Top 5 Best Motorcycle Rides in Ohio (2021 Riding Season Year-End Review)

We looked at a full collection of 2021 motorcycle riding season data when millions of riders visited MotorcycleRoads.com to find the best motorcycles rides and routes in the USA, Canada, and abroad.  For over 20 years now, MotorcycleRoads.com has been documenting the best/most-popular motorcycle roads, routes, and rides and for about a decade, we have published annual reports after diving into the website's statistics (which routes are riders researching the most, which routes are getting the most photo/video/comment uploads, etc., etc.) to determine which of the motorcycle routes have risen to the top in motorcycle rider popularity.  We look at a complex set of factors (see Note 2 below) to determine which of the motorcycle rides in each of the states and US regions are the most popular and rated to be the best by motorcycle riders just like you.  Our very popular annual "Top Motorcycle Rides per Region" guides cover the best rides for each of the four official riding regions of the USA: the Northeast, the South, the Midwest, and the West.  This year we took things a step further and decided to gone one level deeper and develop guides outlining the Top 5 Best Motorcycle Rides in for the US states and so you are seeing one of those such guides on this page.   

Ohio is a state that stands out in the world of great motorcycle roads as it has some of the most popular in the USA.  Each year MotorcycleRoads.com puts out a list of the most popular motorcycle rides in the four main regions of the USA, and in the Midwest, Ohio dominates the top routes.  So, starting from #5 and working our way down to the #1 best motorcycle ride in Ohio.

After reviewing an entire year of activity of Ohio motorcycle riders, here are the results:

Top 5 Most Popular Motorcycle Rides in Ohio!

#5 Northeastern Ohio's Curve Heaven - RT 164

Ohio State Route 164 bends and swirls through 45 miles of mountaintops and valleys. The route begins in Leesville, Ohio, travels via the small villages of Amsterdam, Bergholz, and Salineville before concluding in Lisbon, Ohio. It passes through the sandstone hills in Jefferson County.

#4 Ohio's Dragon's Tail

The Dragon's Tail in Ohio spans 20 miles across State Route 78. This bike route has tight twisty roads with several elevation changes. Take a leisurely, serene journey between the bucolic agricultural communities of Glouster and McConnelsville in southeastern Ohio.

#3 Ohio Route 26

State Route 26 connects SR 7 in Marietta to SR 148 between Jerusalem and Bethesda in southeastern Ohio, covering 75 miles. State Route 26 is classified as a US Scenic Highway since it follows a river with many beautiful cliffside areas and hilly scenery.

#2 The Ohio Cousin Of The "Tail Of The Dragon"

The Ohio Cousin Of The "Tail Of The Dragon" follows a beautiful trip through the deep woods in the southeast part of Ohio, just north of Wayne National Forest. Begin by traveling to Hannibal, Ohio. Simply follow Ohio Rt 536 east to the end of Ohio Rt 78.

#1 The Triple Nickel - Route 555

If you want a to ride a pinnacle Ohio motorcycle ride then you need to take on the Triple Nickel (route 555) which is an hour or so of tough, unexpected twists. Riders can begin in Zanesville and enjoy 36 miles of hairpin twists and blind corners with breathtaking views of rolling hills and isolated farms.  There is no better ride in the Midwest and motorcycle riders come from all over the USA for this notorious thrill ride!

Note 1:  All facts and figures below were gathered in Dec of 2021 and will change over time as new motorcycle roads are added to the collection.  For an update listing, you can go to MotorcycleRoads.com at any time, search on a state of your choosing, and you'll be presented with a list of the best motorcycle roads in that state.  You can also search on the newest motorcycle routes to be registered in that state as well as sift through the routes based on other filters.  Some examples of filtered searches you can do is to filter results based on - only the routes in your state that have 5-star scenery ratings, or only routes with a 5-star driving excitement rating and at least a 3-star rating for scenery, etc. etc.

Note 2:  How were these popularity ratings calculated? 
A motorcycle road’s popularity can be based on a wide variety of factors.  Our analysis considered some obvious indicators of motorcycle road popularity such each roads’ “Rider Rating” scores (star ratings) and which motorcycle road description pages were visited the most.  But, the analysis dug deeper and looked at some less obvious yet valuable indicators of a motorcycle road’s popularity such as how often a given motorcycle road was added to riders’ “To Ride” lists, how often a given motorcycle road was added to riders’ “Rode it” lists and enthusiasm indicators such how often photos and/or videos were uploaded for a given road and which roads are attracting the most buzz among motorcycle roads indicated by those roads that are receiving the most number of new/recent comments.  For the sake of being consistent and as objective as possible we use a popularity algorithm that “crunches those number” and allows us to develop a ranking of the popularity of each of the motorcycle roads used as a basis for this guide.