Akron Urban Adventure Riding

Background

I like strange stuff, and finding strange places to ride. This is a collection of weird terrain and places you can ride in Akron, OH. In particular, there’s a bunch of strange industrial land around Akron, but you have to find it. I like riding BMX, Dirt Jumpers, Mountain Bikes, Enduros, Adventure Bikes, and most of these are GoPro Hero 5 footage from my KTM 690 Enduro R.

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Cadillac Hill

Cadillac Hill, also known as Bates Hill, is a street in Akron, Ohio with a 28% grade, making it the steepest improved street in the city, and fun to ride up and down on an adventure motorcycle. The hill was originally named Bates Hill in 1867, but later acquired the name Cadillac Hill. The street’s nickname is said to have originated from a Cadillac dealership that has been located there since the early 20th century. In the early 1920s, Cadillac salespeople would use the hill to demonstrate the power of the company’s new V8 engines.

Eastwood Avenue

In October 2023, I got a KTM 690 Enduro R, and started exploring weird areas in Akron, OH. I discovered a path right off Eastwood Avenue where they tore out the railroad tracks between 2019 and 2021. There’s a path that’s probably 1/4 to 1/2 of a mile with an an old boat dumped off back there, and some other interesting stuff.

 

Glendale Cemetery

The Mausoleums, Churches and other structures in Glendale Cemetery are impressive and worth a stop if your adventure riding or touring through Akron, OH. The history is really incredible, and the presence when riding through impressive. Glendale is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was established in 1839 by Dr. J.D. Commins, who visited Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was inspired to create the same park-like setting for a cemetery in Akron. The cemetery features a wide variety of architectural styles that draw upon ancient building forms. Mausoleums are modeled after Egyption, Greek and Roman temples or Gothic churches. The stately mausoleums and symbolic statues are scattered throughout, honoring prominent citizens of Akron, including politicians, famous, industrialists, and Akron socialites.

Honda Hills

Not to be confused with the Honda Hills MX track, East of Columbus, in Thornville, OH. Most of what’s known about this place is passed on by word of mouth, but there is a Facebook group (Honda Hillz AKRON Ohio). Even when I was in High School back in the early 1990s, people had been taking 4x4s and dirt bike there. The trail system is really developed and similar to Bear Creek or Crow Canyon but in the city limits of Akron not far from downtown. Technically, this land is on 890 Evans avenue (Google Maps) but everyone enters the property from Eastwood Avenue (Google Maps). This property is owned by the City of Akron, so ride at your own risk. Honestly, I’d love to buy this property and turn it into a real MX and 4×4 park.

 

 

Service Road from Bowery to Waterloo

There’s a service road that most people don’t know about running Southwest from Bowery Street in Downtown Akron, all the way out to Waterloo Road in Barbarton. It’s about 5 miles long, and the terrain varies a bit. It starts with some cement riding, behind the Akron Metro Transit Center, then turns into gravel and dirt. Later, it turns into more of a path, and gets a little closer to the train tracks, but still a safe distance (I don’t ride on active tracks). There’s a small, approximately 1/2 mile section that goes though some deep gravel, but it’s manageable if you control your speed. There’s even a small bridge cross, but it feels relatively safe. I often wait until a CSX train is heading Southwest, I wait for the engine to go by, then sort of follow it for fun. It seems to be sort of a grey area of legality. The Cops have definitely seen me riding back there and haven’t stopped me. One time a cop pulled up, rubbed his finger implying I was “naughty” and drove a way.