Ready to Roll
Once you've tuned up your riding legs with neighborhood jaunts and you're ready for longer adventures, there's always the big question: where to ride. At first glance, the Toledo area doesn't seem to have many exciting areas or distinctive geographical features to explore. However, there are lots of great trips just waiting out there for you!
Up the River and Through the Woods
The Maumee River and the Metroparks offer some great short trips. A ride from the bridge at Maumee along the Maumee River to Grand Rapids and back racks up about 35 miles - a nice afternoon ride; the loop around the Wabash Cannonball Trail north and south forks is about 28 miles. A day ride gives you a 25 or 30 mile radius from your home to work with, and there are lots of interesting places to visit within that area. To extend your range, you can also transport your bikes to any spot near a good looking route, park, and ride from there. Map My Ride and Bikely are internet sites with many ideas for rides in this area you can check out.
Destination Riding
As we mentioned, one way to make riding more meaningful is to ride somewhere interesting. There are lots of small towns in the Lake Erie West region with annual festivals and celebrations which make terrific destinations for biking.
Festivals and Events
There are also many local events which invite a day trip. If you live in Perrysburg, you can pedal to the Sylvania Arts Festival; If you're from Sylvania, the Perrysburg farmers' market makes a nice ride - just be sure to bring luggage so you can take fresh produce home with you.
Colleges and Universities
There are a number of campuses within riding distance in the area where there's always something happening. Owens College, The University of Toledo, BGSU, Lourdes College and Monroe Community College all have art, cultural and musical events throughout the year which may interest you.
Cultural and Historical Sites
There are lots of interesting cultural and historical places to visit scattered throughout the small communities in the region, like Sauder Village in Archbold, the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center in Fremont, the revolutionary period Fort Meigs fort and museum in Perrysburg, and Auglaze Village in Defiance.
Parks
Our region also offers a multitude of parks for playing and picnicking, and many of them offer additional activities, like boating, overnight camping or historical sites. To the southwest along the Maumee River, there's Independence State Park at the dam in Defiance, Mary Jane Thurston State Park and Providence Metropark in Grand Rapids, and Farnsworth Metropark in Waterville. On the eastern lakeshore, there's Maumee Bay State Park, Crane Creek State Park and East Harbor State Park. To the north, Sterling State Park sits on Lake Erie at Monroe, and Lake Hudson Recreation Area is to the northwest, near Adrian. These parks are great destinations and offer interesting rides of varying lengths.
Campgrounds
If you'd like to get your kids interested in overnight biking trips, a good destination is an area campground. There are many in the area, and you can take your tents and sleeping bags for a real camping experience or rent a cabin for a more civilized adventure. Campgrounds offer a wide variety of amenities and activities for kids, including water activities and sports. You can grill your own meals or grab takeout on the go.
Open Event Rides
Another good way to find routes is by participating in open event rides, such as those TAB (Toledo Area Bicyclists) sponsors. Not only will you get to know some of the best areas for riding, you'll meet other bikers who ride regularly and maybe pick up a riding buddy or two. TAB rides every day during the riding season and sponsors a few longer rides (including overnighters) in the area each year. Other open group rides, such as Bike to the Bay, attract hundreds of riders and usually run for multiple days.
Whether you're a college student, a single professional, a couple or a family with young kids, Lake Erie West has no shortage of interesting places for you to visit; and it becomes an adventure for everybody when you visit them on your bikes.
Good Local Rides
Here are some good local day rides we recommend. Degree of difficulty is determined by length in miles rather than by elevation gain - this area is very short on hills. Rides range from easy to slightly challenging - if you're an advanced biker you certainly don't need any help from us! We'll be adding to this list regularly. If you have rides you think are worth sharing, please let us know - we'll test them and include them if they look like something our visitors would enjoy.
Swanton / North Fork Loop 28 Miles This ride starts and ends in Oak Openings Metropark on the north fork of the Wabash Cannonball Bike Trail. You'll ride mostly on smooth back roads with low traffic through pleasant rural fields plus about nine miles on the north fork of the bike trail. You'll have a short stretch on Maumee city streets, but won't have much traffic unless you hit rush hour. North Fork / Lose / Whitehouse Loop 14.5 Miles Here's a short, pleasant route for beginners. Portions of your ride will be on parts of both the north and south forks of the Wabash Cannonball Bike Trail, while the Weckerly and Lose Road sections are winding and mildly hilly roads through open fields and along a wooded stream. There's an ice cream stop in Whitehouse. Secor / Berkey / Oak Openings Loop 46 Miles This ride is primarily flat and straight, through open country, although there is a stretch on the north fork of the Wabash Cannonball Bike Trail and a loop through Secor Metropark. You'll pass through Berkey, Metamora and Swanton. If you keep your eyes open, you'll find several opportunities for ice cream along the way. Slippery Elm Trail 13 miles The Rail to Trail Slippery Elm Trail runs 13 miles from Bowling Green through Rudolph to North Baltimore. An asphalt paved multi-use path, it's a good first ride for beginners - flat, away from traffic, with a good ice cream stop. It's a bit dull for more experienced riders, passing parallel to Route 25 through famland and fields. Sylvania/Metamora Loop 32 miles Start in Sylvania and take a quick pass on the Quarry Ridge bike path through Fossil Park and Brint Park before heading west on Brint to Metamora for a pleasant lunch break at Metamora Municipal Park or the Country Charm diner. It will be mostly open farmland with pleasant small towns and working farms. Return on Frankfurt and Centennial. |
 |
Wabash Cannonball Loop 23.5 Miles This trip covers almost the entire Wabash Cannonball Bike Trail, plus about five miles on pleasant, low-traffic rural back roads. It's all pretty smooth going. You'll have an ice cream stop and an opportunity to log on a few extra miles if you want to ride the great hike/bike trails through Oak Openings Metropark. See the Oak Openings map for trail details. Maumee / Waterville / Whitehouse / North Fork Loop 29 Miles This ride takes you out the towpath to Side Cut Park and along the Maumee on River Road to Waterville. Then it's on to Whitehouse, where you can find ice cream (the berms are a little narrow on this stretch, and the traffic is quick but light). You'll ride through woods and the Oak Openings Metropark, returning on the north fork of the Wabash Cannonball Bike Trail. University Bike Trail 14 Miles Starting at Wildwood Metropark, you'll ride west to King Road, then east to the University of Toledo, then back to the park. To extend your ride in the park, take the brown route (multi-use path) through the park. And don't forget to explore the beautiful UT campus - it's probably been years since you've seen it, and it's changed quite a bit. North Coast Inland Trail (Elmore to Clyde Section) 19 miles This paved Rail to Trail path from Elmore through Lindsey and Fremont to Clyde is newly completed, and the area residents are quite proud of it. On the ride, you'll get an interesting mix of industrial development, farmland and quaint small town flavor. It makes a good round trip with a lunch break in Fremont. The stretch from Clyde to Loraine is passable but rough - use a mountain bike. |
|
Maumee / Grand Rapids Loop 34 Miles This is arguably the best ride in the area. Winding and hilly along the south side of the river, through parks and along the fairly rustic towpath trail on the north side, you get variety, great scenery and relatively few fellow travelers. One stretch of River Road is rough, and the towpath trail west of Waterville is dirt, rocks and roots - it's not necessary to have a mountain bike, but it's probably not good for skinny racing tires. Grand Rapids is a great tourist stop with restaurants, ice cream shops and plenty to see and do, especially if your trip coincides with one of the many festivals there. River Road Ride 14 Miles This is a short, pleasant urban ride from Side Cut Park in Maumee along the river to the Toledo Zoo and back. Start early, come back late and spend the intervening the time at the zoo! Archbold / Nettle Lake Loop 72 miles This route starts in Archbold and loops north to near the Michigan line and east to near the Indiana line. It will take you on back country roads across flat midwest farmland, through several nice parks, lakes and small towns. Goll Woods Nature Preserve and Harrison Lake State Park are two highlights on the route. Toledo/Hudson, MI Loop 103 miles This long route is the path of the Hudson 100 Labor Day Century. The mapped route starts on Bancroft Street, but a good alternative would be starting at Secor Metropark (the mapped route passes through Secor Park). You'll have lots of flat, open country on roads of varying quality but low traffic. There are plenty of small towns on the way, so lots of opportunities for food, drink and sightseeing (although you'd better not tarry long with a 103 mile day). |
|||
© 2010 | 2011 Bob Beach |
|||||||
