Bedford Section Trail Alerts: (5/12/10) This alert replaces the Alert posted on this site dated 4/9/2010. On March 24, 2010, Lake County Engineer, James R. Gills announced that a major set of improvements near the intersection of Sperry and Booth Roads in Kirtland Hills would begin on March 29th. The entire project should be completed by Dec 3 of this year. In the meantime, hikers should be aware that the trail in the Bedford Section between Point 25, Intersection of the BT and the Entrance Drive to Penitentiary Glen Nature Center, and Point 26, Booth Rd. at Baldwin Rd., will be thoroughly disrupted. Mr. Gills has closed Booth Rd. to through traffic. Bedford Section Supervisor Deb Zampini has devised the following solution. Most of the trail described under Point 24 remains unchanged. However, Ms Zampini suggests that through hikers leave the existing trail before reaching Point 25 which will not be on the detour. See the trail description below. Point 25 may still be reached by following the trail on service road further NE. The detour returns to the existing route a little W of Point 26 at the intersection of Baldwin Rd and Hart Rd. Since Point 26 will not be on the detour, the descriptive matter is continued on N to Point 27. Overall, the trail length is increased slightly by this detour. The increase is only 0.2 mile, a distance most hikers will not notice. However, in the interest of accuracy, a correction of +0.2 mile should be added to all CW distances from Point 27 to the end at Lake Erie and the same correction should be applied to all CCW distances from Point 24 down to Point 1 at the 3-way junction in Brecksville Reservation.

CW	CCW	PT
0.0 E	6.6 SE	24.	SR-306 at Eagle Rd Old South Church (from early 1800's) stands on W side of intersection. BT goes E on Eagle Rd. past several developed side streets. In 4000’, BT turns N on Bridle Trail and enters Penitentiary Glen, a unit of Lake Metroparks. (See note about camping in this section, C, WC). BT is marked by decals on Carsonite posts. Infrequent turns at trail intersections are marked by arrows. The Glen is known for the deep gorge that divides the park. Early 1800’s settlers called it Penitentiary Gulley because it was so difficult to get out of the deepest part, much like a prison. CAUTION: Lake Metroparks enforces their rule to stay on trails. The trail takes a generally U-shape around the deep ravine for which the park is named. Along the way, BT encounters a variety of habitats ranging from early succession fields, man-made wetlands, young red maple woods, grape vine heaths and rather deep mixed woods. Some of the trail is on crushed limestone while other parts are primitive bridle path. At the foot of the U, the trail crosses the ravine and fords the stream. BT climbs from the creek-crossing through Beech-Maple woodland and reaches a service road in 2300’. BT turns N and, in 375’, reaches Point A (below) in a former field in early succession.
2.27 NE	4.3 NW	A.	Temporary Junction of BT on Service Road with Footpath to Kirtland-Chardon Rd Temporarily, BT leaves trail within Penitentiary Glen Metropark and crosses meadow NE. In about 200', BT reaches and crosses Kirtland Chardon Rd. BT turns NE on lawn and parallels Kirtland Chardon Rd.
2.33 W	4.3 NE	B.	BT on Footpath at Kirtland Chardon Rd and Regency Woods Drive BT joins Regency Woods Drive and meanders past Hemlock Ridge Drive (3200').
3.0 NE	3.6 S	C.	Regency Woods Drive at Cardinal Drive As Regency Woods Drive begins to turn more westerly, BT turns NE onto Cardinal Drive and soon crosses a 4-way intersection from which Red Tail Lane exits NW and White Oak Rd exits SE (1100').
3.6 E	3.0 W	D.	Cardinal Drive at Sanctuary Drive Cardinal Drive ends. And BT joins Sanctuary Drive heading E. Turning N, Sanctuary Drive meanders past Pheasant Run Lane (500', exits E), past Whitetail Run Lane ( 2000', exits E) and across East Branch of Chagrin R (650').
4.3 SE	2.3 SW	E.	Sanctuary Drive at Baldwin Rd Sanctuary Drive ends. And BT joins Baldwin Rd heading SE. In 2900', BT passes St Halberts Episcopal Church between East Branch and road.
5.2 N	1.4 W	F.	Baldwin Rd at Hart Rd Here, BT rejoins the regular route of the BT and turns N on Hart Rd across Little Mountain Rd and then over I-90 (no access).
6.0 N	0.0 W	27.	Baldwin Rd at Hart Rd Hart Rd. at Chillicothe Rd and Johnnycake Ridge Rd. (SR-84)

• (7/29/08) A new map has been published for the Bedford Section.

End of Trail Alerts

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The Bedford section begins at a kiosk in the Brecksville Reservation, Cleveland Metro Parks. This kiosk marks the beginning of the Bedford and Akron Sections and the end of the Medina Section. The Bedford Section heads northeast, while the Akron Section heads south and Medina heads west. This junction marks the spot where the Buckeye Trail was formally completed, linking the four corners of Ohio. Shortly, the trail crosses the Cuyahoga River on a wrought iron bridge, and continues off-road through various parklands. Further on, the trail uses a Rail-Trail for several miles.  In the northern half of this section, the trail finds itself more and more on roads. The Bedford Section ends at Headlands Beach State Park on Lake Erie, the BT's Northern Terminus, where it meets the Burton Section from the south. Services:  ( Click here for key to services)

Map is intended for general information and location only. Please obtain a detailed section map before hiking.

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Information on this page is provided as a service by the Buckeye Trail Association. It is believed accurate, but not guaranteed.  Changes may occur at anytime. When known, such changes will be noted on this web site, and in Trailblazer, the BTA's quarterly publication. The Buckeye Trail Association is not responsible for any errors, omissions or changes to the information on this page. If you note any errors, please contact the Buckeye Trail Association, PO Box 254, Worthington, Ohio, 43085, or E-Mail the webmaster.


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Last updated: June 29, 2010
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