New Touch Stone Loop at the Bedford Singletrack Mountain Bike Trail

Touch Stone Loop trailhead near Egbert Road and Overlook Lane

The Bedford Singletrack mountain bike trail in the Cleveland Metroparks Bedford Reservation opened in June of 2014, and has been widely enjoyed by local mountain bikers from all over Northeast Ohio. About a month ago, the new Touch Stone Loop opened, adding an extra two miles of singletrack to the network. Now, the complete loop at Bedford gives you about 12 miles of a quality mountain biking experience!

I've had the opportunity to ride the new Touch Stone Loop a few times now. It starts at the intersection of Egbert Road and Overlook Lane (see trailhead photo above), also near the start of the Mars Quarry Trail.

There's a few gently rolling ups and downs at the start of the Touch Stone Loop. You'll go over a few new wooden bridges that were built over ecologically sensitive areas.

One of several wooden bridges along the Touch Stone Loop

The trail snakes through and around several natural streams and gorges, providing some stunning views.

When you reach the bottom, you'll end up in a parking lot located at the corner of Alexander Road and Dunham Road. Look to your right, where you'll see another wooden bridge where the Touch Stone Loop continues back uphill:

Entrance to the Touch Stone Loop from
the Alexander/Dunham Rd parking lot

For those of you who live south of the Bedford area, this parking lot is a good starting point for the whole Bedford Singletrack system. The lot has quite a few spaces, although keep in mind there is no restroom here, nor any water fountains, like you'll find at the main trailhead near the Egbert Picnic Shelter.

As you follow the Touch Stone Loop back uphill, you'll reach the intersection of Egbert Road and Overlook Lane again. Cross over the All-Purpose Trail, cross over Egbert Road, and the start of the Mars Quarry Trail will be on your left, where you can continue with the rest of the original Bedford Singletrack network.

We've updated the Bedford Singletrack page on the Century Cycles web site with the new Touch Stone Loop information. Go there to find complete directions for our suggested loop for the whole Bedford Singletrack, which starts at the Egbert Picnic Shelter.

Many thanks to the staff of the Cleveland Metroparks, working with volunteers of the Cleveland Area Mountain Bike Association (CAMBA), for working to expand our mountain biking trails!

Be sure to check the trail conditions before heading out to ride the mountain bike trails. A group of dedicated volunteers checks the trails daily. You can find the latest updates with the park's new Twitter feed; follow @CMPmtb. If you're not on Twitter; don't worry -- you can still go to www.clevelandmetroparks.com/MTBalerts to get the scoop.