November 2007 - The Ohio Supreme Court issued an order for Erie Metroparks to compensate the landowners beside the Huron River Greenway for use of the land that is the Greenway. This goes to an ongoing dispute between the property owners beside the trail and the EMP over the use of privately held land for public use. Because of this ruling, Erie Metrtoparks has decided to close the Greenway park at this time. It's not my place to take sides in this argument. However it is my belief that the Milan Canal and that area that compromises the towpath beside the canal  (approximately a 50' wide strip of land which is the south end of the trail and which is mostly bottomland that has no actual marketable value) is historically priceless to the people of Milan and all of Erie County and therefore should always be open to the people of this area. Unfortunately, EMP has spent most of their development money on the north side of the trail (the Huron side) and while this is very scenic, it is also more valuable to the homeowners, many who have built their homes specifically to have a river view, and have fought to retain their perceived rights to the land. It is my sincere hope that reasonable people come together in the future to allow the Huron River Greenway to re-open and that people of Erie County will once again walk the towpaths of the Huron River and Milan Canal.

Update July 2008: Erie Metroparks has recently been able to open part of the Huron side of the Greenway. The area from Dupont Marsh to Franklin Flats (about 1.2 miles long) is now open which includes the Deering Memorial Bridge overlook shown above and below. Parking is at the Dupont Marsh area by the water tower on River Road in Huron or off road near the Memorial Bridge and from there you can walk, jog or ride your bike south to the Franklin Flats trail gate and then turn around and return to the parking area. The area from Franklin Flats south to Mason Road is still closed as is the Milan side. 

Huron River Greenway MetroPark Reserve

The Huron River Greenway Trail is an 6 1/4 mile long, north-south linear park which runs from downtown Milan (approximately a 4 mile unimproved rail bed trail to Mason Road) and then to Huron (approximately a 2 3/4 mile improved limestone trail) along the east bank of the Huron River constructed on an inactive Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway corridor. Our photos show both trails and the scenic area beside the trails. When completed, the Huron River Greenway trail will provide a walking, jogging and bicyclist connection from the shores of Lake Erie all the way to the future North Coast Inland Trail at Norwalk, Ohio. The Huron River Greenway helps protect the many species of wildlife, flowers, trees and birds along with preserving for future generations the many existing historical features of Milan and the Erie/Huron County Firelands area. 

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Huron River Greenway - South End of Trail

The Village of Milan to Mason Road southern portion of the Huron River Greenway trail is open to the public although it is presently a mostly cinder railbed trail. A dispute over a privately owned section of the trail (near Mason Road) prevents the public from going from one trailhead to the other. However each side of the trail has a parking area and access to the trail up to the barricades blocking the public from the privately owned section. This is an enormously historic area for the citizens of Milan because the south trail follows the exact towpath route of the historic Milan Canal which existed from 1826 to when it closed in 1869. The trail begins at the bottom of the Main Street hill and the entrance to the trail is directly beside what was once the industrious harbor area of the canal.  A warehouse building from the Milan Canal period still stands beside the entrance to the trail. The area that was the Milan Canal runs beside the trail all the way to the "Idaho" historical marker near Mason Road.  Although this section of the Huron River Greenway trail is currently unimproved, it is nevertheless a flat level trail that is easy to walk and yet primitive enough to allow the visitor to imagine that they are seeing many of the same things that the pioneer settlers may have saw when they first came to this area in the early 1800's.

I was never able to follow the logic of Erie Metroparks in not developing the South End of the Greenway. I don't know the exact percentages of investment, bur I would guess that 90% or more of the money used to develop the Greenway was spent on the North End of the Trail (the Huron side) while the Milan side was largely ignored.  From a historical standpoint, 90% of the history of  the Greenway was in the Milan Canal area, not in what happened once the canal reached the river. EMP's argument was that because a private landowner prevented them from going from one parking area to another, they choose to simply ignore the Milan side. in terms of development. A somewhat hollow argument since the Huron side of the trail doesn't go through to the lake which was it's original path.  By ignoring the Milan side, EMP lost the support of some of the people in Milan who wanted to see the Milan Canal preserved for future generations. And by concentrating development in the higher valued land on the Huron side, EMP is now facing a very difficult situation in appraising land that is far more valuable than the bottomland of the Milan Canal side.   

Huron River Greenway - North End of Trail

The Mason Road  to Dupont Marsh State Nature Preserve (off River Road at the water tower) which constitutes the improved north end of the Huron River Greenway trail is approximately a 2 ¾ mile compacted limestone trail that runs directly beside the Huron River and is fully open to the public  This scenic route (parts of which were once the towpath for schooners traveling on the Huron River to the Milan Canal) features the Cedar Bay Bridge, the Kara A. Deering Memorial Bridge and scenic overlook, the Zoe Melady Memorial Bridge and the Ohio Historical Marker for the "Idaho" schooner site. The wide, level path is senior's friendly and suitable for walking, jogging or bicycling. The Huron River Greenway trailheads on both the north and south side of Mason Road have stone parking areas. The Dupont trailhead has a large stoned parking area for cars and the entrance trails are well marked.

Huron River Greenway - Seniors Walking Guide

This is a linear park so, unlike most park trails, these trails do NOT circle back to the starting point. Both trails 1 & 2 are fairly primitive with some low spots but easy to walk. The Huron side of the trail often runs beside the Huron River and is very scenic. There are a variety of crossings, wood bridges and benches along this trail with a parking area at each end of this trail. As with all walking tails, a walking stick or cane may be useful for seniors. If walking alone, please carry a cell phone. The HRG is a great park for walking, jogging or bicycling but never go further than the distance you are prepared to return to your starting point. In theory, all three trails are handicap accessible however, because of the various surfaces of the trails, there are some limitations on all three trails depending upon the specific handicap requirements.  Also, as a point of reference, there are old railroad mile markers along the side of the trail and the 9 mile marker on trail #3 is about halfway from both the Mason Road lot and the DuPont Marsh parking area which means it is about 1 1/2 miles from each parking lot. I would also strongly advise you to use Off, Cutter or some other bug repellent when walking the Greenway or any other trail in this area.

Click Here For Floral Photos from the Huron River Greenway

Click Here To Visit Erie Metroparks Huron River Greenway Site