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The Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway extends for 15.13 miles along the city's Lake Erie shoreline, between the suburbs of Euclid and Lakewood. The bikeway includes some on-road sections, but the route is signed. The bikeway links many of the city's cultural sites with the university, parks, and urban neighborhoods. Highlights include Bratenahl Village, Collinwood, Edgewater State Park, nature preserves, and stately old homes.
About the Route
Miles 0-1 (starting in the west) traverse Edgewater Park in Western Cleveland. Miles 3-5 traverse downtown Cleveland and pass by the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame and First Energy Stadium. Miles 7-10 traverse the waterfront along a nice off-road section.
Miles 11-14.5 run alongside Lakefront Blvd., although this section does not run along the water. The trail comes to its eastern endpoint in Wildwood Park at the eastern edge of the city.
Connections
In Downtown Cleveland, the trail connects to the Cleveland Foundation Centennial Lake Link Trail.
In Gordon Park, the Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway connects to the Lakes-to-Lakes Trail.
The Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway runs between Edgewater Park, 10001 Cliff Dr (Cleveland), and Wildwood Park, 16975 Wildwood Ln (Cleveland), both of which offer parking.
Parking is also available at:
See TrailLink Map for more detailed directions and all parking options.
Very disappointed when I invited my Dad to meet me on this trail yesterday to ride after work! There are no trail markings or signage to let you know how to follow the bike trail which had us all twisted up and fighting with the city street traffic it was terrible!!
We started on W65th and Gordon Square which is a beautiful area, so they got the right idea with putting the trail over there but there has GOT to be better directions. If I would have brought my whole family, kids and all it would have been all bad how mixed and mashed up the route is!
Do better Cleveland Metroparks!
While our plan was to bike the Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway, we got a bit diverted by a narrow strip of land called Rockefeller Park, located just beyond the sprawling campus of the Cleveland Clinic. We rode through the park on the Harris Dillard Trail, which goes mostly downhill for about 3.7 miles to Lake Erie. Riding through this beautifully landscaped oasis was a nice surprise amidst otherwise urban, commercial neighborhoods.
Once we reached the actual Waterfront Trail, we decided to turn right and east toward the charming hamlet of Bratenahl. Here we rode on a broad, but quiet, street past several great gated estates, likely dating back to the early 20th century. Visible beyond each house and its beautifully manicured grounds was the vast expanse of Lake Erie. After a few miles, the neighborhood and woods ended and we entered Euclid, a community of smaller, post-WWII homes, strip shopping centers, and one large hi-rise housing development.
We persisted along this busier on-road portion of the trail to the Euclid MetroPark, where ample signage pointed us to a winding trail through the park to a marina. Here we were rewarded with striking views of Lake Erie and the skyline of Cleveland in the distance. Determined to find the eastern trailhead, we continued past the marina and through a small nature preserve which promoted the return of a coyote habitat. The Waterfront Trail at this end was a combination of sidewalks, a paved path, roads, and shoulders with painted lanes.
We didn’t venture toward downtown, but the drive we’d taken to scope it out the night before suggested that there would be much weaving through road traffic and industrial sections of town.
We drove afterwards to a nationally known brewery in one of the city's hip downtown neighborhoods.
I rode a complete round-trip on the bikeway (East 185th & Lakeshore to West 117th & Edgewater) for the first time after wanting to for quite some time. This took me about 3 hours saddle time. The route is well-planned enough, keeping close to the shore of Lake Erie. A mixture of road cycling and trail cycling is required, but bike lanes added on Lakeshore Blvd in recent years in Cleveland make this easier. Signage downtown is poor and the routing there is a bit awkward, but anything west of downtown is quite fun as long as you know to access the path next to the Shoreway beginning at W. 25th.
Enjoyable route, poorly signed at parts, but I expect the Bikeway will probably be improved in the future. Worth riding for the experience.
trails not marked well, even the website maps are difficult to follow. City is not overall bike friendly and no real lakefront trail like chicago
Started on the west side in Edgewater Park and tried to ride East. When you get to downtown, suddenly the trail markings for this trail get lost. There are numerous other trails crossing with markings, but never did find the continuation. The tow path comes into play as well as some Metropark trails marked Lake Front. Very confusing. Ride hilly in parts. Took the link back in Edgewater to go to Wendy Park on Whiskey island which was a nice addition to put on a few miles. All in all, a good riding asphalt trail and a nice way to get a feel for Cleveland. Would recommend investigating the other trails if you want to get in some mileage. Not crowded on a Tuesday afternoon.
The starting point is at Edgewater Park. It starts off beautiful in a park that is well taken care of. Then once you cross the bridge at West 25th and Detroit Ave, you are in the center of downtown. Navigating through the city streets is stop and go. Then once you come to the Cleveland Brown stadium, you are not riding on a trail, but again a street road. Thankfully this road does not see a lot of traffic. Once you pass the airport, you ride along the water into a beautiful neighborhood on Lakeshore Blvd passing by beautiful mansions. The biggest downfall I had riding this trail was coming up to and through Euclid. Biking lanes are not well marked. Many cars do not respect bikers and right up next to you making me not feel at ease. The final end point at Wildwood Park which not is the best kept park in relation to edgewater, however they did have paved trails and beautiful scenic outlooks on the beaches/water. I wish this trail had more signs that identified that you are still on the Lakefront Trail because it is easy to take a wrong turn and get lost. I rode from Edgewater to Wildwood Park and back, but my final ending mileage was 30 miles.
The Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway is a 17 mile trail that stretches from just West of Edgewater Beach Park on Cleveland's west side to the Wildwood Marina in Euclid Creek Reservation Metropark on the east side. This month, I rode just 3.25 miles of the Cleveland Lakefront Trail as the start of a weeklong southbound ride on the Ohio to Erie Trail. I rode between the Script Cleveland sign overlooking Edgewater Beach to West 28th Street and Washington Avenue, where I chose to ride to West 25th Street and then down to the start of the Cleveland Foundation Centennial Trail at the corner of Mulberry Avenue and River Road.
This west side portion of the Cleveland Lakefront Trail is in good shape. The asphalt in this section is fairly new and smooth and the signage, both directional and historical, are all noticeable and graffiti-free. I am hoping that these signs are something that will be continued throughout the entire length of the trail but as of June 2019 when I last rode the entire length of this trail they were not in place, particularly on the east side of Cleveland. In addition, there have been bike pathways added to this route that lead into the flats with the intention of connecting the Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway with the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail. The intention is to have the Towpath end at the planned Canal Basin Park. However, for those riders that want to dip their tires in both the Ohio River and Lake Erie, Edgewater Beach will remain the best place for your bike to touch the waters of Lake Erie.
I rode 3.25 miles from the Script Cleveland Sign located west of Edgewater Beach to West 28th Street and then down into the flats to connect to the Cleveland Foundation Centennial Trail. This trail is easy to follow, is well signed with directional and historical signs and safely transports a bike rider to a connection with the next link in the chain of trails making up the Ohio to Erie Trail route. Once you reach W. 28th Street you may either take it and Loop Drive or continue on Washington Avenue to W. 25th Street in order to connect to the start of the Cleveland Foundation Centennial Trail. In either case, you will be travelling around or through Cleveland Metropolitan Housing Authority low-income housing units. In addition, the roads in this area are a bit rough. Control your speed so that you don't hit a deep pothole and affect your rims.
I think this should probably be renamed the “Cleveland LakeNear Bikeway”. We rode it from the northern end and it starts in a beautiful park with a marina and beach but quickly dead ends in a parking lot behind a highrise. We probably missed a sign but it’s pretty easy to find the continuation on a very busy section of Lakeshore Blvd that does have a marked bike lane but requires vigilant urban riding skills. After a couple miles it becomes much less trafficked going by beautiful homes and gardens. It then gets pretty ugly again for a few miles approaching downtown when you’re still on road sandwiched between noisy I-90, a mostly industrial area, and an airport.
We didn’t bother to continue past downtown because the ride was so disappointing.
The trail is well marked, relatively flat, and well paved but mostly on the road.
There are rare glimpses of the lake. If you’re looking for a family friendly ride this is definitely not for you.
I rode the Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway in June 2017 as a nice out-and-back ride. There is lots to see from Euclid Beach Park (on the East Side) to Edgewater Beach Park (on the West Side) as you ride through downtown Cleveland, Ohio. This route was pretty flat with no difficult hills at all. The bikeway itself was a combination of bike paths in and around the beach parks, on street bike lanes on Lakeshore Boulevard and Detroit Road, and on street riding in Bratenahl and Downtown Cleveland. The busiest street traffic was on the several blocks of street riding downtown.
I found the route to be well marked, particularly on the portions where you were riding on the street. Complaints made in previous reviews about the condition of the route are outdated as I found the trail surface to be in pretty good shape. Other review complaints about riding through a ghetto in the Manhattan Beach and North Collinwood neighborhoods seem exaggerated but are balanced out by the ride past the mansions in Bratenahl. Look for the Cleveland Script Signs on either end of the trail for great postcard-like photo opportunities.
For those interested in riding this route, I would definitely suggest lathering up with sunscreen because other than the 3 mile section through the tree lined streets of Bratenahl, you are always out in the open along the shore of Lake Erie.
Rode this trail completely for the first time. Great ride. N Marginal Rd that "Rio" complained abt was replaved in 2016. It was smooth sailing. I rode the trail from Edgewater Park to Euclid Beach. Great views of the lake. You bike pass the Rock Hall, Cleve Browns Stadium etc. The ride across the Detroit Superior Bridge was not intimidating at all.
The City of Cleveland recently repaved the portion of the trail between E. 9th and E. 55th street. There are still no bike lanes, but there are clearly demarcated sharrows and as a cyclist I feel pretty safe using that road. The Cleveland lakefront bike way still has a long way to go, but it deserves more than 1 star
City of Cleveland: Learn something from Chicago. This COULD be a great bikeway, but this is just another mistake on the lake. Negative stars!
If you're starting at the beginning of the east side, be prepared to ride through some ghetto. Minus 3 stars. It's good once you're in Bratenahl and all the way up to N. Marginal. Once you get to N. Marginal get ready to play a nice game of dodging massive potholes for many minutes. I would not advise even attempting to ride on this neglected road. Minus 3 stars. This is the worth "bike path" I've ever ridden on. I wish I could give this -1 stars
Rode on this today. It was quite awful. The trails portions were okay but the road portion were full of cracks, potholes, raised asphalt patches and lose gravel. A mountain bike with suspension and Kevlar tires would be advised. The lake is nice when you can see it but you mostly travel next to a multiple lane freeway or on downtown streets. Very noisy.
Excluding two very brief trails near the lake, this "bikeway" rides on Lakeshore Ave. and is VERY unsafe.
I tried this trail from the starting point per directions and there was a lot of construction going on, and after just a few miles there were no more signs telling me which way to go. Later I saw the trail downtown along the lakefront. Next time I go to Cleveland, I am going to park in that area somewhere and try again. Meanwhile, the signs at the other end telling one which way to go would sure help.
We started at the western end and rode through the park. That's it. After the park the riding in on city streets and not well marked either. Definately not friendly for trike riders.
steverem
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