Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Vermilion, whether you're looking for an easy short cross country skiing trail or a long cross country skiing trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a cross country skiing trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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Very nice ride - quiet and scenic. No issues with it overgrown in other reviews My wife and I really enjoyed it- 1 hour ride end to end
Annual "we travel 150+ miles to get to this one" ride. Staying nearby and adding other outdoor activities as well while in the area.
Always a great ride on this trail! We parked in Fremont and headed West towards Elmore. Very little shade between Fremont and Elmore, some shade towards the Fremont end, otherwise, once you get moving, heading West, it's farmlands after farmlands and fields of crops including corn and soybeans. Wide open fields, a beautiful area.
Lindsey is the first small old railroad town. Parking, picnic shelter, playground and a bike self repair fix-it station. Lindsey is the home of Luckey Farms.
There was a detour between Lindsey and Elmore where the trail goes under the Ohio turnpike. Follow the easy detour on back country roads. The only traffic was a tractor with a brush hog.
Elmore is the next old railroad town. Parking at Orly Park, and old historic log cabin, picnic tables and playground. Across from the trail is a bike shop and an ice cream stand. We actually found 3 places to eat in Elmore, and one offered outdoor seating. We ate where the outdoor seating was and got our water bottles refilled as well.
Heading west, we weren't sure how far the trail went since the last time we turned around at Elmore. Just out of Elmore the trail crosses the Portage River. Down below there we several large rocks and a dead log and we must of counted 30 turtles basking in the sun.
We continued out of Elmore through more open farmlands and about one tree offering shade. The trail ended at South Martin Williston Road but continued as part of the trail. Less than a mile on that road, not much traffic, and it comes out onto Route 51. Very new, perhaps less than a year old, a trail along side of Route 51 and winds through another field you can see the Genoa water tower. Follow this new section for a few miles into Genoa. The trail actually ends there on Washington Street, There isn't much in Genoa. But outside of town on the main highway there is a fast food restaurant.
Genoa is another old historic town. At the end of the trail was an ice cream stand. Parking at the Genoa end at the Veterans Park. There was also a bike repair stand, picnic areas and a rest room (seasonal). The trail sign in Genoa read "Elmore 5 miles, Fremont 18".
All in all, a great ride from Fremont to Genoa and back, 36 mile round trip. Trail surface is asphalt paved in very good condition.
We took a side trip up to Lake Erie and visited Marblehead Lighthouse across from Cedar Point. Marblehead is the oldest working lighthouse on all of the Great Lakes. The tower is open for climbing, seasonal, but the park is open year around.
We ( recumbent trike & e-bike) headed West from the Kiwanis park. Turned around after 9km as the surface was really tough on the trike. There’s 2 good wheel tracks for bikes, but the trike had to ride partially in the coarse trail ballast. Scenic area with farm views and a huge windmill farm in the distance.
This could be a great trail. We went north to Fredericksburg from Millersburg. The trail was smooth for the first 5 miles, then got rough. It is shared with horses and had droppings on both sides. There is no restrooms north of Millersburg.
If you park at the old rail depot in monroeville off SR 99 you can ride 4.8 miles east to downtown Norwalk. Our favorite restaurant is the freight house.
The trail itself is pretty nice. Signage leading into and in Elyria is abysmal. You’re on a bike in traffic and at intersections, you shouldn’t have to study where to turn.
First time on the trail, great experience. Caught me off guard when the trail broke off to a road but wasn’t bad. Smooth enough for rollerblading. My Fitbit said there and back is 13.5 miles. This is the longest distance I’ve gone. This distance should be for Inline Skates, large wheels. They are made for long distance and rough(ish) terrain. Seems like there’s a bench every mile/mile 1/2 which was very nice. I took advantage at stopping at everyone. Good thing because about 1/4 back to the starting point, I started to get real tired. Most of the trail is shaded. Not many people which I like. I listened to my AirPods the whole time and smiled when passing. 5 star trail. Id do this trail again.
I rode 2.9 miles on an out-and-back ride on the Mad River Bike Trail in Tiffin, Ohio. This rail trail runs from the Seneca County Fairgrounds to the old Tiffin Train Depot located on the corner of N. Monroe and Brenner Streets. The trail runs along Fair Lane which is located on the perimeter of the Seneca County Fairgrounds. Fair Lane was actually built on the old railbed based on my observation of where the trail continues on the other side of Hopewell Avenue.
Crossing over Hopewell Avenue brings you to the nicest portion of the trail. The next half mile runs between the backyards of the surrounding streets. The pavement here is wide and in very good shape. Once you reach and cross Sandusky Street, the trail conditions change. The trail narrows to the size of a sidewalk as it runs parallel to Brenner Street. When you reach West Market Street, Brenner St. becomes a boulevard and the trail then runs in the median between the two directional halves of the street from West Market to Clay Street. After crossing Clay Street, Brenner is no longer a boulevard but the trail continues paralleling Brenner until both the trail and the street end at the Tiffin Train Depot at N. Monroe Street.
The condition of the trail seems to deteriorate as you travel toward the train depot. It appears that there is just less usage of the trail on the northern end of the trail. The pavement is more worn and crumbling in some spots. I found it unusual that there would be sharrows painted on Brenner Street while the trail was running through the median of its boulevard section. On a positive note, there are rider/pedestrian operated flasher crossing signals as the trail crosses over W. Market and W. Perry Streets.
The Mad River Bike Trail appears to be a nice way to access the Seneca County Fairgrounds for some of Tiffin, Ohio’s residents. However, at present, I view this trail's utility as limited. It is not a trail that I would recommend to people from outside of Seneca County unless the southwestern end of the trail is extended approximately 13 miles to Carey, Ohio.
We parked at mile marker 9, Bur Oak Trailhead and biked to mile 0.0 at Lakeside Landing in Lorain, on the shores of Lake Erie. This section is not a traditional rail-trail as it has hills and ramps and quite a few bridges which cross the Black River multiple times. In 9 miles we passed a few trailheads with parking and facilities. From mile marker 9 to 2, you're on a paved trail then the last 2 miles into Lorain are share the road sections. Worth the trip! Biking to Lake Erie from Elyria was very fun. While in the area we stated in nearby Vermilion.
Trail is flat and paved, goes through mainly open areas of farmlands, a few short wooded sections offering shade. Old rail towns such as Kipton and Oberlin. One short share the road section, well marked. Several (back) road crossings with trailheads and parking. We rode from West Elyria to Huron Co line and continued into Wakeman. Round trip was 30 miles. Great trail! We stayed in Vermilion and went to the lighthouse on Lake Erie.
First time on this trail. Serene. Tree canopied sections. Beautiful farmland views. Great stop over the Huron River. Nice depot stop in Monroeville. Wasn’t fond of the ride into Norwalk but it wasn’t horrible. I also wasn’t sure how I was going to like the crushed limestone surface but I really enjoyed the varied surface of the trail. Some of it was fairly smooth rolling. Some required constant pedaling due to a more depth of the stone, which I did not mind because I ride for exercise. Some of the trail was a bit rougher with some actual gravel spots but kept it interesting. Attention is wise anytime someone rides but this trail should be noted the shoulders aren’t always squared. They’re are sections they do slope quite a bit which can out you off the sideif yours not watching.
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