Find the top rated fishing trails in Ohio, whether you're looking for an easy short fishing trail or a long fishing trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a fishing trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
I spent more time off the trail than on while passing though Dayton. Horrible detours down horrible roads with broken glass, tree limbs and rocks. Poorly marked detours. Not for road biking at all. Take three or four spare tubes if you do go....you WILL need them.
Our family uses this trail on a regular basis for both hiking and biking. It is nicely shaded, so offers relief from the hot sun in the summer. The autumn colors are just wonderful. There are several nice views of the river, and a small waterfall along the way. Most of the trial is crushed limestone, and fairly level. (Might be challenging for skinny tires.) There are a few spots that are a bit rough, but nothing that would cause much concern. Midway, there is a short hiking loop off the main trail that takes you in closer to the bog area with an observation platform. The trail is not overly busy, so you can feel quietly connected to nature while out there. It is slightly over 8 miles from Garrettsville to Mantua. There are 3 places to enter the trail; Garrettsville, Rt 700, and Manuta. While in Garrettsville, it is fun to ride a short distance into the town, and enjoy a coffee and snack at the Cellar Door Coffee Shop at the end of Main St, in the old feed store. There is also a Dairy Queen in town which is a favorite stop. Of course, if the library is open, it can provide a great rest stop too. While in Mantua, you might want to plan to enjoy a picnic lunch in the park, or there is a new ice cream shop on Main St, as well as a McDonalds, but don't miss a stop at Jakes Eats. This little restaurant is a village favorite, not far from the trail, on Prospect St and offers a nice variety of items at a reasonable price. If biking or hiking in early to mid July, you might want to plan a stop at Wolff's Blueberry farm. It is located very near the trail at the Rt 700 parking area. This is a You-Pick farm, and might be a great way to end your visit. Going home with a bag of fresh blueberries after a day on the Headwater Trail is a perfect day in my book!
I had the joy of riding this trail out of Mt. Vernon last week. I started at the train depot, a marvelous trail head by the way, and rode the Kokosing Gap Trail to Danville and back. Of course, on my return i had the delicious pulled pork at the chuck wagon that is parked there in Mt. Vernon at the trail head. Then i rode the HOOT for the first time. What a wonderful time. Sadly the trail abruptly ended south of Centerburg with no indication of where one might go on the open roads to get the next section. Of a positive note also the Centerburg Church of God has a nice rest station canopy just off the trail, with sign on trail noting same, and a fridge filled with free bottled cold water and also a box to leave prayer requests. What a wonderful example of the ministry of Jesus. All in all a delightful day but i look forward to finding the connector so i can ride to Columbus from Mt. Vernon someday.
Now 11.22 miles long and is a beautiful and well maintained trail. I have rode the trail 3 times this week and have seen plenty of wildlife and heard many types of bird singing along the trail. It is great to see all the new benches and new blacktopped trail. The local community has done a great job developing the trail. I can't wait to see the next section done all the way to the Hardin County line.
My family and I are a bit biased, we live less than a half mile from the Slippery Elm, and bike, run and walk it frequently. But we've ridden bucket-list trails in many places around the US, and they often fall short of our humble Slippery-Elm in many ways.
This trail is wide, flat, and smooth. It is well maintained by the county parks, and local volunteers. It is calm, peaceful, quaint, charming, and beautiful. It can be ridden at a relaxed pace to observe the scenery and wildlife, or rocketed along and a fast pace. Road racers however will find the sections very short, but that can make for great interval training.
My wife and I ride a tandem, and pull our two boys in a tag-along. The whole family loves to ride this trail. My wife says that I claim each section is my favorite, and a short ride often goes several miles extra, because "the next section is my favorite". The trail ranges from woods to swamps and prairies, to fields, and if observed carefully they all are interesting and beautiful.
Mid-day can get very hot on this trail, as long sections are in the open, but morning and evening are usually nice. Pay attention to the wind and plan your ride around it! We like to plan our trips to go out into the head-wind, and then ride a tail-wind home.
This was our first trip on this trail. We found signage in the town of Dresden to be confusing. We finally found parking and hopped on the trail. The trail is tree lined which keeps you out of the sun. It also left the trail littered with tree debris, including some small trees lying on the trail. The trail does not seem to be heavily used. We encountered only two other cyclists. You can glimpse the Muskingum river through the trees. It's quiet and serene. I would have appreciated restrooms at the end of the 4 mile ride, but there weren't any. Still, we will be returning to this nice little trail.
I have only ridden the Oak Openings to Maumee so far. Flat, clean and safe. Wooded areas, farm and houses. Black top this entire section. I look forward to riding the entire trail this summer.
Just completed the southern loop beginning at route 303 going south to Munroe Falls, through Silver Lake and back up. By the way, Munroe Falls is about 9.5 miles, so it is a nice place to stop almost halfway to watch the kayakers, have a snack, and take a bike picture. Overall, very enjoyable but one of the hardest 22-mile rides I have done due to all the starts and stops and ALL of the very many hills! Take lots of water and some high-protein munchies because you will need the energy. Not the route I would choose for a fixie unless I was in top shape - used my lowest gear to get up the hills. Some of the flatter parts look like they were once part of a rail system, so it was nice to cruise along those. There are some very busy streets as well; a bike lane and a better way to cross would be most welcome (hint, hint - please try to make these crossings safer for those of us on bikes). Country Maid on 303 was a must stop on the way home for some ice cream.
Not sure which trail the first reviewer was talking about: this trail runs through the suburban west side. Many annoying starts and stops for bike riders and you must cross a very busy Bagley Road right by Southwest Hospital. The signs are easy to miss; in fact, we missed the location to cross the first time and had to retrace our path. Also very short, and have to dodge walkers and runners the entire time. The Metropark all-purpose trail is much better for riders and is very scenic around Berea, which is very close by. Also there is a Honey Hut on the Metropark trail by the lake viewing area.
Went on our normal bike ride on the NCITrail with 12 people stopped at the Oberlin Café for lunch . Found out the city of Oberlin passed laws against locking your bikes to lamp post ,park bench, tree, they will confiscate your bike. Charlie
A friend and I rode this route in May 2017, from South to North. Signage is excellent in Cincinnati and as far as Columbus. Once we hit the waterfront in downtown Columbus signage was sparse, and we ended up missing the turn onto Neil Rd, which takes you to the area near the Arena, and instead rode several miles along the Scioto River trail before we realized our mistake.
Signage was also sparse (nonexistent) at the Cleveland end. We ended up following signs for the Towpath, which took us through a questionable part of town, and eventually reconnected with the end of the trail, off of Franklin. Signage even after we returned to the route was nonexistent all the way to the end at Edgewater Park.
I will say that the recent maps, issued in February 2017, are excellent and now include designations for bike shops, definitely a plus.
The route was for the most part fabulous riding. We were self-contained and did fairly short days, taking about 10 days to complete the route. We also did a spur up to Springboro, which was gorgeous horse country riding, and although on roads, fairly low traffic. We especially enjoyed riding around Millersburg and sharing the trail with buggies. All the trails were in very good shape, and even the crushed limestone (the Northernmost two days) was well maintained and relatively smooth to ride.
The State of Ohio definitely deserves kudos for what they’ve put together. It’s amazing to be able to ride across a state almost entirely on bike path. We came from California just to ride this route, and it was well worth it.
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