Bedford Reservation
Managed by Cleveland Metroparks
622 acres6.6 mi of trail
Bridle TrailBuckeye TrailRerouted Bridle Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Photo: Bennett-ne · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Bedford
Bedford has 7.0 miles of mapped trails, 1.3 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Bedford Reservation (6.6 mi). 6% of Bedford’s land is conserved, about 201 acres. 79% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns · #285 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
201 acres · of 5.3 sq mi of land
Trails
7.0 mi
1.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
73 ac
5.6 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
79%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.3 mi
2.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Bedford?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bedford have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bedford is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns, #285 of 993 in Ohio. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bedford’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4APark land5.6 acres of park per 1,000 residents (73 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13CParks close to home79% of residents within a half mile of a park · OH 60% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 68%
LessMore
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 71%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Bedford Reservation, with 6.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Managed by National Park Service
426 acres
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
FIrebird Athletic Complex
Park
31 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 7 parks & preserves
Bedford Reservation622 acres · 6.6 mi of trail · Cleveland Metroparks
DirectionsFIrebird Athletic Complex31 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsBedford Public Square1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Cuyahoga Valley National Park426 acres · National Park Service
DirectionsArchibald Willard Park10 acres
DirectionsTaft Park6 acres
DirectionsInterstate Park2 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
201 conserved acres
6% of Bedford’s land. Who manages Bedford’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city198 ac
Regional agency6 ac
Local Park · 180 acLocal Recreation Area · 17 acRecreation or Education Easement · 6 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 7 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford Reservation Local Park | Town or city | 171 | Restricted |
| Shawnee Hills Golf Course Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
Things to do
13 places to go in Bedford
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Bedford
8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Waterfalls in Bedford
Great Falls of Tinker's CreekIn Bedford Reservation
DirectionsScenic views in Bedford
4 scenic views without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 4.6 miUnpaved · 4.8 mi
Bridle Trail2.1 mi
Buckeye Trail1.3 mi
Rerouted Bridle Trail0.7 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
11Baseball
5Tennis
2Soccer
2Football
1Skate park
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →7 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Bedford Township HallBuilding · listed 1975
About itHezekiah Dunham HouseBuilding · listed 1975
About itHolsey Gates HouseBuilding · listed 1975
About itCleveland And Pittsburgh Railroad BridgeStructure · listed 1975
About itBedford Baptist ChurchBuilding · listed 2002
About itBedford Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2004
About itVilla San Bernardo Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2015
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Bedford: April to September
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 37 | 46 | 59 | 70 | 79 | 82 | 81 | 74 | 62 | 50 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.2 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.0 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Bedford →
Next door
Bedford and its neighbors
Bedford has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford | 6% | 1.3 | 6 | 79% | B+ |
| Walton Hills | 15% | 3.4 | 221 | 73% | A+ |
| Oakwood | 4% | 0.1 | 7 | 87% | C+ |
| Bedford Heights | 6% | 0.5 | 6 | 70% | B |
| Maple Heights | 4% | 0.3 | 6 | 89% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bedford
Where can I hike in Bedford?
The longest trail networks: Bedford Reservation, 6.6 miles; FIrebird Athletic Complex, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bedford is conserved land?
6% of its land, against a typical 3% for an Ohio town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Bedford’s trails?
Bedford Reservation and Cuyahoga Valley National Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Bedford?
2.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Bedford?
25,706 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bedford or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 73 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Bedford have?
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #285 of 993 in Ohio. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Bedford neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →