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The Portage Hike and Bike Trail stretches for 16.3 miles between Kent and Ravenna, about 40 miles southeast of Cleveland. The entire trail route is paved. Between the two busy downtowns, quiet woods and meadows can be enjoyed. In some areas, the trail parallels an active, but infrequently used, railroad.
The trail is more of a network of connected trail segments, with one disconnected spur in Franklin Township, so be sure to consult a map and plan your route before hitting the road.
About the Route
In Kent, the western leg of the trail follows the Cuyahoga River and the old P&O Canal, and Kent State University is only a few blocks away. (In fact, a spur of the trail runs right across the Kent State University Campus, beginning at Dix Stadium in the west, threading between athletic fields and buildings to Lincoln St. in downtown Kent.)
Farther east, the trail reaches a highlight of the journey: Towner's Woods Park in Franklin Township. The trail runs along the southern border of the 175-acre park, which has beautiful natural settings of forest, wetlands, and meadows. Here, trail users can also find an ancient Native American burial mound on the shores of picturesque Lake Pippen.
The next portion of the trail passes through Franklin Mills Riveredge Park, south of Main Street. This route goes through John Brown Tannery Park and around the northern bank of the Cuyahoga River, before peeling away and terminating on Middlebury Road. The Brady's Leap Riverwalk project, which linked the two segments of trail within Kent along a scenic stretch of the river, was opened to the public in 2021, creating a more seamless trail experience for users to enjoy.
Connections
At the trail's short northern disconnected segment, trail users can continue along the Bike and Hike Trail.
The Portage Hike and Bike Trail runs between 1313 Middlebury Rd. (Kent) and Peck Rd. (Ravenna), with parking at both ends.
Parking is also available at:
See TrailLink Map for more detailed information.
Nice trail with Kent in the middle, interesting signs on history and ecology
I ride on this constantly!
We started our ride at 130 Chestnut Hill Drive, Ravenna. We were enjoying it until we found ourselves off the path near Lake Rockwell Road at Towner's Woods Park (2296 Ravenna Road, Franklin Township). We were on a fairly busy and hilly Ravenna Road. After you leave the parking area you need to take a quick left on Ravenna Rd where it shows "bridge closed" with no indication that bikers could cross the bridge over the RR tracks to continue on the Portage trail on the right.
Rode from eastern end of the trail, Ravenna to Kent. 7.5 miles, then no signage in Kent. You had to ride on busy street if you where to connect. No clear indication of where to go , no bike lanes. But North Waters brewery is just before the bridge in Kent across the railway tracks. Side trip to Towners park included a nice walk to a mound. Busy the day we rode because of fifth grade bike ride. Surface was paved and in good condition nice information signs along the route.
I took a day to ride all 3 Segments of the Portage Hike & Bike Trail and here are my impressions.
---The Franklin Connector is the shortest and most isolated of the 3 segments of this trail. It does not connect to either of the other two segments, it does however connect to the Bike and Hike Trail of Summit County at Young Road. This segment is very flat and goes through a wetlands area. Looking at a map of the Kent area, it certainly appears that this segment could be extended eastward and connect up with the Towner's Woods Segment of the trail. The asphalt surface of this trail was rough in spots.
---The southern most segment of the Portage Hike and Bike is the Cuyahoga River/Kent State University segment. tThis segment follows the Cuyahoga River from Middlebury Road through Fred Fuller and John Brown Tannery Parks, then there is a short on-road sharrow section on Summit Street and Franklin Ave. to connect to a bike path that goes through downtown Kent, Ohio until you reach the University. You will then ride on the Lester A. Lefton Esplanade through Kent State University until you reach Dix Stadium on the eastern end of Campus. The trail is fairly flat except for the middle of the KSU campus where you have to climb a couple of hills. On the western end you can connect to the Freedom Trail after a short .2 mile bike lane and travel into Akron, Ohio. If you plan on riding the Esplanade through campus, I would suggest riding this segment of the trail during the summer when there are not many students on campus.
---The longest segment of this trail is the Towner's Woods Segment. It sort of connects to the Cuyahoga/KSU segment in Franklin Mills Riveredge Park. However, the path through this park is narrow and can be crowded with pedestrians. In addition there is a stairway where you would have to carry your bike through. This trail runs from downtown Kent through the northern end of Ravenna, Ohio and beyond it is very flat but has a number of street crossings in Ravenna. I have seen long range plans to someday try to extend this trail eastward to Warren, Ohio where it could connect with the Western Reserve Greenway. I have not seen any recent news that this extension is in progress.
If the three sections of this trail could be connected without any barriers, and the Towner's Wood Segment extended to the Western Reserve Greenway in Warren this trail would give county residents trail access to quite a wide portion of Ohio. This would then really be an All-Star Trail.
Heading N/E, first 1/3 mile out of Kent (Crain/Lake/water st intersection) pretty heavily washboarded. Remainder is relatively flat, with easy grades crossing over few roadways. Nice
This section connects to the Bike and Hike Trail which is part of the Summit County, Ohio Metropark System. I started at the eastern end of this trail segment at the Tenney Trailhead. Heading west, the Portage County portion of this trail ends at Spell Road. But the trail continues from there as the Bike and Hike Trail. I rode on the Summit Bike and Hike up to Young Road where in the past I have turned south on Young Road to ride on the Stow Loop of the Bike & Hike. This was a very flat trail that seemed to go through a wetlands area. My one complaint was the asphalt surface was somewhat rough in spots. This was a 4.03 mile round trip.
Maps indicate that if the Franklin Connector was extended further east it could connect to the "main line" portion of the Portage Bike and Hike. Such a connection would connect the cities of Kent and Ravenna to the Summit County Bike and Hike Trail and the Cleveland Metropark All Purpose Trail System.
This is an excellent trail. All paved, mostly flat with only minor inclines, good facilities. Please disregard reviews prior to 2016 because construction was completed in 2015. The only problem is that the description in TrailLink lacks adequate detail, so I would like to provide the following info. Please refer to the TrailLink map to make sense of this info:
This trail is made up of three separate segments in Ohio's Portage County. Two of these segments are sort of connected, and the third is actually the extension of another trail altogether. All three segments run roughly in the east-west direction.
1) The southernmost segment runs along the Cuyahoga River in its western half and through the center of the Kent State University campus in its eastern half. It is about 4 miles long, one way. Expect heavy pedestrian traffic on the campus section on class days.
2) The middle segment runs from a point north-east of Ravenna to downtown Kent. It is about 9 miles long, one way. It is mostly a nature trail.
3) The northernmost segment, also known as the Franklin Connector, is just a 1.6 mile extension of the "Hike & Bike Trail", which TrailLink describes and maps separately under that name. (No "Portage" in the latter name.)
Segments 1 and 2 are connected by a rideable north-south foot path along the Cuyahoga River in Kent's Franklin Mills River Edge Park. At one point, you have to choose between leaving the path and going briefly on River St, which is parallel to the path, OR carrying your bike up or down some stairs. Important : I recommend using the foot path as much as possible when traveling between the segments 1 and 2. You could ride on Kent city streets, but they are complicated and the views along the foot path are much nicer.
First time on this trail, and it was sweet. Paved, wide, and mostly flat. This is a very easy trail. Follows the river and train tracks through mostly covered woodlands. Some industrial buildings here and there. A few road crossings that had little to no traffic were acceptable. My trip was about 14 round trip. There was a couple trail heads / parking areas that I passed. I like that I can get right into down town Kent as a destination. There's always something there that you can stop to check out while your rest your legs before heading back. Including Kent Cycle. I only wish there was a trail head at both endpoints, but I'm sure this trail will eventually expand. And I can't wait.
We just recently discovered this trail and have ridden it 4 times in the past few weeks. Only a few roads to cross with very little traffic. It is a little confusing when you get to the bridge in Kent. A few directional signs in this area would really help but overall a great trail!
While this trail crosses a few low-traffic back roads here and there, overall it's a secluded and scenic ride. You'll pop in and out of nature and small town civilization, bit that's kind of par for the course on rail trails.
While nothing spectacular, you do get a few extras on this trail such as Towner's Woods park, where you can park and the short hikes are all worth it. The trail also gets you really close to the trail near downtown Kent (not sure of the name but it starts at Tannery Park). If you are willing to do a bit of street riding you can connect to that trail, and follow it out to the Freedom Trail near Middlebury Road. That will take you all the way out beyond Tallmadge.
And the nearby Franklin Connector section (not near rails) is a good ride and will connect you to the Summit Bike & Hike Trail. Most will want to drive to get to Franklin Connector, but it's reachable by bike for sure.
Now that the Portage has been fully paved, it really makes it a great casual ride. Very little in the way of elevation, and as mentioned very little cross-street traffic to worry about.
For what it is — a great local bike trail — it's top notch.
Beautiful trail and lots of wildlife along it. On the way back from Kent saw 3 deer cross the trail. Beautiful!
Love this trail! Been walking/biking it for a few years now. Mostly wooded with some open grassland, farms, prairies. Totally paved now. Hope they extend the trail in the future to include from Peck road out east towards Youngtown. All mostly flat. Chestnut Hills park has a restroom which is important to me as I'm am 53 years old now lol!
Portage County voters finally passed the first-ever levy to support the Portage Park District. One of their first projects was to improve The PORTAGE Hike and Bike Trail and pave the limestone section with asphalt. Smooth riding now!
About 50% asphalt and 50% hard ground - excellent for hybrid biking. Fairly level grade. Good for all ages. Pretty scenary.
We had a beautiful day. We started at the Chestnut Drive "golf" course entrance in Ravenna and went about 7.5 miles. The trail gradually became more scenic as we went and the gradual inclines and flats areas gave us a nice workout. The gravel section was well worn with occasional rocky areas. We were pleasantly surprised in the traffic...and how polite everyone was on the trail. There are many streets to cross over and at Tinkers Woods there was a crossover that would have made me nervous if I'd had my 9 year old nephew with me, curve and cars with limited vision. We stopped at the Beckwith Orchard and market on our way back.
This trail is a beautiful cross-section of several of the major transportation systems of the East and Midwest. We'll start at the east end of the trail, at Peck Road, 2 miles east of Ravenna. We will start and end our trip alongside the old New York-Chicago Erie Railroad. This was the Erie's double-tracked main line. The first-class Erie Limited plied these rails, and passenger service ended in 1970 with Erie-Lackawanna's Lake Cities. Note the double-armed communications pole line. Set your odometer at 0.0 at Peck Road. The vined-over, rusty 1944 rail shines up at Mile 1.3 Freedom Street, where we see a line of in-service boxcars. While most of this line is abandoned across Ohio and Indiana, the old "main line" is in-service from this point to Kent. At Mile 2.1, we noted one of the Erie's cast concrete whistleposts ("W") lying face up flat on the ground. At Mile 2.2, we see in-place but falling apart Erie's cast concrete Milepost "S185." "S" stands for Salamanca, New York, where Erie predecessor Atlantic & Great Western, a 6-foot guage line (compared with American standard 4-foot 8-inch guage), took over from the Erie's "JC" (Jersey City) mile markers. The "S" mile marker series continued to Marion, Ohio, where "M" markers reset Erie's mileage to "0" and carried the balance of the mile markers to Chicago. This was a great and significant find. Incidentally, the A&GW split southwest at Marion, and headed for its original destination, Cincinnati, Ohio, hence the "0" restart. The smooth asphalt pavement ends at Mile 2.8, on the west side of Ravenna. The fine crushed limestone from this point is nice and what I like to call "worn in." A few rough spots, yes, but two nice, smooth tracks to ride in. After a nice one-mile run up and alongside the Erie tangent west of town, the trail breaks away from the railroad, and rides on the grade of an old rail line. A few telegraph poles here and there, and piles of well-rotted ties mark a beautiful, canopied, and well-forested "Towners Woods." This 2-mile section is the highlight of the trail... Absolutely peaceful, serene, and silent. This place would be fantastic under fall foliage. At Mile 4.7, the trail comes back out alongside the Erie, and diverges immediately into the parking area for Towners Woods Park. The big, concrete structure with the brick bay window is a VERY significant priceless relic. This was the Pennsylvania Railroad's "Brady Lake" interlocking tower. Pennsy had 463 of these on its system. Switches and signals were controlled from a machine on the top floor, a fascinating and once common operation. The railed sidewalk down to the PRR's old Alliance-Cleveland line was used by the tower operators to take down and hand up train orders to the engine and caboose (PRR "cabin cars") as they passed. The rods coming out of the tower base at trackside were mechanical throws to the switches down at track level. This weird and unusual arrangement was due to the fact that Pennsy's line used to run up at tower level, before the "trench" was dug. This leads me to believe that the two miles of trail east of the tower was that original old main line. And/or was it the old New York Central's line extending west from this area, earlier the old P&O (Pennsylvania and Ohio canal bed? We now cross over the former Pennsy's (now NS) main line in the trench, and resume following the Erie main line. At Mile 5.5, smooth asphalt pavement picks up for the remainder of the trail. At Mile 7.7 and 8.0, we encounter a set of large BEAUTIFUL color historical plaques which depict the heydays of both the Erie Railroad and the P&O canal at Kent. The P&O plaque overlooks a wonderful section of the old 1840 New Castle, PA to Akron canal bed, and the Erie plaques show "then and now" images of the Erie's main yard here between New York and Chicago, circa 1954. As you see by the way CSX's old B&O main obviously sits in the old canal bed west of the plaque, we railfans mourn the Erie yard's roundhouse stalls which "leak out" from the trees and overgrowth of the woods this facility once sat in. Nevertheless, several WONDERFUL displays to be in awe and admniration of here near the west end of the trail. The trail crosses a new, trail-dedicated bridge over CSX's old B&O main (live and well) and the Cuyahoga River, at the east end of Kent. Try the old A&GW depot's restaurant for a historical and fabulous lunch or dinner sometime. The depot is visible, about a half-mile west of the new trail bridge. Work continues on extending the trail to the west. Kudos to everyone who has played a part in making this trail one wonderful, historical transportation history smorgasbord! -Rich Ballash, 8-30-2013
I biked on that trail a few days ago. Weather was perfect. Yes it goes through some nice country. But I was disappointed with the trail. I was expecting most of it to be paved. Less than half was. In the unpaved portions I was expecting the same flat fairly smooth surface as much of the Towpath Trail through Peninsula. But there were stretches that were not gravel, but sharp ROCKS, some an inch in diameter. I have biked on many trails. This is the worst trail I have ever been on. If you're testing bikes for durability, this is a great trail. If you value your bike, stay off this trail.
The 8-mile portion of the Portage from Crain Ave. in Kent to Peck Rd. in Ravenna is indeed open, despite the current overview listed and the information listed on the Portage Park District website. Work is underway on the pedestrian bridge over the Cuyahoga at Crain Ave. that will eventually link the trail south to River Front Park in Kent and beyond. Additional work is underway from Tannery Park to Fred Fuller Park to improve the trail. It's still in progress, but I'm hoping by next spring, it will be ready for all of us to enjoy!
8/1/2010
I was excited to ride the newly completed north section of the Portage Bike & Hike Trail. Their on-line trail map shows connections to the Akron Bike & Hike Trail (ABC trail). The map is apparently a couple years old, and shows some sections as under construction, but a footnote claims: "Trail sections denoted as 'Construction 2007-2008' or 'Construction 2009' are now completed and open to the public."
I started my ride from the Rte 303 trailhead, going SE on the north branch of the Akron Bike and Hike Trail. A familiar ride I've enjoyed before. The trail turns south, to loop around to the south branch. At Fairchild Road, I took the bike lane west into downtown Kent, planning to join up with the new Portage trail across the river. Just before reaching Kent, the bike lane ends. No signs or indications of any bike route. I do a little seat of the shorts navigating and get across the river and into old downtown Kent. But where's the new Portage trail?
Reality check!
Portage County and the city of Kent do not mark their trails or bike routes.
The Portage trailmap footnote is not honest. Some of the construction is completed. Some is not.
The trailmap on this site (TrailLink.com) is not up to date. It fails to show some extensions. (At least it doesn't portray non-existant sections as open for use.)
The trail through downtown Kent may exist in the minds of the developers, but you can't ride it!
Northwest out of Kent, the trail begins at the east end of the Crain Avenue bridge. Remember, Portage County and the City of Kent do not mark their trails or bike routes! The trail runs north and east along the railroad tracks towards the Ravenna Aresenal, finally dead-ending at Peck Road, northeast of Ravenna.
There is a drinking fountain at Towner's Woods Park, but the water did not appear fit for consumption.
Doubling back, I hoped to ride through Kent and join up with the south branch of the Akron Bike & Hike Trail, and return to the Rte 303 trailhead. Though there is no trail through downtown Kent, paralleling the river is easy on city streets. Until you get to Summit Street. The Portage Trail map shows a completed trail from Summit Street, along the south side of the Cuyahoga River. I didn't find it. But remember, Portage County and the City of Kent do not mark their trails or bike routes! After a few false starts, I took Summit Street west, across the river & up a hill. By chance, I found the trail leading west, off Stow Street, just before you cross the bridge to Fuller Park. At first, it doesn't even appear to be a bike trail, but then it becomes paved, has a boardwalk section along the river, and crosses to the opposite bank on a new bridge. It continues west along the river to Middlebury Road, where it dead ends. Think there'd be a sign to point you in the right direction?
To join up with the Akron Bike & Hike Trail, go north on Middlebury Road, across the bridge. Take the first left, on Akron Blvd. At Monroe Falls Kent Road, turn left and ride west to the trailhead, which IS well marked and has a large "you are here" map. The Akron Bike & Hike Trail is well marked and maintained. The Portage County trail developers don't have to go far to see how things should be done.
Back at the car, the odometer shows 59 miles! I think about 20 of those miles were tallied searching for trailheads. The weather was perfect. I didn't have any agenda or deadline. I enjoyed the ride!
Overall this trail is nice, scenic and not crowded.
The web site makes one believe that the trail is one continous trail from Middlebury Road to the Eastside of Ravenna. That is not true despite the disclaimer on their web site.
There is a nice Bike & Hike Trail section that starts at Fred Fuller Park and goes West and ends near the intersection of Middlebury Road and Rte 261. The trail is either crushed limestone or paved. There is a nice bridge that takes you over the Cuyahoga River. (This section of the trail is to eventually connect to the Freedom Secondary Trail that will run thru Tallmadge and North Akron and connect to the Towpath near Northside).
The section of the Bike and Hike Trail from Fred Fuller Park to Main Street is a hiking/walking trail only. The path is very narrow; one must navigate broken sewer pipes crossing the trail and many steep steps. From Main Street to Crain Avenue you must walk the downtown streets.
For biking purposes one must navigate the City Streets from Fred Fuller Park to Crain Avenue to start the next Biking Section.
The section from Crain Avenue to the East side of Ravenna is very nice. The trail is paved from Crain Ave to Lake Rockwell Road. There is a parking lot at Lake Rockwell Road, but no restrooms or trashcan. From Lake Rockwell Road East the trail is mainly crushed limestone (paved near intersections with the road).
Crossing Rte 14 and Rte 44 can be tricky (very busy road traffic and no traffic light).
Supposedly the trail goes as far East as Peck Road, but I've only ridden to Chestnut Hills Park.
In the 6 June 2009 issue of the "Akron Beacon Journal" they had a nice write up about this trail. A new 1.4 mile section has been completed and can be accessed from Fred Fuller Park from Middlebury Road.
The trail runs along the river. Going south it goes close to the intersection of Middlebury Road and Rte 261. Heading North it goes into downtown Kent.
The entrances to the Park from Middlebury Road were all blocked off. So I entered from the Stow Street entrance. Found nothing! Drove across the bridge over the Cuyahoga River (the trail supposedly runs along the river), still found nothing.
So if you want to ride this section you may want to call the Park District first so you won't be on a scavenger hunt like I was.
I've written the Park District about my disappointment.
It was an outstanding weather day, pure sun, mid 70s and a light breeze, when I set out on the Portage Hike and Bike Trail. I had read that the trail was now complete to the Crain Avenue Bridge, just off State Route 43. The trail map is outdated and unclear. The web site is not much better listing projects to be worked on in 2008 and 2009.
Arriving at the trailhead, I saw there was no sign or public parking lot. The neighboring businesses had all posted park at your own risk and be towed signs. I headed across the bridge and saw that the abandoned restaurant on the other side had a sign designating it as a parking lot for the trail. I wonder how long this will remain. I know there are plans in the near future to completely realign the roads and replace the bridge.
The first mile of this trail runs along the Cuyahoga River. You can't see it because of foliage. It then opens up to a more rural setting as it passes Beckwith’s Orchard where the surface changes from paved asphalt to fine gravel. This is an excellent orchard to stop at for some cider and apples in season. They were closed the evening I rode through. These first 2 miles are very smooth with nicely maintained new pavement. There is a trailhead with ample parking and maps next to Beckwith Orchard.
The trail is more scenic as it heads towards Towner’s Woods Park. The surface for the remainder of my ride was fine crushed limestone, similar to the Towpath Trail. The trail detours onto Ravenna Road for 500 feet as it enters Towner’s Woods and picks up again on the eastern edge of the parking lot.
The trail surface is in decent shape with a few ruts. It does however have some wild grass growing up through the surface, as well as, twigs and leaves. These were not that prevalent and did not lessen the smoothness of my ride. I think it is because the trail is not used much past the park. I was the lone person for the next 2+ miles on the trail. I think I passed a single jogger.
I believe the trail is complete for a little more than 7 miles. I turned around at 5.25 miles. Dusk was approaching, I was alone and I was uncertain how long or difficult ride back would be given hat this was my first time on the trail. The ride back to Kent was largely downhill on a very gentle grade. This trail is relatively flat. There is one crossroads near Ravenna where the grade change is noticeable.
I believe this trail is a hidden gem if you are looking to bike in solitude. There are only a few road crossings. There are few people on the trail. The scenery is not remarkable but typical Ohio woodlands, swamps and farms. Once the trail is completed into downtown Kent, I suspect its use will increase.
Note: If you use this map, it is not updated.
This trail is good for riding not a lot of hills. It needs paved, currently using crushed material on it. I don't think it is 23 miles
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