Parking
Use East Rim Trailhead at 281 Boston Mills Road in Peninsula. Walk north on the Bike & Hike Trail to the first East Rim access on your left. The parking area has a restroom.
Overview
About East Rim Trail
Why go
- A full singletrack loop in a short outing
- The route follows the edge of a plateau for about half its length
Heads up
- Fast mountain bikers share the narrow trail
- Rocky footing makes it more work than a smooth forest path
East Rim Trail is a 2.3-mile unpaved loop on Cuyahoga Valley's East Rim mountain-bike network. It's built for intermediate mountain bikers, but hikers and runners can use it too. Expect a narrow dirt track with hills and rocky spots, not a smooth nature path. Allow about an hour to an hour and a half on foot. About half the loop follows the edge of a plateau; the rest curls back through the woods.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs this the walk for you?Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Cuyahoga Valley map
Full mapElevation889–965 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
3 active Cuyahoga Valley alerts
- ClosureTowpath Trail improvement closureThe Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail from Boston Trailhead to Lock 29 in Peninsula is closed for improvements during the August 24–November 20, 2026 closure period.Official details
- CautionCuyahoga River paddling closure and hazardsPaddlers must portage the current river-wide closure near river mile 17 and avoid serious river hazards. - The closure is due to bridge demolition and construction.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Cuyahoga Valley Tour Guide
Your drive to East Rim Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Cuyahoga Valley National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
East Rim Trailhead0:00 / 0:26
“You're nearing East Rim Trailhead, access to the park's first mountain-bike trail. Hikers can use the two-point-three-mile loop too, following a narrow, rocky track along a wooded plateau edge.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Cuyahoga Valley Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Why Turtles Claim the Logs
- A Grove That Could Be One Plant
- Wildlife Woods Trail
- A Flower That Makes Heat
- 97 audio storiesacross Cuyahoga Valley’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Bald Eagle, River Otter, Coyote, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 63 trails, 88 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking East Rim Trail
Share the trail carefullyBikes can move quickly through the narrow turns. Hikers and runners must yield to riders.
Bikes can move quickly through the narrow turns. Hikers and runners must yield to riders. The one-way direction changes by day, so check the signs at the access before starting. The whole system closes in wet, icy, or otherwise hazardous conditions. Pets are not allowed.
Getting to the loopPark at East Rim Trailhead on Boston Mills Road in Peninsula.
Park at East Rim Trailhead on Boston Mills Road in Peninsula. Walk north along the Bike & Hike Trail to the first access on your left; that's East Rim. The 2.3 miles is the loop from this access, so the short connector from the lot adds a little walking. A restroom is marked at the parking area.
A trail built for bikesEast Rim opened in November 2015 as Cuyahoga Valley's first mountain-bike trail.
East Rim opened in November 2015 as Cuyahoga Valley's first mountain-bike trail. That shared-use purpose still shapes the walk: come for a short stretch of purpose-built singletrack and rolling woods, and be ready to watch for riders.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Cuyahoga Valley
319 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
12 sightingsRiver OtterMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
103 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
248 sightingsBeaverMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
492 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
99 sightingsTrumpeter SwanMost seen around 5 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Cuyahoga Valley. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
