I lived in Cincinnati, Ohio for 10 years. During that time, especially when I was attending university, I walked many of the state's trails. The best trail in Ohio is The Buckeye Trail. It's absolutely huge (almost 1,500 miles long) and hits every part of the state at least once. It starts in Cincinnati where two different forks go north and east, goes through a national park in Cleveland, continues on up through the rest of the state and ends at Lake Erie. On its way up the two forks, the Buckeye Trail also goes through Medina, Loveland, Shawnee, Troy, Defiance and Akron, just to name a few towns.

The Buckeye Trail is easy to follow as it's marked by what they call 'blue blazes.' These are blue painted marks that are on trees and signposts all the way along the trail. I've walked the Loveland part of the trail, which actually starts in the Eden Park area of Cincinnati. It goes through city streets here (which is cooler than it sounds as there are some beautiful old houses in this area of Cincinnati), then winds through Little Miami State Park, continues along the riverbank and passes King's Island Amusement Park. It ends up at an Indian earthworks and museum that's very interesting to stop and visit if you have the time.

You can also do the Circuit Hike on the Buckeye Trail, which means you can walk the whole thing. At almost 1,500 miles long though, it would take you a few weeks and a excellent pair of hiking boots to complete, especially if you're hiking during the summer months when Ohio gets very humid. You, of course, wouldn't want to hike the trail past the beginning of October as Ohio gets supremely cold in winter with the weather quickly changing to sleet, snow and ice.

Ohio, in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful states in the U.S. During the spring and summer, the countryside is green and full of flowers. It's also hilly in many areas so you'll get a great workout while hiking. The Buckeye Trail runs through pretty countryside, where you'll see rivers, waterfalls, gorgeous foliage and wild flowers, raccoons, deer, rabbits and more.

For more information on the Buckeye Trail in Ohio, check out the Buckeye Trail's website.