter whether you start from the southwest or northeast end of this trail you will find yourself climbing. This is because the trail crosses over the ridge that separates the watersheds of the Chagrin River to the east and Tinkers Creek to the west. Of course, once you pass the Harper Ridge Picnic Area near the trail's midpoint then it is downhill the rest of the ride. The climbs are not necessarily difficult, but their are a few short spots where the gradient in all likelihood exceeds 7%. I mention this as many TrailLink users will find that this trail is definitely not a rail trail with gentle climbs.
Much of this trail runs through a thin park green space that surrounds the Hawthorn Parkway which connects the Cleveland Metroparks South Chagrin Reservation with the Bedford Reservation to the west. This connection between Cleveland Metroparks is part of a longer 75 mile route through the Cleveland Metroparks Reservations that surround downtown Cleveland known as the Emerald Necklace. Because this particular trail runs through this thin green space between the two aforementioned parks the more interesting sights found in the South Chagrin Reservation are found in the larger park on the eastern end of the trail, though many if these attractions require hikes off the trail to see them.
Very well maintained paved trail from the trail head at Tannery Park in Kent to the southwestern end near Perkins in Akron. We were pleasantly surprised at the trail.
My wife and I have been avid road cyclists in the past, but with the increase in distracted drivers have opted to stay on well maintained trails (preferably paved).
Have been riding the Portage County Bike and Hike trail, but looking for other opportunities tried this route. Mostly flat with just a few small hills.
As other reviews have stated there are several road crossings that are somewhat annoying but we usually ride early on Saturday and/or Sunday morning, so traffic is light at those times.
Very nice trail to ride. It’s asphalted, well maintained, shaded and other trail users are friendly/courteous.
My wife and I rode the Maple Highlands Trail from just below Chardon to the southern end at Swine Creek reservation. There are some changes in elevation, most are quite mild, but this trail isn't flat. Use by the Amish has left most of the southern section of this trail littered with horse manure. The two covered bridges across creeks are nice places to stop and take in a the rural countryside views. The trail is poorly marked in the town of Middlefield where you use streets for about half-mile before returning to the paved bike way. (We're familiar with the area and we still needed to use our GPS.) The last section of this trail is on a 2-lane rural road where, despite signs warning drivers of pedestrian use, vehicles whiz by a little too quickly. There's a nice mix of sunny meadows and shaded areas.
I rode 5.97 miles on an out-and-back ride on the Bruce G. Rinker Greenway through the Progressive Insurance Headquarters campus in Mayfield, Ohio. This is a very flat, wide asphalt pathway through a parklike setting.
Beside riding by the numerous Progressive Insurance buildings, you also pass by athletic fields, the Parkview Pool, the Mayfield Branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library, the Grove Amphitheater, and part of an industrial/commercial park before ending up on the south end of the trail at the First Responders Memorial Trailhead at the Mayfield Village Fire Department. Since there is lots of recreational and business sites along this trail, the trail is busy, so don't expect to post record speeds while riding this trail.
Combine this trail with the All Purpose Trail in the Cleveland Metroparks' North Chagrin Reservation [across SOM Center Road (Rt. 91)] from the Progressive Insurance campus for a much longer ride.
The North Chagrin Reservation All Purpose Trail is a decent shaded trail that’s relatively flat except for the southern end of the trail which descends into/climbs out of the Chagrin River Valley.
I rode almost 14.5 miles on a complete out-and-back ride of the North Chagrin Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks in Willoughby, Ohio. The trail is listed as only 4.2 miles long, however, if you follow all the trail spurs off the main north-south All Purpose Trail, and follow the Strawberry Pond Trail along SOM Center Road (Rt. 91) as shown in TrailLink's map then you quickly add additional miles to the 4.2 mile long All Purpose Trail that runs through the park.
My one complaint about this trail is that the All Purpose Trail from Strawberry Pond north to the Chardon Road Entrance should be repaved. There are lots of bumps due to tree root lifting, quite of few dips from water ponding on the trail, and even some rough spots due to erosion.
Combine this trail with the Bruce G. Rinker Greenway in the nearby Progressive Insurance Headquarters Campus [across SOM Center Road (Rt. 91)] from the North Chagrin Reservation for a much longer ride.
This trail is a real gem. You get to experience a great variety of scenery. The trail surface is paved and in pretty good shape, although there are some areas that could use a repaving. The route combines a rail trail with a city greenway, residential streets, and park trails. My biggest complaint has to do with the crossings of some of the more heavily traveled roads that the trail crosses; mostly in the Stow Loop. [Kent Rd. (Rt.59), Graham Rd., East Steels Corners Rd., Seasons Rd., and W. Aurora Rd. (Rt 82) in Sagamore Hills] Keep you eyes open and be aware of the drivers at these crossings. Twice I had a car stop to allow me to cross and people decided to pass around the stopped car as I was crossing. At one light where I was given a cross signal I had a car stop in the middle of the cross walk in front of me as I crossed. These crossings should be better marked, perhaps with signs with flashing lights at all of them with signage about stopping for all crossing cyclists. Regardless, I ride this trail several times a year because of the scenery.
I took a day to ride all 3 Segments of the Portage Hike & Bike Trail and here are my impressions.
---The Franklin Connector is the shortest and most isolated of the 3 segments of this trail. It does not connect to either of the other two segments, it does however connect to the Bike and Hike Trail of Summit County at Young Road. This segment is very flat and goes through a wetlands area. Looking at a map of the Kent area, it certainly appears that this segment could be extended eastward and connect up with the Towner's Woods Segment of the trail. The asphalt surface of this trail was rough in spots.
---The southern most segment of the Portage Hike and Bike is the Cuyahoga River/Kent State University segment. tThis segment follows the Cuyahoga River from Middlebury Road through Fred Fuller and John Brown Tannery Parks, then there is a short on-road sharrow section on Summit Street and Franklin Ave. to connect to a bike path that goes through downtown Kent, Ohio until you reach the University. You will then ride on the Lester A. Lefton Esplanade through Kent State University until you reach Dix Stadium on the eastern end of Campus. The trail is fairly flat except for the middle of the KSU campus where you have to climb a couple of hills. On the western end you can connect to the Freedom Trail after a short .2 mile bike lane and travel into Akron, Ohio. If you plan on riding the Esplanade through campus, I would suggest riding this segment of the trail during the summer when there are not many students on campus.
---The longest segment of this trail is the Towner's Woods Segment. It sort of connects to the Cuyahoga/KSU segment in Franklin Mills Riveredge Park. However, the path through this park is narrow and can be crowded with pedestrians. In addition there is a stairway where you would have to carry your bike through. This trail runs from downtown Kent through the northern end of Ravenna, Ohio and beyond it is very flat but has a number of street crossings in Ravenna. I have seen long range plans to someday try to extend this trail eastward to Warren, Ohio where it could connect with the Western Reserve Greenway. I have not seen any recent news that this extension is in progress.
If the three sections of this trail could be connected without any barriers, and the Towner's Wood Segment extended to the Western Reserve Greenway in Warren this trail would give county residents trail access to quite a wide portion of Ohio. This would then really be an All-Star Trail.
Took a quick out-and-back ride on the Freedom Trail from the Portage-Summit County Line near Kent, Ohio through the City of Tallmadge and on into Akron, Ohio. The Freedom Trail is a pleasant trail with a few gradual hills. My only complaints are there are quite a few road crossings as this old rail line crosses just south of the traffic circle in Tallmadge, and at this point the western end in Akron does not yet connect to the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
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