The Ohio To Erie Trail is not really a single trail. It is more of a route than a trail. The Ohio To Erie Trail is composed of many other trails each with their own name. They are the Little Miami Scenic Trail, Prairie Grass Trail, Roberts-Pass Trail, Camp Chase Trail, Scioto/Olentangy Trail, Westerville Trail, Genoa Township Trail, Heart Of Ohio Trail, Kokosing Gap Trail, Mohican Valley Trail, Holmes County Trail, Sippo Valley Trail and the Ohio-Erie Canal Towpath. From Cincinnati to Columbus I saw many signs saying I was on Ohio Bike Route 1 - Ohio To Erie Trail. After Columbus I did not see these signs. All of these trails are all purpose trails (bike paths) where motorized traffic prohibited. The users of these trails are bicyclists, walkers, runners, horseback riders, Amish buggies and hikers.
The Ohio To Erie Trail is on roads where there is no bike path to follow. I hiked on roads, without sidewalks, for about 40 miles and on roads with sidewalks for roughly 25 miles. The trail is about 80% complete. The road walking, with and without sidewalks, was enjoyable to me. I got to see some areas of Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland that I had never been to. The highlight of the road walking was hiking through Amish Country. This was quite an experience for me.
The trail is constantly changing. New sections are being added. Many other sections are in the planning phase. I saw several sections of trail under construction. Look for more paved, non-motorized trail in the future.
The biggest disadvantage of backpacking the Ohio To Erie Trail is the hiking on hard surfaces. All but about 70 miles of the trail is on asphalt, concrete or other hard surface. This was very hard on my feet. My feet hurt every day. You can reduce the number of miles on hard surfaces by walking in the grassy area next to the paved path. This proved to be very helpful to me. My advice is to hike on the grass before your feet start to hurt. Don't wait until your feet hurt before hiking in the grass. Not all of the trail has a grassy area next to it. Sometimes the trail is just too narrow to allow for off-the-side walking. Sometimes the off-to-the-side area is composed of large pieces of gravel which is difficult to walk on. Also the off-to-the-side area is where people allow their dogs to poop. Expect to see lots of dog poop here. The longest section of unpaved trail is roughly 55 miles on the Ohio-Erie Canal towpath. This section is mostly packed, crushed gravel. Packed, crush gravel was easier on my feet to hike on than pavement. But it still caused my feet hurt.
Lodging was not an issue. I was gone for 19 nights. The spent 8 nights in my tent, 8 nights in someone's house, one night in a hostel, one night in a primitive cabin and one night in a concrete building. I paid for lodging one night. That was at the hostel at Alexandra's B&B in London. The cost was $25. Three times I pitched my tent under a picnic shelter. One of those nights I had permission from the local mayor. I stealth camped 5 nights. In hindsight I am convinced I could of camped out every night. There are numerous stealth camping opportunities on the Ohio To Erie Trail even in the big cities. There are many hotels and motels along the route.
Resupply was easy. I went through at least one town every day. There are plenty of grocery stores and convenience stores on the trail. I did not carry much food. I did not do any mail drops. I recommend the resupply as you go method over mail drops for the Ohio To Erie Trail. There are plenty of restaurants, cafes and ice cream shops along the way. Too many!
I got almost all of my water from faucets. Only once did I get water from a swamp in Cuyahoga Valley National Park for coffee. Obtaining drinking water was easy. There are faucets and fountains. I also filled my water bottles at restaurants and convenience stores. When I stealth camped I studied the map and loaded up on water before I left town so I would have enough water for the night. As long as you don’t mind knocking on a stranger's door and asking for water there is plenty of water.
At the time of my hike there was no map or guidebook of the Ohio To Erie Trail. A map and a guidebook are in the works and should be available soon. For maps I visited the web site of each individual park district and printed the map of their section. I had over 30 maps. Each one was slightly different. I am glad that I had them as they were useful mostly for the mileage info. Some were easier to read than others. For the road walking maps I printed maps from Google Maps with the Bicycle Route Layer enabled. Before leaving home I studied each road walking section map in detail to get familiar with it. Sometimes I deviated from my planned route on the roads if traffic was too heavy. When I did walk on the roads I almost never took the direct route as this route was the busiest and most dangerous road.
Navigation on the Ohio To Erie Trail was easy. I did not get lost even once. It is very hard to get lost on a bike path. When two paths intersected there was always a sign indicating which direction to go. On the areas where I walked on roads or sidewalks there street signs which helped to navigate. I frequently used Google Maps and the GPS on my smartphone for a navigation aid. Navigation-wise the Ohio To Erie Trail is the easiest long distance trail I have ever hiked.
I hiked most of the journey solo. For two days I hiked with Mike "Scallion" Fanelli along the Ohio-Erie Canal Towpath. Bruce "Poppie" Purdy hiked six miles with me one day. Maria "Tiger Grrrl" Dimengo hiked the final five miles in Cleveland with me. I do most of my long distance hiking solo. The Ohio To Erie Trail is easy to hike solo.
In general I had excellent weather. The day I started, the day I ended and the day I hiked through Columbus I had warm and sunny weather. Because of the nice weather I enjoyed hiking in these large cities. The coldest temperature was my first night out. The low was in the upper 20 degrees. There was a hard frost on the ground in the morning. The warmest temperature was around 84 degrees. This was too hot, too quick for me. There was no shade from the trees as the leaves had not sprouted. I carried fleece clothes, a goose down jacket, hat and gloves for the cold weather and shorts, t-shirts, sunglasses and sunscreen for the hot weather. My biggest weather delight is that I did not have to hike in the rain once. It rained plenty of times in those twenty days but not when I was hiking. It rained on both of my zero days. It rained at night. It rained when I was inside buildings. But I did not have to hike in the rain whatsoever. Thank you Mother Nature!
The people I met along the way were very nice and helpful. I got a few looks or non-looks from people who thought I might be a homeless or transient person. By far though the people of Ohio were kind and friendly to me. I had no encounters with law enforcement even while stealth camping. Most of the police officers I passed while hiking waived to me. In general the people in rural areas and smaller towns were much nicer and more likely to chat with me than the people in the big cities. This should not be a big surprise. The Amish people almost always waived to me. Only once did an Amish person speak to me that was just one sentence. The people most likely to stare at me were Amish children.
I packed too much clothes. It snowed a few days before I left on this hike and this spooked me into bringing more clothes than I needed. Three times I mailed packages home (actually to Cleveland). I started mailing stuff home on the second day of my hike.
Has anyone hiked this trail before? Many people have bicycled it but has anyone hiked it? I don't know. My guess is that the first person to hike from Cincinnati to Cleveland was a Native American who did it soon after the glaciers left Ohio. Since then many, many people have hiked from Cincinnati to Cleveland. I heard that Steve "The World Walker" Newman hiked the proposed route of the Ohio To Erie Trail when it was just a concept and had not been built yet. I hope others follow in my footsteps and thru hike the Ohio To Erie Trail.
Would I do this hike again? Definitely, yes! I will hike this trail again. It is not a matter of "if" but "when". What would I do differently? Not much. I would go in May when the weather is warmer and there is more shade. I would carry less gear. I would camp more even in the urban areas.
Here are some of the my most liked and least like places on the Ohio To Erie Trail:
Friendliest Trail Town: Centerburg. Hands down. There were lots of nice and helpful people in Centerburg. The owner of the Centerburg Wash & Tan invited me to his business for a free hot drink. Jody Hoch of Stonehaven Farm invited me to spend the night in a primitive cabin on her farm and made a wonderful steak dinner and breakfast for me. I got helpful, timely advice from the HOOT Facebook group on local trail conditions. Runner Up: Killbuck.
Best Coffee Shop: The Killbuck Coffeehouse and Cafe. I had the place to myself the morning I was there. Good service, low prices and great conversation. I wish I could have spent more time in Killbuck. The people there are very friendly.
Best Stealth Campsite: Along the Little Miami River just south of Lebanon. Big woods right near the trail and a great overlook at a bend in the river.
Best Outfitter: Roads Rivers and Trails in Milford. The owners are very helpful and friendly. Stop by when you are in town.
Best Trail Town: London. London and Madison County get my highest rating for any trail town in Ohio. It has all of the services a hiker needs including many food and lodging options including a low priced hostel. London has everything you need to resupply. They have an outstanding depot along the trail complete with a lighted picnic pavilion and heated restrooms. The Friends of Madison County Parks and Trails is top notch. You know when you enter Madison County and leave it. Everything is well maintained. There are plans to allow camping in a local park soon. Runner Up: Milford.
Note: I have backpacked almost 2,000 miles in Ohio and visited many, many towns. I feel qualified to say that London and Madison County are, by far, the best trail town & county in Ohio. You won't find any other area which can match what London and Madison County has to offer in terms of hiker services, hospitality, trail maintenance and commitment to the trail. They are the de facto role model for any town wishing to be a trail town.
Most Remote Stretch of Trail: The Holmes County Trail from Bridge Of Dreams to Glenmont. This unpaved section of trail has the most remote feeling on the entire Ohio To Erie Trail. It also has the longest stretch without a road crossing. There is only one road crossing in eight miles. This part of Ohio is very hilly but the trail is gently graded. This section was my favorite.
Nicest Small Town Park: South Charleston. The park in South Charleston has a mix of old and new. The park has a pioneer-era log cabin, a restored train depot and two cabooses. They also have a modern and clean bathroom facility with a porch The porch area has electric outlets to charge your phone. There is even an active railroad line in the park so you can watch trains go by. The only turn off was the "No Trespassing Signs - Violators Arrested" signs at the cabooses. It sure would have been neat to go inside one. Runner Up: Xenia Station.
Most Vibrant Small Town: Loveland. I don't know what it is about Loveland but they have a very vibrant business district right along the trail. There are lots of restaurants, cafes and taverns on the trail and people frequent them. The city has a festival atmosphere.
Best Value Meal: The Sister’s Century House in Canal Fulton. Where else can you get a six ounce sirloin steak, vegetable, salad, bread and a scoop of ice cream for $6.99? The food was excellent too!
Best Tavern: Riffel's Tavern. This small tavern along the Ohio-Erie Canal has great food and drink at the reasonable prices. The staff and patrons are very friendly. You can't miss this place as it is right on the trail.
Cheapest Hamburger: Glenmont Tavern. A hamburger is only $2.75. But get your burger to go since the tavern still allows cigarette smoking inside.
Biggest Small Town: Mount Vernon. This is a nice town but too spread out for a hiker. It was a long, two mile, walk from the end of the Heart Of Ohio Trail to the start of the Kokosing Gap Trail. There is not much in the way of services along this route. Most the restaurants and services are on a strip outside of town. Too far to reach on foot.
Biggest Let Down Town: Gambier. I heard from many people how nice Gambier is. But you don't see it from the trail. All you see is a nice park with a steam locomotive and caboose. From the trail there are no views of the town or Kenyon College. It was my fault for not taking the time to hike into town. On the plus side, unlike South Charleston, Gambier lets you climb on the steam engine and caboose.
Funkiest Town: Howard. You don't hike through Howard on the trail. You hike under Howard on the trail. It is a small town with surprisingly, several restaurants and services right near the trail. But you can't see any of it from the trail. You have to walk up several flights of stairs or an access road to visit it. The people of Howard are very friendly. There is a lot packed into a small area.
The "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore" Section: Holmes County and Millersburg. Between the unpaved, remote Holmes County Trail, the paved, double wide trail (one lane for Amish buggies and one lane for everyone else) and all the Amish people I felt like I was far from home. If you are in the area check out the Millersburg Depot. It is really nice.
Worst Coffee Shop: Main Cup Coffee Shop in Milford. Poor service, poor attitude and a cluttered shop with not many places to sit. When I asked the owner what the daily brew was he just pointed to the sign and said read it yourself. I got a real funny look when I asked if there was an electrical outlet where I could charge my phone. The answer was no and he made me feel dumb for asking.
Worst Place For Breakfast: The Harvest Market in Apple Creek. The breakfast sandwich was a day old and was horrible. But it was the only place in town that serves food in the morning.
Most Unpleasant Stretch of Trail: I am going to get some flack for this one – Cleveland, specifically the last few miles of the Ohio-Erie Canal Towpath. It was a scenic section for an urban area but seeing signs that says raw human sewage is discharged into the Cuyahoga River was a turn off. There is also a landfill right on the river and industrial waste is discharged in the river. All of this is just a few miles from Lake Erie.
Overall Best Big City: Which city did I like best between Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland? Cleveland. All three are great cities but Cleveland made the best impression on me. Clean, modern and alive. I could say this about all three cities but there is a certain ethnicity and charm to Cleveland that the other cities don't have.
Bottom Line: If you have the time, energy and desire to hike the Ohio To Erie Trail then do it! Ohio is full of scenic beauty. You don’t need to travel to other states for a long distance backpacking adventure. You can do it right here in Ohio. The people of Ohio are very nice and friendly. Hospitality is not a southern term. Northern hospitality is alive and well in Ohio. You will not be disappointed!
Captain Blue's Prediction: When the Ohio To Erie Trail is complete, or nearly complete, it will make an excellent, endurance run for long distance runners. I envision an annual, 325 mile, running race from Cincinnati to Cleveland on the Ohio To Erie Trail. It will attract runners from all around the world. Maybe somebody will do it in less than 60 hours?
