Find the top rated mountain biking trails in Ohio, whether you're looking for an easy short mountain biking trail or a long mountain biking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a mountain biking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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I was in the area for work this morning (I’m from the Cleveland area) and I was looking for a place to go for a ride this afternoon. I brought my bike with me knowing it was gonna be about 60 degrees and no rain today. This place did not disappoint!! I recommend parking at N 39.88050 W 082.90340. You can go 3 miles on the Alum Creek trail, turn around and go 12 miles on the Blacklick trail and then turn around and come back tonyour vehicle. A wonderful 24 mile round trip! Definitely coming here next year when the weather warms up!
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
Lovely fall day with temps near 70. Biked from Orwell to Austinburg and back for a 30 mile round trip. Leaves were pretty much changed/fallen but as always, a fantastic ride on this trail!
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.
Nice ride. Very easy and enjoyable. Used the parking/trailhead off of Mt Vernon Ave. Easy to find and access. Came from northeast Ohio to do this trail. Would totally do it again.
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 rode a complete round-trip on the bikeway (East 185th & Lakeshore to West 117th & Edgewater) for the first time after wanting to for quite some time. This took me about 3 hours saddle time. The route is well-planned enough, keeping close to the shore of Lake Erie. A mixture of road cycling and trail cycling is required, but bike lanes added on Lakeshore Blvd in recent years in Cleveland make this easier. Signage downtown is poor and the routing there is a bit awkward, but anything west of downtown is quite fun as long as you know to access the path next to the Shoreway beginning at W. 25th.
Enjoyable route, poorly signed at parts, but I expect the Bikeway will probably be improved in the future. Worth riding for the experience.
I tried to ride from New Bremen to St. Mary’s. I read some reviews, but it wasn’t clear. I also talked via phone to someone who lives in New Bremen and he encouraged me to take the path. Well, 1 mile north of town it was just tall thick grass. Had to do a detour on busy roads
It was shady, somewhat protected from the wind, well maintained. Just a good, basic rail-trail.
Chilly and breezy Fall day but the sun was out! Parked just off of Route 88 in Bristolville and rode down to South of Sunside and back then up to the Ashtabula/Trumbull county line. Round trip 30 miles. Leaves starting to change but not as much as they should be for this time of year.
I made the trek up from the Columbus area today to check out the Marion Tallgrass Trail. It's just over 12 miles long, and almost as straight as an arrow. For the first couple miles you are by farm fields, but there is at least a little bit of woods for most of the remaining 10 miles.
It's a tough call between 4 and 5 stars. Let's start with the positives. The woods make it peaceful, and shaded. And there is a lot of wildlife, especially for a trail that isn't exactly in the middle of a forest. I saw quite a few deer, a rabbits, squirrels, and a medium-large bird which walked (not flew) away from me; my best guess is it may have been a pheasant. There's more wildlife as you go west; this time of year may also be near peak wildlife season, shortly before the major hunting seasons begin. And best of all, the wildlife I encountered did not include the swarms of mosquitoes others mentioned (I visited in mid-October, on a day with a high in the low 60s).
On the not-quite-five-star side, are that it can be pretty windy (especially near the windmills on the east side; who'd have thought they'd put windmills in a windy place?), there are some bumps between miles 4 and 5 that could use smoothing out, and that aside from the wildlife, it's not an especially scenic trail. Oh, and the farm around mile 6 that uses natural fertilizer; it has usurped first place for worst-smelling place I've been by on a bike trail.
Comparing the level of scenicness to other regional trails, I'd put it ahead of the Heritage Trail in Hilliard, slightly behind the Richland County B&O Trail, and behind the Alum Creek Trail in Columbus, which despite being in a city is for the most part a very scenic trail.
Facilities are somewhat improved from what is on the TrailLink map; there is also a port-a-john around mile 8 (I didn't note the exact location), and there's a water fountain at the eastern trailhead (mile zero; I didn't verify that it is functional). The official site also lists parking at mile 8.4 (probably the same park area with the port-a-john), 1.75 (an ODNR grassy lot), and at the Espyville Baptist Church by mile 3.7, when church is not in session.
The other thing that's a bit odd about the trail is that it currently doesn't connect any population centers, despite its 12+ mile length. There are some dwellings nearby, but unless you're one of the few dozen people who live nearby (mostly in a trailer park around mile 5), you have to drive to the trail. Looking at a map, it's easy to see that the reason it can't easily be extended east is that there's an active rail yard to the east. Still, figuring out a way to extend it into Marion (population 35,000) would likely improve its visibility to a lot of people, and significantly increase ridership; it would also encourage out-of-towners like myself to stop in Marion.
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