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Print Friendly MapPicking up right across the street from the southern end of the Harrison Dillard Bikeway, the Lake-to-Lakes Trail provides a path for cyclists and pedestrians to continue further south out to the charming Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights. Not to be confused with a similarly named trail on the western end of the county, this trail connects Lower Shaker Lake and Horseshoe Lake all the way to Lake Erie (via the Harrison Dillard Bikeway), providing a shady and pleasant recreation path.
Starting from its sibling trail in the north, trail users can cross Carnegie Avenue and follow the marked bike route signs along the wide asphalt path to pick up the Lake-to-Lakes Trail. The trail follows the side of Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive and then heads through the open space in the city's Ambler Park to continue alongside Stokes Boulevard. While the trail largely hews close to roads, the corridor is nicely tree-lined and feels more scenic than many roadside trails, as it loosely follows the course of a small brook that passes between the lakes.
Continuing south and east, the trail passes along the northern edge of the residential Shaker Square neighborhood, coming to the intersection of Fairhill Road and North Park Boulevard. A bike repair station has conveniently been installed there in case your equipment needs some tending to - if not, continue along the sidepath on the south side of North Park Boulevard, which passes by both of the small lakes before the trail comes to an end in Horseshoe Lake Park. This stretch of the trail is narrower and older than what comes before, and the surface may not be in the best shape, so cyclists in particular should take that into account before hitting the trail.
Parking is available at the southeastern end of the trail in Horseshoe Lake Park, located at 2701 Park Drive in Shaker Heights. Additional parking is available near the trail at the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes, which hosts educational exhibits about the area's ecosystem, located at 2600 South Park Boulevard in Cleveland.
I use this to commute to Midtown. There is only one cohesive portion from Fairhill down to Carnegie. At the bottom of that hill beneath the overpass, there is trash, glass, car tires and mud. It’s dangerous when coming down the hill. It then quickly turns in to a traffic mess five way stop. I don’t recommend using this for leisure.
I agree with the previous reviewer on everything, but I'll add one thing: When I biked this trail in June 2020, Horsehoe Lake had been drained and was a big ugly mud flat. Lower Shaker Lake was still pretty. Otherwise, this trail is ok but unimpressive.
I rode 8.77 miles on an out-and-back ride on this trail connecting Shaker Heights with the University Circle neighborhood in Cleveland, Ohio. I started at Horseshoe Lake Park in Shaker Heights and rode down into the Cleveland Museum of Art using this trail and the southern part of the Harrison Dillard Bikeway. The multi-use trail that runs around the southern half of Horseshoe Lake is in good shape with a few spots of tree root uplift. The trail crosses over the spillway of the lake's dam and deposits one near Beaumont School on North Park Boulevard. At this point there is a narrow asphalt pathway that travels west along North Park past Lower Shaker Lake and on to Coventry Road. The path is narrow, pitted and pockmarked, and not very level. I took this path because this trail is listed here in TrailLink as a trail. However, I would recommend using the bike lanes found on North Park Boulevard as the surface of the road is much smoother. On my return trip I rode these bike lanes as the pathway had become pretty busy with runners and pedestrians on this beautiful February day.
Once you cross Coventry Road in Cleveland Hts. You will get to what is a multi-use trail. There is a bike repair stand at the corner of Coventry Rd. and North Park Blvd. From here the multi-use path parallels Fairhill Road which turns into Stokes Blvd on it's way down into the University Circle neighborhood. This trail ends at the Cleveland School of the Arts at the corner of Carnegie Avenue and Stearns Road. From here you connect to the Harrison Dillard Bikeway and can ride down to the museums on Wade Oval. I chose to ride down to the Cleveland Museum of Art before turning around and heading back. If you stay on the Harrison Dillard Bikeway, you will parallel Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd north down to the Lake Erie shoreline.
Two points to note: First, this is not a family friendly route. Most of the roads along this route are heavily trafficked. The bike lanes on North Park Blvd. are fairly wide and traffic doesn't seem to be too busy except during morning and evening rush hour. North Park and Fairhill Road seem to be popular non-freeway routes in and out of downtown Cleveland. If you use caution, obey traffic lights, and crosswalk signals getting into and out of University Circle will be fine. Secondly, there is a bit of a climb if you are heading south from University Circle toward Shaker Lakes. It is not too steep but you will be climbing almost the whole way back to Horseshoe Lake. The steepest part will be from Carnegie Avenue up to Coventry Road.
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