Biking the North Coast Inland Trail in Lorain County

The North Coast Inland Trail is a prime example of a rails-to-trail conversion. It’s a flat, straight, paved trail moving across the countryside where the railroad once did. The Lorain County Metro Parks owns and operates most of this 15-mile trail segment, while 3.1 miles is owned by the City of Oberlin. The Lorain County Metro Parks website has specific trailheads you can choose to start your ride.
The North Coast Inland Trail (NCIT) has multiple completed segments, including parts in Huron, Sandusky and Ottawa Counties. Hopefully there will be a day when we can ride from the lakefront in Lorain all the way to Toledo with minimal trail gaps. For now, I was able to enjoy a 30-mile round trip ride between Elyria and Camden Township.
I parked at the Gateway Blvd. Trailhead in Elyria. There is a bike repair station there as well as at the Butternut Ridge Trailhead about 5 miles in. The trail has little elevation change and the entire ride took me around 4 hours with stops. Most of the path has trees to either side. Some spots open up for a great view.
Oberlin provided a nice halfway point to stop at Gasholder Park. There’s a pavilion with restrooms and picnic tables. There are water fountains, but they were shut off during my visit.
The Village of Kipton is a quaint town that I would have explored if I had more time. There’s a community park along the trail.
At the time of my ride, the paved trail ended at Green Road on the Huron County line. There’s a wide open vista over farmland that really bookends the ride nicely.
There are options for cyclists who want to make this a longer ride. On this western end of the NCIT, you can extend your ride south on Green Road for a third of a mile to reach Route 20. There are bike lanes allowing you to ride west on Route 20. You can ride roughly 3 miles along Route 20 into Wakeman.
On the eastern end, you could connect to Cascade Park to ride the Bridgeway Trail and Black River Bikeway. Using the Gateway Boulevard Trailhead as a reference point, ride north on the trail to the intersection at West 2nd Street. There’s a fork in the trail. Ride the trail east. It turns north along Water Street, east along Broad Street, north along Chestnut Street and east along Elm Street. From here you would need to make a left turn and road ride on West Avenue / Lake Avenue until you reach Furnace Street. Turn right on Furnace Street and ride until you see the entrance to Cascade Park on your right. The Lorain County Metro Parks Black River Bikeway can be taken north all the way to the Steel Mill Trail in Lorain. It’s a beautiful ride.
This video is part of the Northeast Ohio Bike Rides series which explores the best bike trails and routes near Cleveland: www.cleveland....

[@frenchonion4595]

They allow E bikes on the trail ?

[@user-zf1go1lp7m]

According to Lorain County Metro Parks, class 1 and 2 e-bikes are permitted on the trail. - John