53-mile bike ride on the Cleveland Metroparks All Purpose Trail

You can ride 53 miles one way on paved bike trails from Rocky River to Solon. This route weaves through 5 Cleveland Metroparks reservations and Cuyahoga Valley National Park, with less than a mile of it on the road.

I began this route at the Emerald Necklace Marina parking lot on the north end of Rocky River Reservation. This is the start of the Cleveland Metroparks All Purpose Trail (APT) and you'll see a Mile 0 marker. I followed the paved bike trail south through the entirety of the Rocky River Reservation.

Passing Bagley Road, I continued into the Mill Stream Run Reservation and rode all the way to Edgerton Road. Here the APT follows Valley Parkway into the Brecksville Reservation and continues east all the way past Route 21.

There's a fork in the road at Chippewa Creek Drive. I turned right and rode into Cuyahoga Valley National Park. At Brecksville Station there's a bridge over the Cuyahoga River. I crossed it and connected to the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath trail. I turned right and biked south.

Before getting to Red Lock, I followed the 2nd sign for Old Carriage Trail, which reads "To Bike & Hike Trail 1 3/4 mile." The Old Carriage Trail connector goes to a trailhead at Holzhauer Road. I followed Holzhauer Road 0.5 miles to the Summit Bike & Hike Trail (north).

The Summit Bike & Hike Trail leads all the way to the Bedford Reservation at the Alexander Road trailhead. Here I reconnected with the Cleveland Metroparks APT.

The APT winds through Bedford along Gorge Parkway, then Egbert Road. Egbert becomes Hawthorn Parkway.

Hawthorn Parkway breaks at Richmond Road. I crossed Richmond and turned left, following the bike lane roadside for 0.25 miles until I saw the sign for South Chagrin Reservation. I rejoined Hawthorn Parkway and took the APT all the way to the Henry Church, Jr. Rock picnic area, where my bike computer read 53 miles.

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Cleveland is experiencing a cycling renaissance with a growing network of bike trails. Today we’re going to ride one of the best bike paths in Northeast Ohio, the Cleveland Metroparks APT. At the time of this video, we’re experiencing the coronavirus pandemic but most local bike shops are open.

I want to thank Century Cycles' Rocky River location for this rental bike I’m riding. Please support your favorite bike shops and then come out and enjoy the trails.

See my article on cleveland.com for a more detailed description of this bike ride:

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