OHIO RIVER TRAIL COUNCIL
Little Beaver Creek Greenway – Lisbon, Ohio to Leetonia, Ohio
Great Ohio Lake to River Greenway 20, 24, or 26-Mile Bike Ride
Come out for a ride! This is part of a trail ride series sponsored by the Ohio River Trail Council (ORTC) intended to bring awareness to the wonderful trails in our quad-state region (Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia). All cyclists are welcome for this rails-to-trails, moderate-paced ride.
Join us, as we visit the Little Beaver Creek Greenway portion of the Great Ohio Lake to River Greenway. This scenic ride departs from Lisbon and travels north to the Cheery Coke Ovens in Leetonia, Ohio. The trail follows the National Scenic Little Beaver Creek 12-miles one-way to Leetonia. Add 2-miles to visit the Coke Ovens and 2 more miles to Washingtonville.
Do not forget your camera!
Trailhead
Lisbon Trailhead - P. L. & W. Railroad Station, 232 South Market Street, Lisbon, OH 44432
GPS: 40.770066, -80.767391
Features and Points of Interest:
The Little Beaver Creek Greenway Trail is part of the Great Ohio Lake-to-River Greenway in eastern Ohio. This greenway extends from Lake Erie near Ashtabula, Ohio south to a point near East Liverpool along the Pennsylvania border.
The proposed Ohio River Trail beginning at Coraopolis links the Montour Trail to the 110-mile Great Ohio Lake-to-River Greenway in Ohio forming approximately a 500-mile continuous trail from the Great Lakes Region to our nation’s capitol!
The Little Beaver Creek Greenway Trail begins in the Village of Lisbon and travels 10-miles along the old Erie Lackawanna Railroad right of way to Leetonia, Ohio. It also runs parallel to the scenic Middle Fork of the Little Beaver Creek, a large stream that is full of wildlife. Though this bikeway is a rail-trail, it does have elevation gain. The trail gently rises and falls for much of its length as it makes its way through a Hemlock tree canopy.
The Little Beaver Creek Greenway Trail has many beautiful and interesting features, including glacial outwashes, upland fields, mature ravine woodlots and wetland wildlife habitats. Remnants of the industrial past also dot the trail with the remains of lime kilns, pig iron furnaces, coal mines and coke ovens.
The Cherry Valley Coke ovens in Leetonia is a complex of 200 Coke Ovens that were constructed around 1866 by the Leetonia Iron and Coal Company which was later renamed the Cherry Valley Iron Works. The beehive coke ovens were built to turn coal into coke by removing impurities from the coal. The coke was then used as fuel for the furnaces that produced iron and steel. The Cherry Valley Coke Ovens site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. This facility is one of the largest of its kind in the nation.
The trail also features a covered bridge and a connection to the Sandy & Beaver Canal Towpath. Even now, Lisbon has visible remnants of the Sandy & Beaver Canal, which was constructed between 1826 and 1848. An enormous engineering feat for the time, it was approximately 70 miles long, contained two tunnels and 90 locks and ended near mile marker zero of the proposed Ohio River Trail in Glasgow, Pa.
The Lisbon Historical Society maintains the Old Stone House Museum as well as the restored Erie Railroad Station. The Old Stone House is furnished as a pre-Civil War home, while the Erie Station contains a comprehensive Civil War display. Erie Railroad Station Museum is located at 119 E. Washington St., Lisbon, OH 44432. (330-242-0191)
Social
A social gathering and lunch at the Dairy Queen Brazier, 310 Columbia Street, Leetonia, OH 44431. (330) 427-6269 or following the ride dinner at Pondi’s Restaurant & Bar, 8954 State Route 45, Lisbon, Ohio. (330-424-0334)
Map
