Archers Fork Loop Trail Mountain Bike Trail
Directions:
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Description: Don't miss the large overhang (Cave) and Natural Bridge (one of only 7 in Ohio) which are on this trail.
IMHO the best way to ride this loop is counter clockwise. When you get to the intersection noted above, you are right beside the cave. Take the right mentioned above (counter clockwise) and within 1/2 mile you will come to the sign on your left for the Natural Bridge. It's a short, down and back trail. It gets dangerously steep at the Natural Bridge, so be careful and walk.
After the bridge, just follow the trail. It's fairly easy going this direction. You will cross several dirt roads on this loop and will come back out right at the cave, just below the cemetary parking. The map will show other parking areas if you wish to do a smaller loop and use the roads in the area to shorten the loop.
Archers Fork Trail includes part of the North Country Trail and can be linked with other rides as well. The Wayne Ultra Series Race for 2008 will be using a portion of Archers Fork Loop. Check out the pictures and hope you go enjoy this trail.
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reviewed by Trail_Jogger on August 13, 2011
This posting is just to add a bit of detail and some coordinates. Since Archer's Fork is in the Wayne National Forest, a permit to do anything other than hiking is required. You can order a day pass online for $12 or pick one up at numerous locations listed online. (I bought mine at Nelsonville Crossing Sunoco store and got a map with it. The map is great although it does NOT show the Archer's Fork region.) The entrance to the Archer's Fork trail can be found just off Twp Road 34 on Twp Road 411 at 39-31.464N and 081-10.859W where you'll see an evident sign. Proceed to the top of that gravel road and you'll see St. Patrick's cemetery, which is listed on some maps as Ludlow Catholic Cemetery. There is no parking lot so you'll just have to park where you can. From the cemetery, turn a hard left and go down a steep dirt road. There are several roads that look as if they could be trails so ensure that you take the steep one that goes down a long hill. At the bottom of the hill, on your left, you'll see a carved, wooden sign that reads "Natural Bridge / Great Cave" with an arrow. This is the actual trailhead. From there it's about 50 yards downhill to where the loop begins. Just before you get to the bottom of this short grade you can turn right to do the loop CCW. But continue on to the bottom of the grade and you'll be sitting on top of the cave. Dismount and explore - a sign shows the way. Without exaggeration, you can coast all the way from your car by the cemetery, down the dirt road, down through the trailhead to the Great Cave without stopping. The great cave is at 39-31.323N and 081-10.823W. If you continue past the cave (instead of turning right before it, you'll follow the loop in a CW direction. The natural bridge is at 39-30.864N and 081-10.846. (This bridge coordinate isn't mine so it may not be accurate. The others are accurate.) One last thing that struck me funny - you notice a very evident smell of natural gas throughout the area due to the abundance of gas wells in the area.
Similar Trail: This trail was similar to Great Seal and Scioto Trails.

Additional Ohio Mountain Bike Info