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Print Friendly MapThe Mad River Bike Trail follows a former rail line for 1.3 miles within the City of Tiffin. The path runs from Hopewell Avenue by the Seneca County Fairgrounds to Monroe Street. Along the way, it crosses several large roadways, including SR 53/Sandusky Street, Market Street, and Perry Street/SR 18.
There is no parking designated for this trail, but there are a few spaces at Beechwood Park (14 Beechwood Dr) about half a mile north of the southwest end of the trail. Parking is also available in some city parking lots in downtown Tiffin. For more information, check out the city's website.
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.
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