My cycling companions Lynn Rush, Gary Courtright and Ted Kmet enjoy the smooth, crushed limestone Towpath Trail as it parallels the Ohio & Erie Canal visible to the right near Canal Fulton. The hand operated Lock #4 near there is pictured lower right.
SOME OHIO HISTORY—
By Bicycle
My regular cycling companions and I recently rode our second segment of the Ohio Towpath Trail, this one from Massillon north to Clinton, OH (Near Akron) and return; a nicely shaded ride of about 24 miles.
For you cycling enthusiasts it is a crushed limestone surface fairly well maintained but with some
challenging sections of loose gravel. Our group included one mountain bike, my hybrid touring bike and two of the skinny tire variety. A mountain bike would be the most comfortable choice, particularly with less experienced folks in the saddle.
We turned around at Clinton because just a bit north of there, through greater Akron, are many segments either under construction or just in the planning stages.
Our ride covered a tiny part of the Ohio and Erie Canal which was 308 miles in length and connected Lake Erie at Cleveland to the Ohio River at Portsmouth. It was constructed between 1825 and 1847 and included 42 locks between Cleveland and Akron alone.
Akron is at the highest point on the entire canal; hence the surrounding county being named Summit. The canal accomplished a total lift of 1,206 feet by using locks and the canal boats were propelled by horses or mules towing from the adjacent bank—the location of today’s bicycle trail.
Early canal construction workers were paid 30 cents per day plus a “jigger” of whiskey.
Freight traffic dominated the canal from 1827 to 1861 when it began to diminish due to the growth of railroads. By 1840 Ohio was the 3rd most prosperous state in the existing union; owing its growth to the canal.
In its later years the canal struggled to stay profitable until a huge state-wide flood in 1913 destroyed critical sections of the canal and it was abandoned.
Today, Ohio’s bikeways are growing to cross the state from Cleveland to Cincinnati. The Towpath Trail will drop south from the Lake Erie shore where it will one day connect through Wayne County to the mostly existing Holmes County Trail.
When that trail is completed through Glenmont it will connect with the Kokosing Gap Trail to Mt. Vernon. There is a large gap in the planning stages between there and the Columbus area and another gap from Columbus to London.
From there you can now bicycle to the eastern suburbs of Cincinnati.
I hope I get to ride those approximately 335 miles—without having to wait for another 67 years.
SOME OHIO HISTORY—
By Bicycle
My regular cycling companions and I recently rode our second segment of the Ohio Towpath Trail, this one from Massillon north to Clinton, OH (Near Akron) and return; a nicely shaded ride of about 24 miles.
For you cycling enthusiasts it is a crushed limestone surface fairly well maintained but with some
challenging sections of loose gravel. Our group included one mountain bike, my hybrid touring bike and two of the skinny tire variety. A mountain bike would be the most comfortable choice, particularly with less experienced folks in the saddle.We turned around at Clinton because just a bit north of there, through greater Akron, are many segments either under construction or just in the planning stages.
Our ride covered a tiny part of the Ohio and Erie Canal which was 308 miles in length and connected Lake Erie at Cleveland to the Ohio River at Portsmouth. It was constructed between 1825 and 1847 and included 42 locks between Cleveland and Akron alone.
Akron is at the highest point on the entire canal; hence the surrounding county being named Summit. The canal accomplished a total lift of 1,206 feet by using locks and the canal boats were propelled by horses or mules towing from the adjacent bank—the location of today’s bicycle trail.
Early canal construction workers were paid 30 cents per day plus a “jigger” of whiskey.
Freight traffic dominated the canal from 1827 to 1861 when it began to diminish due to the growth of railroads. By 1840 Ohio was the 3rd most prosperous state in the existing union; owing its growth to the canal.
In its later years the canal struggled to stay profitable until a huge state-wide flood in 1913 destroyed critical sections of the canal and it was abandoned.
Today, Ohio’s bikeways are growing to cross the state from Cleveland to Cincinnati. The Towpath Trail will drop south from the Lake Erie shore where it will one day connect through Wayne County to the mostly existing Holmes County Trail.
When that trail is completed through Glenmont it will connect with the Kokosing Gap Trail to Mt. Vernon. There is a large gap in the planning stages between there and the Columbus area and another gap from Columbus to London.
From there you can now bicycle to the eastern suburbs of Cincinnati.
I hope I get to ride those approximately 335 miles—without having to wait for another 67 years.
This portion of the Ohio & Erie Canal at Canal Fulton was part of Ohio’s 1,000 mile network of canals built in the early 1800s, transforming the then very young state’s economy almost overnight. 
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