Straightforward connections exist between the Headwaters Trail and the Maple Highlands and Lake Metropark Greenway Trails. The featured route includes a short bit of riding on a busy state road near Parkman.
The route shown below connects the eastern end of the Western Reserve Greenway at Route 82 (Garrettsville) to the Maple Highlands Trail as it enters the downtown area of Middlefield. In Chardon, the new (2021) trail avoiding the hills and traffic is shown in red. At the north end of the MHT (Girdled Rd), I've indicated a route that connects to the Lake Metroparks Greenway through a development, avoiding the steep valley on Ravenna Rd (Old 44). To enter the development while heading north, Turn right immediately past the Shell gas station. This unmarked road looks more like a driveway.
While I've used Brosius Rd to connect to Parkman from Garrettsville, Rt 88 is also a possible, but more hazardous route. 88 in Portage County has almost non-existent shoulders and high-speed traffic, but is usually well-paved. Brosius is a quiet rural road, but the surface is more weathered. The northern half-mile section is a gravel road (Geauga County). If you must avoid this while heading north, detour onto Adams Rd (west) to join Rt 88 a bit early. The lack of shoulder remains an issue here. If you remain on Brosius, you will still have a short ride on 88 to the main intersection with 422 in Parkman, but 88's shoulder in Geauga County is slightly wider.
Route 528, going north out of Parkman to Middlefield has a very wide paved shoulder (about a full car width) for use by Amish buggies. You may also encounter buggies on the northern part of Brosius.
There are several options for connecting to the Lake Metroparks Greenway as you exit the country club development in Concord.
The route shown below connects the eastern end of the Western Reserve Greenway at Route 82 (Garrettsville) to the Maple Highlands Trail as it enters the downtown area of Middlefield. In Chardon, the new (2021) trail avoiding the hills and traffic is shown in red. At the north end of the MHT (Girdled Rd), I've indicated a route that connects to the Lake Metroparks Greenway through a development, avoiding the steep valley on Ravenna Rd (Old 44). To enter the development while heading north, Turn right immediately past the Shell gas station. This unmarked road looks more like a driveway.
While I've used Brosius Rd to connect to Parkman from Garrettsville, Rt 88 is also a possible, but more hazardous route. 88 in Portage County has almost non-existent shoulders and high-speed traffic, but is usually well-paved. Brosius is a quiet rural road, but the surface is more weathered. The northern half-mile section is a gravel road (Geauga County). If you must avoid this while heading north, detour onto Adams Rd (west) to join Rt 88 a bit early. The lack of shoulder remains an issue here. If you remain on Brosius, you will still have a short ride on 88 to the main intersection with 422 in Parkman, but 88's shoulder in Geauga County is slightly wider.
Route 528, going north out of Parkman to Middlefield has a very wide paved shoulder (about a full car width) for use by Amish buggies. You may also encounter buggies on the northern part of Brosius.
There are several options for connecting to the Lake Metroparks Greenway as you exit the country club development in Concord.
- If you turn left onto Ravenna Rd (Old 44) you will see a parking area for the "Old Stone School" on your almost immediate right (a few hundred feet). There is a trail spur from this lot.
- Cross Old 44 and continue east to the Concord Cemetery. In the northwest corner of the cemetery, there is a very short dirt trail (a few dozen feet at most) connecting to another trail spur that leads to the Jordan Creek Environmental Center. Go left on this spur and you'll hit the Greenway almost immediately.
- Cross Old 44, continue to the entrance to Jordan Creek Park, and turn onto the bike trail spur leading to the Greenway.
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