Ohio to Erie Trail Bike Tour

Day 1: We’ll meet in Cleveland on the shores of Lake Erie. Our hotel is within walking distance of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. If you’ve never had the chance to explore this wonderful museum, be sure to get your ticket ahead of time and arrive earlier in the day. We’ll meet for a rental bike fitting at 2:00pm followed by an orientation at 5:00pm and then dinner. 0 miles.

Day 2: We officially begin our Ohio to Erie Trail bicycle tour after breakfast at picturesque Edgewater Park on the shores of Lake Erie. With the famous Cleveland sign and the downtown skyline as our backdrop, we’ll take a quick group photo and then get on our way on the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail.

Completed in 1832, the canal connected Cleveland on Lake Erie to Portsmouth on the Ohio River, creating the state’s most important superhighway. More significantly, it connected the Ohio frontier with New York and New Orleans and helped fuel westward expansion.

We’ll bike through gorgeous Cuyahoga Valley National Park and finish the day in downtown Akron. You should have time to explore on your own before dinner if you have the energy. 46 miles +1247’/-1006’.

Day 3: We’ll leave Akron behind as we savor the forests, fields, and wetlands that flank the trail. Eventually, we’ll go off trail and onto picturesque rural roads with rolling hills. Just before we finish the ride, we'll stop at the Spring Hill historic home for a private tour about its importance as an Underground Railroad site. Then it’s a gentle downhill into Massillon, our home for the night. 30 miles ±449'.

Day 4: Today’s ride takes place in the heart of Ohio’s Amish country, and the second largest settlement of Amish in the United States after Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County. Expect to share the trail with local residents traveling by horse and buggy.

Perhaps the most photogenic part of the day is when we cross the Mohican River near Brinkhaven via the Bridge of Dreams. This 370-foot covered bridge is the third longest covered bridge in the country. Listening to the clip-clop of horse-drawn buggies traveling the bridge is a sound to cherish. For dinner, we've planned a special Amish experience. 38 miles +1302’/-1426’.

Day 5: Today’s cycling is a sampler plate of urban, suburban, small town and park-like surroundings along multiple regional trails that are part of the Ohio to Erie Trail system. You’ll get a real taste for small town Americana as you pass through rural communities and ride along forests, prairies, and wetlands. 

We’ll stay the night in the center of Mount Vernon, a well-groomed college town. You can explore it at your own pace, as dinner is on your own tonight. 40 miles +1256’/-1067’.

Day 6: As we leave charming Mount Vernon today, we'll quickly come upon the Ariel-Foundation Park. An old glass factory has been repurposed into a charming green space and public art venue with an observation tower, park museum, labyrinth and three lovely lakes that were once gravel quarries. 

Soak up the solitude while you can because the landscape changes dramatically as you approach Ohio’s largest and fastest-growing urban area, Columbus. We’ll stay in the heart of the Arch City’s University District, home to The Ohio State University. 52 miles +870’/-1152'.

Day 7: We ride to the Bicycle Capital of the Midwest today! Xenia prides itself on being the regional hub where four major paved bike trails converge. The city’s name comes from the Greek word meaning “hospitality,” and its inhabitants have always taken it seriously. It was also once a safe haven for enslaved people traveling to freedom along the Underground Railroad.

It's a long day today, so you can take your time at our picnic lunch and at dinner on your own tonight. 59 miles +1116’/-909'.

Day 8: We leave Xenia continuing south, with our trail skipping back and forth over the Little Miami River. About halfway through our ride, we'll detour from the river for a picnic lunch at the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Fort Ancient Earthworks and Nature Reserve.

This Native American complex is believed to have been constructed 2000 years ago as a gathering place of people from across the continent for ceremonial purposes. There is evidence that the builders valued the winter and summer solstice and understood the 18.6 year lunar cycle. It feels like an extraordinary and sacred place.

We'll stop for the night in Milford, just a short distance from our final destination, for our last dinner together. 54 miles +1069'/-1438'.

Day 9: As we approach Cincinnati, the ride is enchanting, with photo ops all along the way. We'll meet our van for one last group photo opp. Then we'll load up the bikes and shuttle back to the Cleveland airport and to your car, arriving by 5:00pm. If you're flying home out of the Cincinnati airport, a taxi or ride service should get you there by 12:30pm. 20 miles ±552'.

Echoing the state song, let’s sing a happy farewell: “Beautiful Ohio, thy wonders are in view, land where my dreams all come true!"

BIKE TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:

• Traffic-free cycling on bike paths
  
• Cuyahoga Valley National Park
• Underground Railroad historic tour
• Amish Country
• UNESCO World Heritage site Fort Ancient Earthworks
• Cleveland, Akron, Columbus and Cincinnati
• Small town Midwestern hospitality