Lake Hope State Park Mountain Bike Trails
With 17 miles of singletrack open to mountain
bikes, there are plenty of riding options at Lake Hope. Here are a few
ideas to get you started. (All mileage is approximate.)
Hope Furnace Trail Loop (4.5 miles/6.5 miles)
Hope Furnace Trail hugs the lakeshore, providing beautiful views and not
much elevation gain. Technical bridge crossings, roots, and a few short,
steep ups-and-downs keep you on your toes (and we hope not on your
head). As this is one of the park’s most heavily used trails, be sure
to yield to hikers and to look out for other cyclists.
Park either at the Furnace Parking Lot or the Trailhead Parking Lot.
Ride the trail in one direction and return to your starting point via
State Route 278 (total ride mileage ~4.5 miles), or double back and
enjoy the trail in the opposite direction (total ride mileage ~6.5
miles).
Copperhead Loop (10 miles)
This loop features fantastic ridge riding on Copperhead Trail. Be
careful — tight turns come up unexpectedly on this trail. This loop
also will let you roll alongside the lake on Hope Furnace Trail — then
you’ll push your bike up Grouse Point Trail to finish the loop.
Park at the Grouse Point Picnic Area near the Copperhead/Little Sandy
intersection. Ride Copperhead Trail, intersecting Long Ridge Road two
times before crossing Lake Ridge Road. Continue on Copperhead for almost
4 more miles, eventually taking a right on Habron Trail. Follow Habron
for 1.1 miles, then turn right onto Hope Furnace Trail. Ride for 1.5
miles, watching for the Grouse Point intersection. Take a right and push
your bike up this steep hill and you’ve finished the loop.
Sidewinder Loop (5.5 miles)
This twisty trail is full of tight turns, steep climbs and descents,
switchbacks, roots, fun little dips and a tricky bridge crossing.
Because Sidewinder is a climb from the Trailhead Parking Lot to Cabin
Ridge Road, it’s become most popular in the opposite direction (but
there are those of us who like to climb it, too). However, you still
need to get to the top of the hill if you want to ride Sidewinder down,
and there are two options:
a) Head on to Sidewinder from the Trailhead Parking Lot. Ride for about
.5 mile to the Little Sandy/Sidewinder intersection. Go left and down
the hill, then immediately turn right onto Little Sandy. Climb (and oh,
you will climb) to the top of the ridge. Take a right onto Sidewinder,
then ride back down to the Trailhead Parking Lot.
b) From the Trailhead Parking Lot, ride up the paved Cabin Ridge Road,
through the vacation cabins, to the Little Sandy/Copperhead intersection
(almost 2 miles). Turn left onto Little Sandy; nearly immediately
you’ll see Sidewinder heading into the woods on your left. Follow
Sidewinder to the Trailhead Parking Lot.
The Big Loop (16 miles, and equally fun in either direction)
This loop features some of the best mountain bike trails at Lake Hope:
Hope Furnace, Habron, Copperhead and Sidewinder. And, if once isn’t
enough, simply turn around and ride the loop in the opposite direction
— you’ll log more than 30 miles of sweet southeastern Ohio
singletrack.
Begin at the Furnace Parking Lot and ride Hope Furnace Trail for
approximately .7 miles. Watch out for bridges — they might be slippery
or have steps! At the Habron intersection, turn right and continue on
Habron past the Red Oak intersection. Climb up a fun switchback (it’s
a doer!), continuing on up the ridge to the Copperhead intersection.
Turn left onto Copperhead and let some fun, fast ridgetop riding begin.
Watch out for tight turns at high speed! Cross Lake Ridge Road and
continue on Copperhead for nearly a mile. Turn left onto Long Ridge Road
for just a few hundred yards, then left again back into the woods on
Copperhead for another mile of twisty, fast trail. Turn left onto Lake
Ridge Road again, bear left at the fork in the road, then turn left into
the woods for the final, 1.4-mile section of Copperhead. Cross over
Cabin Ridge Road onto Little Sandy. Very soon you’ll see the
Sidewinder intersection on your left. Follow Sidewinder to the Trailhead
Parking Lot, then take a left onto the paved road and ride past the
Beach House to the entrance to Hope Furnace Trail (approx. .6 miles on
paved road). Follow Hope Furnace Trail 3.25 miles back to the Furnace
Parking Lot.
Ride the Ridgetop (various distances)
If you'd like to practice your singletrack skills without riding up
major climbs or riding for a long period of time, drive to the top of
the ridge and ride some of Copperhead Trail. Park either at the Cabin
Ridge Road / Little Sandy intersection or along Long Ridge Road near the
Lake Ridge Road intersection. Ride any or all of the three sections of
Copperhead that intersect Long Ridge and Cabin Ridge roads.
Good Things to Know
If you’d like to add 2 miles to your ride, look for Wildcat Trail
right next to Copperhead off of Lake Ridge road. This out-and-back trial
will add some fun mileage.
There are several "bailout" options on the Lake Hope trails.
From these you can easily access park roads that will take you back to
the main parking lots. (See map for further information.)
From Sidewinder: Approximately 1.25 miles from the Cabin Ridge Road
intersection you can hop off Sidewinder and walk or ride a few hundred
feet to Cabin Ridge Road. OR, just a bit further down the trail, you can
take the Cabin Ridge Road Connector out to Cabin Ridge Road (or over to
Little Sandy Trail).
From Copperhead: There are several intersections and near intersections
with Long Ridge Road, which will eventually intersect with Cabin Ridge
Road and take you back to the Trailhead Parking Lot.
From Hope Furnace Trail/Cabin Ridge Road: Grouse Point, Oak Point and
Keeton Trails all are steep, quick connectors between Hope Furnace Trail
and Cabin Ridge Road.
The Lake Hope Moutain BikeTrails are multi-use trails and users should observe the
International Mountain Bicycling Association’s (IMBA) Rules of the
Trail:
- Ride on open trails only.
- Leave no trace
- Control your bicycle
- Always yield trail
- Never scare animals
- Plan ahead
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