Euclid Creek Reservation All Purpose Trail

Ohio

1 Reviews

Euclid Creek Reservation All Purpose Trail offers a paved, scenic excursion in the northeastern Ohio community of Euclid, a suburb of Cleveland. The trail is currently divided into two disconnected segments, a 2.75-mile southern section through the Euclid Creek Reservation and a 0.7-mile northern section near Lake Erie.

The southern section, running between Highland Road and East Green Road, is bordered by Euclid Creek Parkway on one side and Euclid Creek on the other. Although travelers will be paralleling a road, the setting is lush and tree canopied for its entire length. An interesting highlight of the route is near its southern end at the Quarry Picnic Area, where you can still see the remains of the bluestone which was once quarried here. The Euclid Creek Reservation is built on the former Village of Bluestone, a ghost town that flourished here in the late 1800s and early 1900s. For more adventuring, the park offers a handful of other trails as well: Glenridge Loop Trail, Upper Highland Loop Trail, Rear Quarry Trail and Squirrel Run Trail.

The northern section of the trail begins just steps from the Lake Erie shoreline in Euclid Beach Park. At Villa Angela Drive, you can cross the bridge to access Wildwood Park, which has a marina and boat ramp. Continuing south, the pathway loops around the Cleveland Public Library before ending at Lakeshore Boulevard. For a longer journey, trail users can hop on the 17-mile Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway.

Parking and Trail Access

For the southern section of the trail, parking is available within the Euclid Creek Reservation in the Highland Picnic Area, Upper Highland Picnic Area, Welsh Woods Picnic Area and Rear Quarry Picnic Area.

For the northern section of the trail, parking is available off Wildwood Drive, just north of Lakeshore Boulevard and in Wildwood Park.

Natural Beauty to be Enjoyed in an Urban Setting

June 2019 orangedoug

The Cleveland Metroparks' Euclid Creek Reservation and it's All Purpose Trail consists of two sections. The first section is on the Lake Erie lakefront where Euclid Creek empties into Lake Erie. The second section is further upstream south of Euclid Avenue where the creek drops over 250 feet over the course of the 2.5 mile trail.

The lakefront section of the trail is a circuitous route that will take you around the mouth of Euclid Creek as it empties into Lake Erie. This part of the park is also referred as Wildwood Park, after the Wildwood Marina located in the park. The trail gives you access to this marina as well as Euclid Beach Park, a public beach, located on the site of a defunct longtime local amusement park in the adjacent Lakefront Reservation. There is very little change in elevation here as we are on the shore of Lake Erie. I enjoyed this section of the trail because there is a lot to see. I think I spent more time taking pictures here than I did riding the 2.8 miles I put on the bike while in this section of the park.

The southern section of this park and trail are located further upstream on Euclid Creek south of Euclid Avenue. I rode almost 5.5 miles on an out-and-back ride on this section of the Euclid Creek Reservation All Purpose Trail. I started at the Highland Picnic Area Trailhead just off of Highland Road in Euclid, Ohio. The trail follows Euclid Creek as it runs through the park. Starting at Highland Road you climb almost the entire distance through the park until you reach the end of the trail at East Green Road. The slope is not severe but would prove to be a challenge for young and out of shape riders. The reward for climbing along side Euclid Creek in this direction is the ability to coast the entire way back through the park to where you started. However, you really can’t cut loose on the downhill because of the numerous pedestrians walking the trail.

I would recommend checking out both sections of this trail because of the abundant wildlife and the natural beauty of the surroundings. Will the two sections of the park ever be connected? I don't know, but there are a number of obstacles that would have to be overcome to do so -- numerous active rail lines, an interstate highway, several heavily trafficked roadways and quite a bit of residential and commercial development.