(Photo by Art Smith) One of the bridges along the Dark Hollow Trail east of Marietta.

The crisp fall air makes it a great time to get out and enjoy the outdoors before winter arrives and chases us all indoors.

The Marietta area is blessed with miles upon miles of trails that allow you to enjoy the outdoors at your own ability and pace. Some are short and easy, some are hard — really hard. I’m no expert, but a little advice may make your experience better. I came up with my own rating system. Your opinion may differ.

The River Trail: 4.5 miles: Marietta’s gem of a trail is really not a trail at all, it is a paved path that connects the Indian Acres boat ramp area to an area next to Aldi and Walmart on Pike Street. The trail is an excellent choice for people of any ability. It is a shared use trail, so keep your eyes and ears open for bikes. Parking at the Armory on Front Street allows you to “bow” the trail, do both ends with your car, and restrooms in the middle. Art’s rating. EASY.

River Loop Trail .7 miles: Located behind Lowe’s, this short and very flat trail takes you on a short loop to the Ohio River. It passes through a grove of trees that is a part of a forest reclamation project and offers a few cut-across trails to mix things up a little. Art’s rating. EASY.

Elementary School trails, distances vary. You can enter these trails from the parking lot near the gym of the school. You have several choices that follow the contour of the hill. Take the bottom one, the trail forks after about 60 yards. Take the left fork to get on the Moon Trail. This will take you through a mature woods and up some challenging hills. Stay on it until the end and it will recombine with one of the trails that you didn’t take when you started. Turn right to return to your car, or keep left and journey up the Old Hickory Trail to the top of the hill and intersection of Aurora and Euclid streets. You will feel like you have climbed a mountain so when you start down what was once an old street, stop and take a break on the porch you will find on your left. It’s OK, the house has been gone for decades, but the porch offers you a good place to catch your breath. Continue down the hill and you will end up on Greene Street after passing the foundations of houses that were destroyed by a land slip a half century ago. You can make it a true loop by taking Greene to Seventh and then Seventh to Butler, where you will turn right and rejoin the trail at the end of the street. You will feel like you are in someone’s yard, you are not. The trail will lead you back to your car. Art’s rating. MEDIUM

Cisler Trail. Somehow this trail will take you from Giant Eagle to the high school and cross just two streets. Enter the trail from the parking lot a short way up Clifton Street. It will take you through the woods next to the Frontier Shopping Center. There is a fork in the trail, go left and pick up the trail behind Movement Fitness. You will be going uphill for a while as the trail climbs past Oak Grove Cemetery. You can stay on Cisler or jump onto the Borsma Trail, it will later rejoin the Cisler Trail. Borsma adds a few more hills to your hike, after rejoining Cisler you will head up a steep section before reaching Gibbons Street, a block later you go back in the woods again and travel to the Jackson Dog Park. You will cross the driveway to the park, but if you are dying from thirst at this point you may want to go up the hill, there is a working water fountain there and you may be able to visit some puppies.

After your break, go back in the woods and continue until you get to the high school. You can turn around at that point for a five-mile hike or add some of the trails that are at the high school to make it a 6 to 7-mile workout. The trail is somewhat unique for a Marietta trail because it offers some exit points, at the high school, dog park, Sunset Drive and at Oak Grove Cemetery. It’s a good trail if you only want a trail/sidewalk mix. Art’s rating. MEDIUM with a few killer hills.

Rudolph Trails. Follow Mill Creek Road to the end and park in the gravel lot. This is my favorite set of trails in Marietta, they are also some of the most challenging. It’s a network of interconnecting trails that allow you to really do a variety of distances. A giant plywood Bigfoot a few miles in works as a waypoint where several trails intersect. There is a map near the trailhead. Study it, or take a photo before you start and it will help you understand all of them. Know where the connector trails are because they can take miles off your hike if you decide you took on more than you could handle. My favorite is the Dark Hollow Trail, but they are all challenging. It is possible to connect Cisler Trail with it, pushing the overall distance into the mid-teens. The trails are now part of the Broughton Trails System. You can connect the two by using the Pioneer Trail and crossing Ohio 821. Art’s rating. It can be very HARD depending on which trails you take.

Broughton Trails. A huge network of trails located off of Ohio 821 where you can use either the paved multi-use trail or one of several trails that cover the hill between Ohio 60 and Ohio 821. Art’s rating. EASY to HARD, depending on route.

I could go on and on, there are many more trails in the Marietta area and I will cover some of the rest in a future column. Until then, maps at each location and available with trail apps will give you a great idea where to find them.

For years I have considered Marietta’s vast network of trails to be a truly hidden gem. They are all open to walkers, runners and cyclists. I find it remarkable that you can go from Giant Eagle to nearly Exit 7 on Interstate 77 and cross just a handful of highways. Volunteers were largely responsible for the construction of trails through the wooded areas, and you will frequently find them out cutting fallen trees, weed whacking and building bridges over creeks. These devoted volunteers help to keep the trails well-kept for everyone. If you happen to see them, thank them for all their hard work.

Art Smith is online manager for The Times, you can contact him at asmith@mariettatimes.com.