ohio and erie canal towpath trail

I can bike to the towpath trailhead from my house and love taking trips down the path through Peninsula and sometimes all the way to Akron. I love biking on the trail for general exercise, a nature break, or past Pedal to the Point training. One of the best trails in Cleveland!

Even if you aren't a bike rider, bring one or rent one and enjoy this path along Ohio's historic Erie Canal. Be with nature while getting some exercise. Stop and look for for critters in the ponds. Hear the stories of how the canal was used and see how a real lock operated. I'm not in good shape but the path is surprisingly pretty flat and fairly easy ride.

You can imagine yourself in the wilderness or along the canal in 1850 at several points along the trail. We often see deer, turtles, great blue herons and many other birds as we ride our bikes south. We enjoy the $3 train ride back when we've had enough. Lunch in Peninsula is always great at either restaurant. Like the art shops there as well. Enough people to feel safe but rarely enough to feel crowded.

this path goes from Harvard Ave to Akron, very nice trail with most away from urban congestion. You will see lots of animals, muskrats, bald eagle nesting area, deer only feet away, fox, blue herons, & many others. i found a huge snapping turtle on trail when biking,

I rode from Peninsula into Tremont and back. It is a terrific ride. Great Scenery. Well marked trail. Good places to stop in Valley View, Tremont/Ohio City & Steelyard Commons. Shorten the trip and take the historic railway in one direction if you have children with you. It is a little crowded on the weekend, but still a great ride.

Park at any of the trail heads and walk for days. Well maintained trail, with plenty of room for bikes, walkers and joggers.

If you're looking for a nice quiet walk or bike ride you should definitely take this path. It's hard to find a nice paved, quiet, path to walk your dog, roller skate, or travel sometimes. The scenery is great, the entirely paved path is nice, the people who also travel this path are polite. It's just an all around great trail.

Access is easy from numerous spots. We started at Brecksville station: adequate parking, restrooms, and nice picnicking. From there we rode south to Boston Mills (including a rest stop and store with sandwiches and ice cream). Then back north to the exploration center. Half was asphalt, and half was crushed limestone, and most of the time there was the river on one side and the canal on the other. We saw turtles and ducks and many beautiful wildflowers. The best part is exploring the remnants of the locks: each is different in its own way, and the informational signs are very interesting. During a previous ride we took the train from Boston Mills to Boczum. We still need to explore the trail further north. Take your camera.

Easy trail along canal towpath through fields and forests. Don't miss chance to explore old lock ruins and the working lock at the Canal Museum. Relax and learn some interesting Ohio history in the same location.

the tow path has great views and is well maintained and is a great place for a run,walk or bike ride

Seems like this can not get any better. With so many bike tarils like the towpath, how safe can you get for ride your bike this.

I am surprised that there are so few or no more comments about this part of Ohio wilderness and history. Growing up in and around Akron last century taught me something about the Erie Canal. I worked near the center of Akron where the Canal made its passage southward to Canton. Towpath Trail was added later to the name and geographical description of the region extending southward. I know the territory south to Canton and Stark County even as far south as Bolivar, Zoar, Navarre and New Philadelphia or Dover in near by Tuscawaras County. I have explored the trail as it goes up north. But urban beauty of this trail should not be allowed to disfigure your memory of it further south. Things are quite different southward. Growing up in Summit County brought me into contact with this historical information. Towns like Peninsula and others north of Akron still harbor a storm of desirably good qualities for liking the trail as it goes up north. But I like the rural parts of trail region as much as the urban parts. Maybe more so. Yes there are bike trails and hiking trails. I wonder how the emissions of gasoline and oil from mountain or motorbikes will affect the environment. There are important historical places to be dealt with and learned about in this region south of Akron. Fort Laurens is one example. Bolivar and Zoar are two others. The NFL Hall of Fame in Canton has little trouble attracting people, but by comparison these small towns and historically important forts could benefit from seeing the NFL football crowd make a visit or two each week. Reading about national and Ohio history is a prerequisite for visiting these places. Forget for a moment about collecting antiques. Learn about the history of the region. Now this same trail does extend up north toward Cleveland and this is one of the benefits of living here. Many parts of Summit County are still wilderness areas that deserve to be explored. If you need a reason to study geography and geology here it is in abundance. Universities would do themselves a favor by using this trail as an incentive to study Ohio history. I imagine it is possible to obtain a bachelor's degree value of knowledge by visiting and walking the trail. The walking experience from being in Akron and walking the trail inside Summit County through downtown Akron is surely worth a small book. This is especially so since many old parts of downtown Akron have been redesigned with urban renewal and costly rehabilitation of the downtown area. I am a boating fanatic and I like to canoe or go boating. There are numerous chances to do this along the trail. Go there especially south of Canton in and around New Philadelphia and Dover. Tuscawaras River will be the place to begin. Many places to rent boats are available as tourism has caught this region by pleasant surprise. Route 250 leads further south from Tuscawaras and Carroll County toward Cadiz and is not part of the trail but it does represent what has been done in Ohio to beautify the state with additional state parks. Places like Malvern, Paris, Minerva and the like need to be seen.This is the boundary area that begins to separate rural Ohio from many parts of urban Ohio. This area contains the foothills of the Appalachian mountains and is the beginning of a different cultural environment. Make no mistake about that! This is Carroll County. Numerous road side stands where people are selling fruit can be found here. I have heard of people driving their cars down interstate 77 to get to a trail head near Dover or Ulrichsville - but that is cheating a little. Take time and paddle a canoe and photograph the landscape. Some parts of this area is in the television station viewing area for reception from Cleveland. This fact surprises people. Three or more universities and colleges can be found in the region especially two or three branches of Kent State University to offer a different form of education available for younger and older students alike. In this respect the region is somewhat different. This area south of Canton is still rural Ohio and things are quite different here than they are up north. Diversity of Ohio is worth your time to explore for this reason too. Many years ago I drove my car to regular employment south of Canton and I became knowledgeable with the region. So much of the area is farm country and it remains as such stubbornly. As you move south of Tuscawaras county then you are getting deep into rural Ohio - appalachian Ohio to be sure. Poverty still abounds here. Elements of the bible belt remain in place. To summarize, places like Brewster and Osnaburg deserve a visit. Alliance is pretty far from the trail but it might deserve a visit for seeing the college atmosphere that has dominated the town for years - Mount Union. Higher education has led many young people to follow different career paths. Follow the entire Tuscawaras river south of Canton and you will see the importance of the river for the trail itself. Go there and enjoy the beauty. In the greater geographical region there are small lakes. Be sure to visit Akron however. Erie canal began to lose its importance south of Akron before many people realized what had happened to Ohio and national history.

We biked the southern portion from Zoar to Navarre. Zoar to Bolivar is intermittent packed gravel and packed (but muddy) earth. Mountain bikes or hybrids are fine, not so much road bikes. There is a gap at Bolivar. IGNORE the signage in Bolivar, it leads you to nowhere. Going north, the trail ends at Ft Laurens, take a right onto SR 102. In Bolivar, ignoring the multiple signs to go east, continue to the junction with SR 212 West on Poplar Street. Take SR 212 to the new trailhead (with signs for a canoe livery). Going south, from the new trailhead, turn south left on SR 212, then right onto Park Ave, SR 102 in Bolivar and go to Ft Laurens.