Ohio Day Trip- The Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail: From Bikes to Canal Boats

The Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail:  From Bikes to Canal Boats
Akron to Canal Fulton, Ohio and Back
August 19, 2012

Steven has been my go-to guy for all things outdoor recreation related.  Although we’ve known each other since high school, it is really a mutual love of outdoor activities that brings Steven and I together.  We spent our summer hiking around the MetroParks, kayaking area canals, lakes and reservoirs and biking sections of the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail, a multipurpose recreational trail that stretches more than 100 miles from Cleveland into Amish Country. 

One of our most eventful excursions was a spur of the moment, 40-mile ride from Akron to Canal Fulton, Ohio and back.  This included a recently-completed section of the trail that I had yet to ride.  The trail goes over a floating bridge, beside the canal, through a tunnel, into wooded areas and along the Tuscarawas River with some particularly scenic sections featuring wildlife or remnants of the canal locks.  It is also a little hillier than other sections of the Towpath Trail but nothing too strenuous.

There are many restaurants to choose from in Canal Fulton.  We decided to grab lunch at Oser’s Dairy & Deli on Canal Street.  We enjoyed eating our sandwiches and sodas at the lunch counter and indulged in a little ice cream for dessert- we figured we’d ride it off.

 

Steven and I once went hiking and ended up in a 28-foot canoe singing traditional French fur trapper songs so it is not too much of a stretch to imagine that we might end up on the St. Helena III ($7/pp), a horse-drawn replica canal boat depicting the typical vessel used to transport goods and people along the canal in its heyday.  It was a leisurely 55-minute ride up the canal listening to a guide fill us in on a brief history of the area and the canal era.  I think we both got into the nostalgia of the time and were convinced that being a canal-boater must have been a pretty sweet gig.

The ride back to Akron was fairly quick- storms had developed through the afternoon and we were pushing it to make it back between squalls.  The ride north into Summit County is generally uphill and the gradual climb and fast pace made for a good workout at the end of the day.  Conversation with Steven is never dull and that section of the trail offers scenery and history with just a little bit of heart-pumping incline- a great way to spend the day.