West Branch State Park

Overview: This state park is located in Portage County, approximately 5 miles east of Ravenna, and is Cleveland’s closest, legal and public mountain bike trail system (next to the Medina trails). Most of the trails here actually started out as snowmobile trails but soon accommodated mountain bikes in the summer as the sport grew and park management saw the need for mountain bike trails. CAMBA has now bypassed most of the snowmobile trails with true singletrack tread. These trails are accessed by Cable Line Road which is a gated fire emergency road. Cable Line Road runs east and west through the park and allows for o­nly cyclists and hikers with loops to the north and south of it.

Trail Description: From the trailhead parking lot (gravel/grass), riders head up a short doubletrack corrider, then turn left o­n Cable Line Rd., to reach the trail entrance. The trail starts out along the lake (on the North side of Cable Line Road), and consists of flowing single-track that traces along the shore of the reservoir. With a new 1-mile extension built in the winter of '05/06, the lakeside route now represents about 5.5-6.0 miles of singletrack (and some snowmobile) trail. This section of trail features many short climbs and descents in and out of the ravines that line the lake. You'll also find some large log piles, narrow log bridges, the Serpentine bridge, the Curved bridge, the Skinny bridge, and a variety of roots. This portion of the trail is suitable for most riders, from beginner to expert, although there are some [short] challenging downhill sections that may be a bit much for the absolute beginner.

After exiting the lakeside trail, riders have the option of taking Cable Line back to the parking lot (east), or heading to the south side of Cable Line for more technical trails (follow the brown Carsonite signs). This section is quite a contrast to the lakeside ride, mainly because of all the rocks & boulders (glacial till) that the trail navigates through. Although this trail has some great scenery, it's definitely challenging and geared more at the advanced/skilled rider (intermediate-to-expert). o­ne famous section of this area is the "Rock Gorge Trail", which offers some very scenic riding with singletrack that drops the rider into a gorge with a flowing creek below and also includes several very steep rocky sections.

After exiting the Rock Gorge Trail, riders will have a couple of options; 1) continue down the snowmobile trail to access other technical singletrack (just follow the signs), including 'Bit-O-Honey', which is a rocky technical loop (1-mile), that dumps you back o­nto the snowmobile trail, or 2) continue straight ahead down the "Rock Wall Trail" (signage indicates 'Experts o­nly'), which offers some extremely challenging rock riding. Although less than half a mile, this section includes some tricky downhills and difficult climbs that consist entirely of large rocks. This trail should NOT be attempted by beginners.

Suggested CAMBA loop: Navigating the trails is simple, by just following the arrows o­n the brown carsonite signs that follow the CAMBA Loop (see picture below). Additionally, to maximize your riding experiance out at West Branch, CAMBA has designed turn by turn directions that you can print out and take with you o­n the trail. Be sure to print out the map below as well. Click here to download the CAMBA loop directions.





Trail Map: Click here for the latest trail map of West Branch.

Camping: Click here for camping information.

Directions (from Akron/Canton): I-77 South to I-76 east- exit at Rt.5/44 proceed o­n Rt.5 east to Rock Spring Rd. Turn right o­nto Rock Spring Rd. See Below **

Directions (from Cleveland): Take I-480 East. I-480 E becomes OH-14. Turn LEFT o­nto OH-59. OH-59 becomes OH-5 East. Look for Rock Spring Road o­n your right, it will be several miles down. Turn right o­nto Rock Spring Road.

Click here for point-to-point directions using Yahoo! Maps

** Follow Rock Spring Road across the reservoir. Less than 1/2 mile after crossing the reservoir, you will see signs for the mountain bike/snowmobile trails o­n the left side. Follow this road about 1/4 mile and you'll see trailhead parking o­n your right. You'll see the kiosk along the tree line.

-Note- When using Yahoo directions from the south it will bring you in from the south so you won't have to cross the reservoir to get to the trailhead. Cable line Road and the trailhead will be o­n your right 1/2 mile before you cross the reservoir.

Driving Time from Cleveland: 1 Hour 10 Minutes

Trail length: 10 Miles (including some snowmobile trails)