Places to ride around Athens & Southeastern Ohio
They’re everywhere! (Places to ride around Athens and Southeastern Ohio, that is.) Some of us choose to live here, in part, because inside of a half-hour we can get home from work and be out on the road or in the woods. Proximity isn’t the only lure — it’s incredibly good riding, too.

The following descriptions and links will introduce you to some of our favorite places to ride. We know you’ll have fun exploring them for yourselves. Of course, feel free to pick our brains about the trails and roads you don’t want to miss.

Lake Hope State Park -
Back in 1998, several members of Athens Bicycle Club, including Athens Bicycle owner Pete Kotses, stopped complaining about the fact that Ohio has few legal mountain bike trails and did something about it. With the blessing of officials at Lake Hope State Park near Zaleski, Ohio (about 20 min. from Athens), the group began to build single-track mountain bike trails. They started with a spur off of the only existing mountain bike trail at the park, Little Sandy (approx. 2 miles long). Today, there are more than 23 miles of dedicated mountain bike trails. ABC member Malcolm Idleman has headed up the majority of these trailbuilding efforts, and we are grateful to him for spearheading the work. Check out this map of the Lake Hope, brought to you by Athens Bicycle and Purple Lizard maps.

Sells Park & Strouds Run State Park (Athens Trail Network)
Thanks to efforts by the Athens Conservancy, the City of Athens and passionate local trail users, bicyclists can ride trails from Sells Park to Strouds Run State Park. Although it used to be illegal to ride at both Sells and Strouds, bikes are now allowed on many of the trails in both parks. Major changes in land ownership took place in 2003 when the City of Athens, in collaboration with the Athens Conservancy, purchased 184 acres connecting Sells Park with Strouds Run. This land includes a stand of old-growth forest known as Hawk Woods (now part of the Dale and Jackie Riddle State Nature Preserve) and made possible a direct public trail connection from Sells to Strouds. Check out this great map of the Sells and Strouds Run Trails, brought to you by Athens Bicycle and Purple Lizard Maps.

Hockhocking Adena Bikeway
Athens County is proud of its 19-mile, paved bikeway. Running between Athens and Nelsonville, the shaded path offers a break from hills, traffic and the sun.