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I've ridden this trail quite a few times in the past and did it again today. There are places where one has to be holding on firmly with both hands when some of the bumps are hit, otherwise a wreck could be imminent. I experienced this 5-6 times, mostly in the woods where you can't see the root bumps. Also I had 3 separate encounters with other bikers who were riding straight at me in my lane on 3 of the big curves on the trail. I don't plan on riding this one again any time soon, as there are other trails in central Ohio that I like better.
I rode 5.66 miles on an out-and-back ride on the 1.78 mile long Wellston Bike Path in Wellston, Ohio. The additional milage came from riding the all-purpose trail in Lake Alma State Park just outside of town. This paved rail trail runs from Wellston Depot (train station) up to the state park. That seems to be the trail's only purpose. It's definitely useful to the local citizenry and keeps cyclists and pedestrians off of OH-349. The trail surface is in good shape except for a small section between the rail bridge over Raccoon Creek and the entrance to Lake Alma State Park where some erosional slippage has occurred. The state park's all purpose trail expands the bike path's reach and utility by giving access to the Lake Alma's campground, beach, hiking trails and picnic facilities. It is a pretty little trail but I’m not sure that you can expect any expansion of the trail anytime in the foreseeable future as it appears that other abandoned rail lines around the town have been converted into local roadways. If you are in the Wellston area it is trail well worth checking out. However, due to its short length I don’t think that there is enough reward to take an extended drive just to check this trail off of your list.
The Gallia County Hike & Bike Trail currently consists of two unconnected segments -- The paved “Riverfront” segment which is located within Gallipolis, and the crushed stone/grassy “Northwest” segment that runs between the towns of Bidwell and Kerr. Google Maps and signs along the trail use the O.O. McIntyre Park (District) moniker with individual trail sections given trail names. I parked and started from Haskins Park located somewhat in the middle of the east-west running "Riverfront" section in Gallipolis. If you head east, out of Haskins Park, the trail travels 2.3 miles past both the Cliffside Golf Course and the Gallia-Meigs Regional Airport. This segment ends at Lee Road. The trail could probably be extended up to Addison from here, but I’m not sure anyone is currently clamoring for that, as I was the only person on this section of trail both out and back. West of Haskins Park, once you cross OH-160 (Pine Street) the trail parallels that road. This 4 mile section crosses OH-160 up by the Holzer Emergency Medical Center and ends under a US-35 overpass after crossing over OH-160 again. These paved sections of the trail are in very good shape except for the short half mile section near the Holzer Emergency Medical Center where there is quite a bit of tree root uplifting of the asphalt. Once you arrive at the US-35 underpass near the Holzer Medical Center there is a gap of about 2 miles in the trail between this ending and the town of Kerr.
The "Northwest" segment of the trail runs from Kerr to the town of Bidwell, Ohio. This segment of the Gallia County Hike & Bike Trail is not as developed as the one in Gallipolis. The trail here is crushed stone and grass covered. This 4 mile section of the trail seems to have been greatly ignored. There was little evidence that trail is used very often. I rode south from Bidwell towards Kerr. For most of the ride out of Bidwell the only way that I knew I was on a trail was that there was an unobstructed pathway of grass surrounded by trees and brush on both sides. I crossed over a wooden bridge spanning a creek which had had some of its planking replaced but other than that there was little sign of this trail being used at all. After traveling about 6/10ths of a mile, I crossed OH-850 and came to a dead stop. What should have been a continuation of the pathway had disappeared and nothing but trees and brush stood in my way. From satellite and street view images on Google Maps this should have continued to be an open dual track pathway so I’m not sure how out-of-date the Google Maps images are. There was a nearby driveway which I chose to ride up to see if I could see if the trail was still viable beyond the OH-850 crossing. From the driveway, I walked down to the old rail bed and took a look around. It was clearly overgrown. I walked for about 2/10ths of a mile and while I could have easily ridden in the direction I had been going, the pathway was not as clear as before, so I decided to turn around. Perhaps, if I had started in Kerr and headed north the trail would have been more easily identifiable. However, there didn’t appear to be any defined parking for the trail in Kerr. In my opinion, until Gallia County decides to make improvements to this portion of trail, I wouldn't bother to attempt to ride this trail segment.
If you do find yourself in the Gallipolis area the paved portion of the trail is worth seeking out. If the Railroad Freight Station Museum is completed that could be an interesting venue along the trail. Bathrooms and water are available in Haskins Park.
Really enjoyed the variety of scenery as well as different riding types along this trail, overall it was in pretty good condition! Will definitely ride this again!
We are both new to this app and some of the trail riding. We both really enjoyed this trail as a nice mixture of scenery and riding types. Trail could use some minor maintenance.
pertaining to the recent june 2021 post regarding the condition of trail surface, both my brother and i can now say emphatically the trail has received a very nice asphalt facelift from mile marker 1 near Bowerston all the way to the end at the covered bridge in Jewett. The only 1 mile stretch is from the trailhead on Broadway st. in Bowerston to the 1 mile marker that still needs new asphalt. But so nice and smooth and you could smell the fresh aroma of the work. Nice job to Harrison County for upgrading the surface. 5 stars definitely and once again a great meal at the Western Grill in Bowerston. Our bike ride closed out the month of July on Saturday so come on down and enjoy the NEW smooth trail in August and the fall
Nice shaded trail runs along water. Nice overlook spot. Plenty of benches. Track is a little bumpy and we need more bathroom stop facilities.
As of July 30, 2021 this trail is newly repaved. Nice scenic ride with a number of nice covered bridges. Nice mix of sun and shade and plenty of shelters along the trail to rest/get out of the rain.
Most of the path is paved now, except the last 1/2 - mile from the south end near Melvin Rd. Great flat path riding thru corn fields and some tree lined areas.
Nice new trail that makes it easy to connect to the new bridge out to Whiskey Island. Need to do a little road riding on low traffic streets down in The Flats. Look for the Centennial Trail under the Detroit-Superior bridge. Be sure to checkout the old Coast Guard Station at the mouth of the river, then head west on the new Whiskey Island Trail to Edgewater Park. Head back East on the Lakefront Bikeway to W28th, Church, W25th and Franklin back to the Red Line at Hoopples. Only busy part is about 100ft on W25th with a nice sidewalk.
About 20 car parking lot on W53rd at dog park. See photo. Two police cameras mounted on pole at lot. Not sure if that’s a good or bad thing.
I loved the loop. Some great views of downtown and the lake. Lots of boats to watch on the river during the summer. Enjoy…..bikin-mike
We rode this trail on a hot and humid day and enjoyed the shady tree canopy. The surface is currently crushed gravel not asphalt. We began at the surprisingly nice trailhead on the east end of Danville and continued over the covered bridge and through the short tunnel onto the southern section of the Holmes County Trail. At this point the trail was very nice asphalt and definitely a steady uphill!
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