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Commentary:
The Holmes County Trail’s northern terminus is currently in Fredericksburg in WayneCounty. It is just a few tenths of a mile until you enter HolmesCounty. The southern terminus at this time is in Killbuck of Holmes County, a little more than 15 miles by trail.
This trail is unlike any other trail I’ve bicycled, as it was designed to allow not only bicycles, walkers, and rollerblades, but also horses and to provide Amish buggies an alternative to travel rather than a roadway. An interesting concept, but maybe not quite so practical as it would seem.
It was a nice, sunny, seventy plus degree Sunday, with a light wind when I cycled this trail. As a result of the weather, and maybe the needs of the local communities, the trail was rather busy. There were cyclists all over the trail on recumbents, comfort bikes, crossover bikes, old beat-up 10 speeds, and top end road bikes. There were walkers of every shape and size, alone, with children, with dogs, all making use the trail on a nice day. There were also horses, and horse-drawnbuggies. Roughly 40 percent of the trail users on this day were Amish.
The unusual issue with this trail is that half of the width is asphalt, and the other half is chip & seal (tar is sprayed then #10 limestone is poured over top and rolled). In many places there is a height difference between the two surfaces of one to one & one-half inches. So care must be taken when moving from one surface to the other. Also, the chip & seal and the asphalt will switch sides occasionally during the 15 miles! One can be riding on the right side of the trail which is asphalt (for bicycles, rollerblades, skateboards), and suddenly directly in front it becomes chip & seal (for horses, buggies), and now the asphalt is on the left side of the trail! I didn’t keep track of how many times this happened, but I think it was 4 or 5 times. In addition, there are places where the trail becomes all asphalt for a distance, then switches back to asphalt/chip & seal. The trail will also narrow at times by two or three feet for a distance, and it also narrows on every bridge crossing a creek. So with all this happening, and all the diverse trail traffic, cycling here requires a bit more concentration and awareness.
In Holmesville, the route leaves the rail-trail and meanders through some side streets for roughly a mile. This road has seen better days and there are ruts, patches, and cracks over much of the asphalt road surface. The route on this roadway is well marked, but thankfully it re-enters the rail-trail where riding is easier, smoother, and faster.
Cycling the trail from north to south:
Fredericksburg is the northern terminus where parking is available just east of the trailhead at the school or baseball field. There are primitive restrooms at the ball field, and better ones at the Laundromat about a tenth of a mile east of the school. I saw no water-fountain, but there is a store roughly two tenths of a mile east of the school for food and refreshments.
Holmesville has no close access to water, restrooms or food that I saw as I bicycled through. Just about a half a mile south of where you re-enter the rail-trail, a couple of hundred feet south of the tunnel, is a gravel parking area. Up the drive leading to this lot, about 500 feet is Skip’s Trail Depot, as marked on the official trail map. The map shows a restaurant with outside entrance restrooms available, however, they were locked! This was the first day of June so I can only speculate that since the restaurant looked like it was closed down for good, no one was around to unlock the restrooms each morning. I would not depend on having access to restroom facilities at this location.
Millersburg has a nice depot with restrooms, but only one men’s and one women’s, no multiple toilets per room. But at least they are available even if you encounter a short wait. There is also a picnic shelter, and plenty of parking. This depot is located just north of route 39, right in town at the intersection of W.Clinton and N.Grant streets. There is a large sign and usually several parked cars with bicycle racks so it is hard to miss if you get close. There is a Pizza shop very close at the corner of N. Grant and Rt. 39, plus there are other food options within a short car ride. Approximately two miles south of the Millersburg depot is an exit off the trail to Wal-Mart, for what it’s worth!
Killbuck is currently the southern terminus for this trail and there is limited parking next to the trail. There are no facilities near this trailhead. The trail seems to travel right through the Killbuck marsh for a few miles just north of this southern trailhead.
This is an interesting trail, and many sections are very scenic and rural. This is the second time I have bicycled the trail and both times it has been heavily used by all modes of non-motorized transportation .
The surface condition of the asphalt was good, but in many places there was considerable debris including, leaves, twigs, dried mud, and road apples (horse manure)! It would be very helpful if the Holmes County Park District, who it appears, is responsible for trail maintenance could find a way to sweep or clear the trail occasionally! Doing so who make bicycling this trail much more pleasurable.
The traffic on the trail/road intersections seemed light both times I visited this trail.
Because of the unusual layout of the trail, how it switches sides, and also narrows at times, plus the additional horse and horse & buggy traffic, the enjoyment rating is only a 7 out of 10. This is just a personal opinion, so don’t let it stop you from checking out this trail. It is well worth a drive to cycle it at least once.
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