Making My Way on Bicycle

 I Enjoyed Trails in Marietta, Yellow Springs and Peninsula

A trail in Marietta passes beneath a bridge that crosses the Ohio River to West Virginia. This photo was taken in 2021.

By Anna Krejci

The history of transportation in Ohio can be an interesting topic.   For someone interested in travel, it is hardly an afterthought to think about various modes of transportation available in a city now and in the past.

I love being on biking trails in Ohio because they intersect so much with history.  Ohio has at least three trails that I love to bike along.  The Little Miami Scenic Trail in Yellow Springs was transformed from a railroad into a biking and hiking trail.  Running north and south through the state, the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail was the path by which canal operators pulled boats by mule to transport goods before the railroads came.  The recreational trail in Marietta showcases the Ohio and Muskingum rivers – and their bridges - near the border with West Virginia.  Transportation history is exciting.  It is also intriguing to think about the time travel one can do by reading the history of railroads, canals and bridges in these locales and then by setting out on a bike ride.

An Adventurous Trail in Marietta

Marietta was a Northwest Territory settlement established in 1788 after ex-officers in the American Revolutionary War were given land there by the government in exchange for their service.  Besides visiting the Campus Martius Museum, which taught me about Rufus Putnam who started the settlement, and the Ohio River Museum that informed me about the history of boat travel and rivers, I saw that Marietta had interesting shops and restaurants, was the site of Marietta College, and had a neat biking and walking trail.

 Of all the things I did during my last visit there, my favorite part was riding a bicycle on a lovely trail by the rivers. Warm weather on a sunny weekday in June made the conditions perfect.  I rode bikes with my husband.  We found a business that rents bikes and walked them to the trail, which was winding and under a mix of sun and shade.  The breeze I generated as I rode was a wash of mild and comfortable air.  It thrilled me!  We passed bridges and neighborhoods where porches faced the river.  It convinced me the river was a main attraction of this town.  In addition to passing by the downtown businesses, we passed through a park, which was beautifully landscaped.  As bicyclists, we shared the paved trail with pedestrians, but not with cars.  I traveled at moderate speed, and it made me feel free. I don’t ride frequently, so renting a bicycle was the right choice for me.  The trail was flat, so I did not overexert myself.  It was a treat.  As a convenient mode of travel, I could pull over and stop to look at my surroundings and not worry about holding up foot traffic or other bicyclists.

Yellow Springs Has a Gorgeous Trail

The Hyde Road covered bridge spans above the Little Miami Scenic Trail south of downtown Yellow Springs, in 2023.

Besides being known for its unique stores and restaurants, Yellow Springs is on the Little Miami Scenic Trail that links Xenia to Yellow Springs, a 10-mile ride. Corey and I biked on a nicely shaded section from Yellow Springs south toward Xenia during a visit there one August.  I passed the Glen Helen Nature Preserve, which had hiking trails and the spring for which the village was named. I also passed a riding stable, a field of crops and beneath the Hyde Road covered bridge before turning back the way I came.  It was about a 6-mile round trip.  The early morning was a wonderful time to cycle on a less crowded trail in cooler weather.

Riding the Towpath Trail is a Journey I Love

I pose with a rented bicycle on the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail near Peninsula, Ohio. The Cuyahoga River appears behind me in 2019.

Peninsula is a lovely town that is a stop on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, as well as a trailhead for the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail that runs through Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  Corey and I found a business in town that rented bicycles to us, and we headed north to the village of Boston, where there was a store and a small replica of a historic canal boat.  The trail was flat and passed beneath shade trees, as well as through sunny areas.  It follows the Cuyahoga River, and it was fun to see the water coursing along its way as we rode.  After passing the village of Boston, we turned around and rode back the way we came.  Peninsula had places to eat, which was nice after we completed our ride and returned our bicycles.  I would go back to Peninsula to ride because it was such a wonderful experience.

I hope I have more biking days ahead.  So far, I have found enjoyable biking excursions in the Ohio towns of Marietta, Yellow Springs and Peninsula.  There are more places to discover by bicycle.  The Little Miami Scenic Trail is part of a larger network of trails in the western part of the state and the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail runs north and south through Ohio.  A thing I appreciate about Ohio is that residents seem to care about maintaining these natural areas for recreation.  It certainly is a tradition that I hope continues.

Note: Parts of this post were previously displayed on Outbound Ohio in 2023. I visited the trails mentioned above between 2019 and 2023.

Resource

The Ohio Department of Transportation has a map of bike trails across Ohio and refers readers to more information. You can click on the link below to see the map.

https://www.transportation.ohio.gov/traveling/bicycling-and-pedestrians/resources/ohio-bike-path-brochure