It’s easy to take Akron’s outdoor recreational opportunities for granted—especially when we compare our backyards with those living in Colorado or Wyoming or Maine. Sure, residents of those states are blessed with amazing scenery and vast open spaces to explore by foot or on bike, but those of us living in Northeast Ohio have it pretty good too.

For example, did you know that the Cuyahoga Valley National Park has over 125 miles of trails for us to enjoy, or that 57.6 miles of the 1,440-mile Buckeye Trail (which circles the state of Ohio) passes through Akron, with only 4% of that on sidewalks?

These trails range in difficulty from easy to advanced and there are plenty of different options for kids, older adults, and more serious athletes and trail runners. That’s pretty impressive considering that many of us live near a large city (Akron or Cleveland).

In addition, we are surrounded by several amazing park systems as well as numerous lakes and streams that offer abundant fishing and kayaking opportunities (including the Cuyahoga River which was just named River of the Year).

I mention all of this because at PCR Business Systems, we understand how important it is to be active outside of the office. We not only want to be happy and healthy for our families and ourselves, but being fit also makes us more productive at work. We believe getting active as a team is truly motivating, as evidenced in our May Movement Challenge.

We recently discussed how exercise and productivity go hand in hand. That, combined with spring being in full bloom, we thought this would be a good time to list a few of our favorite Akron hiking and running trails as well as some of the resources we use to help us get out the door and lace up our running and hiking shoes.

Hiking/Running/Biking Trails

Brandywine Falls Trail	1.4 Miles	Hiking	Moderate	Boston Heights, OH
3 Waterfalls Loop	7.5 Miles	Hiking	Moderate	Brecksville, OH
Adam Run Trail	3.3 Miles	Hiking	Moderate	Northampton, OH
Buckeye Trail	57.6 Miles	Multi-Purpose	Moderate	Akron, OH
Towpath Trail	87 Miles	Multi-Purpose	Easy to Moderate	Cleveland to Akron
Blue Hen to Buttermilk	1.6 Miles	Hiking	Moderate	Brecksville, OH
Dogwood Trail	2.3 Miles	Hiking	Moderate	Akron, OH
Sand Run Jogging Trail	6 Miles	Multi-Purpose	Easy	Akron, OH
More CVNP Hikes	+ 125 Miles	Mult-Purpose	Easy to Moderate	NE Ohio

Parks

• Summit County Metro Parks
• Cuyahoga Valley National Park
• F.A. Seiberling Nature Realm
• Cleveland Metro Parks

Running Stores

• Second Sole

Trail Running Groups

• Crooked River Trail Runners
• Group Runs

Running Races

• Akron Marathon Race Series
• Trail Races

Please comment and let us know which trails are your favorites.