Towner's Woods

We love towers woods. Be sure to bring your bug spray if you are visiting anytime besides winter. The mosquitos are brutal but the lake views are fantastic. One of the best spots in portage county for fall leaves and the portage hike and bike trail starts right here as well !

Navigating to, and locating the parking lot for Towner's Wood Park if you have never been here can be confusing. Keep going past the 'road closed' and the 'bridge closed' sign, and the parking lot is accessible before the closed bridge. Please keep an eye out for turtles on the road here. On our first time making it out here this year we ran into stopped traffic while some park visitors were helping a turtle cross the road. It was nice to see people helping. This was a fun hike, with lots of side trails, water access, and pretty views of the forest and watershed. We saw a lot of birds and marine life. The bugs were a little dense during our mid July visit but we left the park free or any ticks! We encountered a few other friendly hikers and also some dog walkers. This is also a popular area for biking, running, and triathlon training. While here we saw a lot of bikers on the bike trail that we could observe from some of the hiking trails. There seem to be several alternate trails and paths you can take to loop, we plan on coming back to explore some of the trails and side paths that we did not have time to check out on this last trip.

Relaxing location for hiking and getting lost in nature. A short drive from my parent’s house in Rootstown. It can be a bit tricky to get here as the bridge over the railroad has been closed for many years. A bike trail goes right through this area so there are options for many people.

Numerous trails and connections to explore and get lost in! ...although if you're not paying attention and/or not familiar with the area, you might *actually* get a little lost:) You won't stray off a trail unless you really try, however you might end up making more circles, or cutting off a section you wanted to do, simply for the lack of clear signage in a couple spots. There definitely are some crossings that have signs, but it might be time to comb through the park and add/update. Kind of a bummer that folks can't enjoy being on the water (no trespassing signs and fencing all around), but it's still beautiful! Plenty of natural (unpaved) trails to walk or run, but beware of mosquitoes in the summer- you've been warned! Additionally, the park is adjacent to the paved hike & bike trail, so that is an option as well.

I have been going here for years. It's so nice to be able to walk around a lake, in the woods or on an asphalt path all in one spot! If you go deep in the woods, there are benches throughout. You can go quite a ways around the lake. The trail takes you all the way to Ravenna and beyond if you want to walk that far. And you get the benefit of trains coming by every now and then. They also have clean permanent port a pots.

Been here in spring and fall. Summer was a little buggy. Has a deep woods feel to the trail. Only did outer loop of park. Hopefully these pics will help get an idea of the place.

Great hiking spot! It's very scenic and just a fun place to hike overall. It's a decent size as well. There are some inclines, but it's not overbearing. I would recommend checking it out if you're in the area. Dogs are welcome there too!

Really nice little park, didn't explore too much but the views were pretty nice and the trails pretty solid. There were some very narrow trails, and a few roots and big rocks in the trail here and there, but overall pretty relaxed. Beckwiths Orchard Cider Mill was pretty close, so that's a great stop for after. : )

This is a fairly nice walking and cross ski park. It has several miles of courses that are marked as hiking, cross country skiing and some points of interest. The trails are mostly wooded. The only issue I have is that there are markings guying you back to the parking lot and they seem to never have printed maps. So make sure you take your phone and photograph the park map.

I am constantly on the hunt for local outdoor activities, and even though Ohio doesn't have Colorado-esque terrain, there is still no reason to stay cooped up at the gym. Towner's Woods has some of the finest trails in the region, contained within a variety of environments. Near the park's entry, there is gorgeous Lake Pippin. Although water access isn't permitted because it is owned by the city of Akron (used for their water supply), some of the trails provide a scenic, somewhat hilly walk alongside it. The historic Hopewell burial mound (marked by an arrowhead on the map) is also near this entry portion of the park. The geography also includes flatter wetland terrain, a popular sledding hill, and a few ponds scattered throughout the woods. People use the park for trail running, dog walking (only on leash), and even cross country skiiing or snow shoeing in season. You could easily crank out 5-6 miles or more, if you were willing to retrace a few sections of the trail. All routes are well marked and maintained, and it would be hard to get lost in here for too long. Even on sunny weekends, I've been surprised at how sparsely populated the park is. Because of it's sprawling size, it's easy to have a very solitary experience. There are picnic pavilions and benches scattered around for warmer weather. Parking is plentiful just off the Ravenna Road entrance. There are also bathrooms in this area. If you're traveling on foot or by bike (bikes not permitted on the park's interior trails, though), you can get here via the Portage County Hike and Bike Trail. I hope you'll enjoy Towner's as much as I have. Whatever the season, it's an ideal place for a peaceful and active wander.

Seriously loved going here. So beautiful and I can't wait to return when the trees are in.

Although it had been years since returning to this park, I'm pleased to see they finally added a super nice paved walking path. Years ago, this park wasn't handicap accessible so this path put a huge smile on my face.

I went here with my mom and had a lot of fun! It was nice to see all of the nature in the world around us. We got to see all sorts of cool things like the Indian rocks. We got to see the beautiful lake and the trip was all round a good trip up until we got lost and had not one idea what the signs meant. Like what is a twig and berries mean or a nut or a leaf when you haven't been there?! We about a hour and a half in, on our lost journey, we gave up and tried to look up on my phone were in the dickens to go ,so I did and it was not helpful one bit it was terrible. We ended up walking 8 MILES around and a round in a circle and up and down and everywhere until we found a lady and she told us where to go and we finally got there at a record time of 4 hours. In conclusion, stay in the main paths and the signs aren't helpful.

Awesome park with great history. Located right on the Portage Path. Bathrooms and trash/recycling available, along with picnic tables.

This is a great outdoor wooded walking are, filled with trails and things to see! You can stick to the main paths, and enjoy a few lakes with the company of other joggers, or you can go off the main into the smaller trails and really explore the woods in the area. Do take caution though, the signs are NOT helpful and it is very easy to get turned around and lost. I suggest tagging your car on your phone where it's parked that way you can follow back with GPS if needed. You can also not go in any of the lakes as they are a protected watershed.