Find the top rated trails in Van Wert, whether you're looking an easy walking path or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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The St. Joseph River Greenway begins on the southern outskirts of the small town of St. Joe, not far from the Indiana–Ohio border. The short paved trail (just over 1 mile long) runs through a scenic...
The Lima Rotary Riverwalk trail follows the southeast bank of the meandering Ottowa River between Heritage Park southwest of Lima and Schoonover Park northeast of city center. At its north end, the...
The Decatur Greenway is an extensive collection of trails linking parks and other amenities on the eastern side of Decatur, Indiana. Begin your journey at the loop around Adams Memorial Hospital,...
The Celina Coldwater Bikeway is an early rail-with-trail project from the 1980s. Long a popular trail, users follow the Penn Central Railroad between the village of Coldwater and the city of Celina,...
The Rieke Park Trail runs behind the large community park in Auburn, Indiana, on an abandoned New York Central Railroad corridor. The paved trail is shaded for most of its route, although it emerges...
The Rivergreenway is an impressive 30-mile linear park that is part of a growing network of trails in the cities of Fort Wayne and New Haven. The Rivergreenway connects neighborhoods, historical...
The short Union City Gateway Trail is significant in that it was the first trail to cross the Indiana–Ohio border. A highlight along the paved pathway is the beautifully landscaped park on both sides...
The Wabash Cannonball Trail in northwest Ohio is actually two trails in one: its North Fork runs east–west for 46 miles and its South Fork makes up the balance of this nearly 63-mile trail. The forks...
The name Pufferbelly comes from the historical nickname for a steam locomotive. As of 2018, the rail-trail stretches 4.9 miles. The north end of the trail begins in the Pentolina Grove neighborhood...
The Blanchard River Greenway Bike Trail runs along a former Baltimore & Ohio Railroad corridor on the riverfront in downtown Findlay. The trail primarily courses through woodlands, with highlights...
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Findlay lies at the heart of Hancock County's 17-mile Heritage Trail. From the city center, the trail extends west to Litzenberg Memorial Woods and east to Van Horn Cemetery. The trail mostly follows...
The Miami & Erie Canal was built between 1825 and 1845, an engineering marvel stretching from Cincinnati to Toledo. This canal was heavily used until competition from the railroad caused the decline...
When envisioning a canal towpath trail, most people probably picture a path surfaced with crushed stone where mules once led barges up an adjacent canal. Indeed, this is what once occupied the site of...
The Canal Feeder Trail begins at Graceland Cemetery on the south end of Sidney and continues southwest on a former historical canal towpath dating back to the 1840s. The paved trail parallels the...
The DeKalb County Trail was constructed in 1976 and is called Indiana's first rail-trail. It runs between Morning Star Rd. at the Greenhurst Country Club in Auburn and Cedar Street along Wayne Street...
The Franklin Township Greenway Trail runs on flat terrain through conservation, agriculture and residential areas just beyond the southern shoreline of Grand Lake, Ohio’s largest inland lake. Portions...
The Wabash Cannonball Trail in northwest Ohio is actually two trails in one: its North Fork runs east–west for 46 miles and its South Fork makes up the balance of this nearly 63-mile trail. The forks...
The short Union City Gateway Trail is significant in that it was the first trail to cross the Indiana–Ohio border. A highlight along the paved pathway is the beautifully landscaped park on both sides...
The Blanchard River Greenway Bike Trail runs along a former Baltimore & Ohio Railroad corridor on the riverfront in downtown Findlay. The trail primarily courses through woodlands, with highlights...
The Celina Coldwater Bikeway is an early rail-with-trail project from the 1980s. Long a popular trail, users follow the Penn Central Railroad between the village of Coldwater and the city of Celina,...
The Decatur Greenway is an extensive collection of trails linking parks and other amenities on the eastern side of Decatur, Indiana. Begin your journey at the loop around Adams Memorial Hospital,...
The name Pufferbelly comes from the historical nickname for a steam locomotive. As of 2018, the rail-trail stretches 4.9 miles. The north end of the trail begins in the Pentolina Grove neighborhood...
The Rivergreenway is an impressive 30-mile linear park that is part of a growing network of trails in the cities of Fort Wayne and New Haven. The Rivergreenway connects neighborhoods, historical...
The St. Joseph River Greenway begins on the southern outskirts of the small town of St. Joe, not far from the Indiana–Ohio border. The short paved trail (just over 1 mile long) runs through a scenic...
The Canal Feeder Trail begins at Graceland Cemetery on the south end of Sidney and continues southwest on a former historical canal towpath dating back to the 1840s. The paved trail parallels the...
The Rieke Park Trail runs behind the large community park in Auburn, Indiana, on an abandoned New York Central Railroad corridor. The paved trail is shaded for most of its route, although it emerges...
The Miami & Erie Canal was built between 1825 and 1845, an engineering marvel stretching from Cincinnati to Toledo. This canal was heavily used until competition from the railroad caused the decline...
Findlay lies at the heart of Hancock County's 17-mile Heritage Trail. From the city center, the trail extends west to Litzenberg Memorial Woods and east to Van Horn Cemetery. The trail mostly follows...
The Lima Rotary Riverwalk trail follows the southeast bank of the meandering Ottowa River between Heritage Park southwest of Lima and Schoonover Park northeast of city center. At its north end, the...
The DeKalb County Trail was constructed in 1976 and is called Indiana's first rail-trail. It runs between Morning Star Rd. at the Greenhurst Country Club in Auburn and Cedar Street along Wayne Street...
The Oakwoods Trail system runs through a 155-acre nature preserve bordering Interstate 75 southwest of downtown Findlay. The preserve features a small lake, woodlands and meadows. The trails form...
The Franklin Township Greenway Trail runs on flat terrain through conservation, agriculture and residential areas just beyond the southern shoreline of Grand Lake, Ohio’s largest inland lake. Portions...
When envisioning a canal towpath trail, most people probably picture a path surfaced with crushed stone where mules once led barges up an adjacent canal. Indeed, this is what once occupied the site of...
The Miami & Erie Canal was built between 1825 and 1845, an engineering marvel stretching from Cincinnati to Toledo. This canal was heavily used until competition from the railroad caused the decline...
The Celina Coldwater Bikeway is an early rail-with-trail project from the 1980s. Long a popular trail, users follow the Penn Central Railroad between the village of Coldwater and the city of Celina,...
The Lima Rotary Riverwalk trail follows the southeast bank of the meandering Ottowa River between Heritage Park southwest of Lima and Schoonover Park northeast of city center. At its north end, the...
The Wabash Cannonball Trail in northwest Ohio is actually two trails in one: its North Fork runs east–west for 46 miles and its South Fork makes up the balance of this nearly 63-mile trail. The forks...
The Rivergreenway is an impressive 30-mile linear park that is part of a growing network of trails in the cities of Fort Wayne and New Haven. The Rivergreenway connects neighborhoods, historical...
When envisioning a canal towpath trail, most people probably picture a path surfaced with crushed stone where mules once led barges up an adjacent canal. Indeed, this is what once occupied the site of...
The DeKalb County Trail was constructed in 1976 and is called Indiana's first rail-trail. It runs between Morning Star Rd. at the Greenhurst Country Club in Auburn and Cedar Street along Wayne Street...
The Franklin Township Greenway Trail runs on flat terrain through conservation, agriculture and residential areas just beyond the southern shoreline of Grand Lake, Ohio’s largest inland lake. Portions...
Findlay lies at the heart of Hancock County's 17-mile Heritage Trail. From the city center, the trail extends west to Litzenberg Memorial Woods and east to Van Horn Cemetery. The trail mostly follows...
The Canal Feeder Trail begins at Graceland Cemetery on the south end of Sidney and continues southwest on a former historical canal towpath dating back to the 1840s. The paved trail parallels the...
The St. Joseph River Greenway begins on the southern outskirts of the small town of St. Joe, not far from the Indiana–Ohio border. The short paved trail (just over 1 mile long) runs through a scenic...
The Rieke Park Trail runs behind the large community park in Auburn, Indiana, on an abandoned New York Central Railroad corridor. The paved trail is shaded for most of its route, although it emerges...
The Oakwoods Trail system runs through a 155-acre nature preserve bordering Interstate 75 southwest of downtown Findlay. The preserve features a small lake, woodlands and meadows. The trails form...
The Blanchard River Greenway Bike Trail runs along a former Baltimore & Ohio Railroad corridor on the riverfront in downtown Findlay. The trail primarily courses through woodlands, with highlights...
The Decatur Greenway is an extensive collection of trails linking parks and other amenities on the eastern side of Decatur, Indiana. Begin your journey at the loop around Adams Memorial Hospital,...
The short Union City Gateway Trail is significant in that it was the first trail to cross the Indiana–Ohio border. A highlight along the paved pathway is the beautifully landscaped park on both sides...
The name Pufferbelly comes from the historical nickname for a steam locomotive. As of 2018, the rail-trail stretches 4.9 miles. The north end of the trail begins in the Pentolina Grove neighborhood...
I rode this trail in October 2018. The Celina Coldwater Bikeway is a straight as an arrow converted rail line that connects the two towns of Celina and Coldwater, Ohio. As with most of the farmland in the western Ohio, it is very flat with little variation in elevation. This allows the rider to ride at a good clip and cover quite a bit of ground. On this Sunday, there were a number of bikers, walkers, and runners out on the trail, but it was not busy at all.
An interesting feature of this trail is how they mark mileage. There are two sets of tiles that are placed along the trail indicating how far you have ridden from your starting town. Heading south out of Celina the markers are green and heading north out of Coldwater the markers are red. They are placed in the pavement every quarter mile and at the end of the trail with a 4.61 mile marker which is the length of the trail. In addition when you reach a street crossing, there will be a sign telling you the name of the road and the exact mileage to the town you are heading toward.
The Celina Coldwater Bikeway is a nice trail for what it is, a local commuter trail. It is not a trail I would recommend going out of your way to ride. But for these two local communities it serves a purpose. Looking at the map of the area around Grand Lake St. Marys I could see that a plan could be drawn up to use the CCB, the Franklin Township Greenway, and the Miami & Erie Canal Towpath could be used as the basis of creating a greenway all the way around Grand Lake in the future.
I use to spend hours on the old railway as a teen. I would walk from Washington Center Road past Smith Field all the way out to Gump Road and back. When the rails and ties were pulled the land owners blocked access to the trail. It will be great to see part of it reopened. My son spent hours with me on a bench at the airfield watching the planes land and take off.
This trail is very nice. There are several starting points depending on how many hills you want to climb. The newest section of the trail which begins on North St and goes east of town is in excellent condition with interesting terrain. However if you want to ride this section the turn off is not well marked. Beginning on the north side of North St (near Lima Senior HS) you will need to ride on a shared sidewalk traveling east. This turns into the path about 1/3 mile just past the water plant. You can also choose to start from the east. Lots of fun.
The Union City Gateway Trail is a tribute to this Indiana-Ohio border town's railroad history. Union City has preserved it's old train station and celebrates it's unique status as a two state city on this trail. While the trail has some unique and interesting features it's short length make it nothing more than a local recreational trail. Only railroad buffs and perhaps trail completists are likely to travel any distance to check out this trail. Previous reviewer Rich Ballash thinks that the trail could be extended to nearby Greenville, but given the rural nature of the area I see that an unlikely proposition unless Darke County Commissioners get a healthy dose of Clean Ohio Fund Money from the state legislature. Besides, I think that the county government is more likely to look to extend the Ohio to Indiana Trail or Ohio Bike Route 36 before extending this small little trail.
I rode this trail as part of a plan to ride all Ohio trails listed at TrailLink.com. The northern-most trailhead is located at the back of Graceland Cemetery in Sydney, Ohio. When you enter the cemetery keep driving to the left and back of the cemetery to find the parking lot. I'm not sure how old this trail is but it is currently well maintained and well marked with distance and historical markers. At present this trail is best described as a local recreational trail. There is potential to expand this trail south to Lockington and on to Piqua, Ohio where it could connect to larger regional destination trail the Great Miami River Trail. I hope local and county leaders and trail partners see this as a goal!
We live between the trails at the eastern end near Jerome Road. Both forks are great for biking until they end as described in the data, and both become paths for hiking or horseback riding but cannot recommend for biking. That being said, there are consistent stories whenever you stop to talk with other bikers that the paving completion into Fulton county to make this a full 60+ biking trail are at least in the early planning stages. Hopefully this can be done in 2019 as that would make this a real jewel trail for this part of Ohio. The paved parts currently available are great and highly recommend a diversion off the north trail into Oak Openings Park whenever you visit and ride the trails.
One of the best perks of living near the Rivergreenway is the ability to commute to work. The Rivergreenway connects most of Fort Wayne. It is well maintained and is a great way to see the city!
Wow! First time on the trail and parked in West Unity. Beautiful hiking path with canopy of trees for cover. What a jewel for NW Ohio.
I will be visiting and joining the Conservancy.
Sincerely,
M. Freeman
Well taken care of with multiple resting stops. Beautiful riverside views for all ages
As of November 2017, this trail is not yet finished and the completed sections are not yet connected. Still, the parts that are finished are a joy to travel.
The Wabash Cannonball Trail in Fulton, Henry, and Williams Counties in Ohio is owned and maintained by our all volunteer group, the Northwest Ohio Rails to Trails Association, NORTA. We have regular work days on the trail, and try to keep up with maintenance on the sections we own.
In the summer of 2017, we were able to acquire "ground up pavement" for the trail surface in Williams county. A larger tire bike will have no problems on that section. If you like to "mountain" bike, the rest of the trail is rideable.
Sometime in 2018, the eastern most section of the trail in Fulton County will be paved to our offices at St. Rt. 109. We're working to find the safest way to get around the active train track in that area.
The Trail also has a section of certified North County Scenic Trail. Check it out. If you are hiking the NCT and need a place to camp or just need a Trail Angel, contact us.
We look forward to meeting you! And bring your loppers and rakes to help keep the trail cleared.
P.S. Yes, it's flat and straight. That's how the Wabash Cannonball Train was able to reach the speeds it did!
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