Ohio to Erie Trail

The Ohio to Erie Trail is a rail trail in the state of Ohio, spanning from the Ohio River in Cincinnati in the southwestern corner of the state to Cleveland in the northeast. The trail is 85% completed as of December 2014. You can follow the progress of construction and view a map of the trail on its website.

Understand

Map of Ohio to Erie Trail

The trail is sometimes called State Bike Route 1.

Prepare

What you should prepare for depends on what part of the trail you intend to use.

Single Metro Only

Any bike, ideally road or electric.
A bike helmet, reflectors, and lights.
A water bottle

Full Length List

A road bike that you're comfortable riding on mostly flat roads. Electric bikes may have difficulty making some stretches.
A Bicycle Helmet, reflectors, lights, and spare batteries if not using a dynamo.
Water Bottle and a snack (Refill when possible)
Co2 cartridges or a portable pump, a patch kit, and spare innertube.
A cell phone and charger to call for help if needed.

Depending on how much of the path you want to travel, it's wise to budget some money to pick up spares along the way. Major cities have dedicated bike stores, small cities may only have big box stores for bike parts, and villages may only have food and water, with smaller hamlets often having no shops at all.

Get in

The trail is ideal for foot and cyclist traffic. Some sections permit horse and buggy traffic as well.

Go/Walk/Ride

Greater Cincinnati

39.111-84.5191 Cincinnati
39.17472-84.284172 Milford From here to Xenia the trail merges with the Little Miami Bike Trail
39.268889-84.2705563 Loveland

Greater Dayton

39.426667-84.21254 South Lebanon
39.6836-83.93815 Xenia End of the Little Miami Bike Trail and a major area bike hub.
- 39.6803-83.93131 Xenia Station, 150 Miami Avenue. 1998 replica of Xenia's 1880s brick railroad station. Has restrooms and drinking water. Now the hub for a number of rail trails. Has connecting bike paths to Dayton and the college town of Yellow Springs. (updated Aug 2017)
39.7428-83.80726 Cedarville Small college town.

Greater Columbus

39.8253-83.63677 South Charleston
39.887466-83.4450418 London
39.8934-83.21611 Camp Chase Trail (Ohio to Erie Trail), 275 S. Wilson Road, Columbus (West Broad St to 275 South Wilson Road), ☏ +1 614 645 3111, toll-free: +1-800-BUCKEYE (2825393). Daylight hours. 16 mile paved trail between Columbus and London; 2 locations for public parking and trail access. (updated Aug 2017)
- 39.947349-83.1029072 Columbus Wilson Road Park - Drinking Fountain, Portable Restroom, Lighted Picnic Area, Bike Repair Station and tire pump, Parking Lot - 275 S. Wilson Road, Columbus
- 39.88833-83.2134563 Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park - Restrooms, Picnic Area, Canoe Access, Overnight Car Parking - 8465 Alkire Rd, Galloway
39.976-83.0119 Columbus Passes through the southern end of the city, the downtown core, The Ohio State University, and the Northeastern end of the city.
40.0914-83.020810 Worthington
40.1236-82.921411 Westerville A northern suburb of Columbus.
40.2428-82.860612 Sunbury
40.3044-82.695613 Centerburg a small village and the geographic center of Ohio.

Camp Chase Trail

The Camp Chase Trail is 16 mi (26 km) total, with 3 mi (4.8 km) in Madison County and 13 mi (21 km) in Franklin County, Ohio. The Camp Chase Trail is a segment of the Ohio to Erie to Trail and the US Bicycle Route 50.

Communities adjacent to the trail

39.8866-83.448814 London, Ohio
Lilly Chapel
Georgesville
Galloway
Cherry Creek, Columbus
Georgian Heights, Columbus
Holly Hill, Columbus
Hilltop, Columbus
Westgate, Columbus
Highland West, Columbus
Valleyview, Ohio (enclave of Columbus)
Grandview Heights, Columbus

Trailside amenities

Southern Trailhead: Roberts Pass Trail Wilson Rd, London — restrooms, Bike Rack, Car Parking, No Water]
Trailside Shelter: — covered 2-sided shelter, picnic table, bike rack
Battelle Darby Creek Trailhead: 8465 Alkire Rd, Galloway — restrooms, picnic area, canoe access, car parking, no drinking water
Columbus Wilson Road Park, 275 S. Wilson Road, Columbus — drinking fountain, portable restroom from spring to fall, lighted picnic area, Bike repair station and tire pump, parking lot]
Northern Trailhead: N. Eureka Ave north of Columbus Holton Park ^{[dead link]} Columbus

Local attractions

Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park. 8465 Alkire Road, Galloway;
39.943798-83.0756162 Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery, 2900 Sullivant Avenue, Columbus, ☏ +1 937 262-2115.
Historic National Road
Columbus Rec and Parks: Big Run Park and Athletic Complex^{[dead link]}, Westgate Park^{[dead link]}, WestmoorPark^{[dead link]}, Holton Park^{[dead link]}, Glenview Park^{[dead link]}
Columbus Rec and Parks: Wilson Road Park^{[dead link]} and Camp Chase Trail head
Hollywood Casino Columbus

Amish Country

40.3928-82.481115 Mount Vernon The county seat of Knox County.
40.3764-82.396716 Gambier a small college town.
40.446944-82.26111117 Danville a small village with a branch library you could rest at.
40.4683-82.191918 Gann a small village that is also known as Brinkhaven.
40.4981-81.983319 Killbuck a small village.
40.55472-81.9177820 Millersburg the county seat of Holmes County.
40.6294-81.922221 Holmesville a small village.
40.6772-81.8722 Fredericksburg a small village. 16 km (9.9 mi) north to Wooster, a nearby city.
40.7992-81.696923 Dalton a small village. 11 km (6.8 mi) northwest to Orrville, a small city.

Greater Akron

40.795-81.5227824 Massillon
40.8897-81.595325 Canal Fulton
40.9233-81.633126 Clinton
41.015833-81.60583327 Barberton
41.073056-81.51777828 Akron

Greater Cleveland

41.241667-81.5497224 Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Passes through Peninsula, then back into the park)
41.489-81.69929 Cleveland

Stay safe

Some sections of the trail share a road with motorists. Area motorists don't always share the road, so it's important to maintain awareness during these sections.

While Ohio itself does not have a bicycle helmet law, local cities along and nearby the trail might. Night riders are required to use front and rear lights and reflectors. Using this equipment will keep you out of trouble with local police, in addition to improving your visibility.

Go next

This itinerary to Ohio to Erie Trail is a usable article. It explains how to get there and touches on all the major points along the way. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page.