A trail town provides a destination around which you can plan your outdoor recreation. Head here for a weekend or more and set up your base camp at a local campground, or enjoy creature comforts at one of the local motels or bed and breakfasts. There are hometown restaurants, shops, and other in-town amenities to complement your outdoor forays on the Trail and other outdoor activities along creeks and rivers in your kayak or out on a bike trail on your bike.

Get to know small-town Ohio's backroads, byways, and genuine friendliness as you base your next outdoor expedition from an Ohio Trail Town.

Featured Trail Towns

Founded in 1824, Wakeman is an old railroad town about halfway from Cleveland to Toledo and located just a few miles south of Lake Erie on the Vermilion River. When the rail was still running, it would stop at Wakeman to fire up the coal engine and refill the coal car while taking passengers to and from the two major cities. A visit to Wakeman Village wouldn’t be complete unless you walked the downtown area. 

Dayton is located along the banks of the Great Miami River on Ohio’s Great Corridor and is known as the Outdoor Adventure Capital of the Midwest. Beyond the plethora of hiking opportunities, Dayton is a bicycle-friendly community situated at the center of the largest bikeway network in the country. The gem city also hosts some of the most significant outdoor recreation events in the Midwest while being situated amongst three state-designated Water Trails.

All Trail Towns