Little Miami Scenic Trail

Little Miami Scenic Trail
Yellow Springs Station in Greene County
Length	74.9 mi (120.5 km)[1]
Location	Southwestern Ohio
Designation	State Bike Route 1 State Bike Route 3 North Country National Scenic Trail USBR 50 (in Xenia)
Trailheads	Springfield to Newtown, Ohio
Use	Multi-use
Elevation
Elevation change	−486 ft (−148 m)[2]
Highest point	Springfield trailhead
Lowest point	Little Miami Golf Center trailhead, Newtown
Hiking details
Trail difficulty	Easy (fully accessible[3])
Season	Year-round

The Little Miami Scenic Trail, also known as the Little Miami Scenic River Trail^[4] and Little Miami Bike Trail, is the fourth longest paved rail trail in the U.S., running 74.9 miles (120.5 km)^[1] though five southwestern counties in the state of Ohio. The multi-use trail sees frequent use by hikers and bicyclists, as well as the occasional horseback rider. Over 350,000 people made use of the trail in 2005.^[5]

Most of the trail runs along a dedicated, car-free corridor maintained by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources as Little Miami State Park. The unusually linear state park passes though four counties, with a right-of-way running about 50 miles (80 km) long and averaging 66 feet (20 m) in width^[6] for a total of about 707 acres (286 ha). Elsewhere, the corridor ranges from 8 to 10 feet (2.4 to 3.0 m) in width.^[7]

The Little Miami Scenic Trail is signposted as State Bike Route 1 south of Xenia and State Bike Route 3 throughout. The concurrency from Newtown to Xenia is marked with "⅓" signs.^[8] Before 2011, the entire trail was designated Route 1.^{[9][10][11][12]} The Little Miami trail is an incrementally growing section of the Underground Railroad Bicycle Route, Buckeye Trail, and North Country National Scenic Trail, while the trail south of Xenia forms the southern leg of the Ohio to Erie Trail.^[13]

History

The largely wooded corridor was created along the right-of-way of the old Little Miami Railroad. The original railway bed is still visible beside the trail in various places along the trail route.

Together with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the local governments of Xenia and Yellow Springs purchased land along the abandoned railroad from 1973 and 1983.^[14] In 1979, the land became an Ohio State Park.^[6] The Loveland Bike Trail was added to the state park in 1984.^[15] Two years later, the Ohio Department of Transportation received a grant from the Federal Highway Administration to complete the trail.^[14]

By 1989, the trail stretched 13 miles (21 km), with its northern terminus at Morrow.^[16] The original portion of the trail was dedicated on December 20, 1991.^[17] The route ran mostly along the eastern bank of the Little Miami River, from Spring Valley in Greene County to the limits of Terrace Park in Hamilton County, across the river from Milford. The trail was extended northward to Xenia later that year^[18] and to Springfield in 1998.^[19] In 2006, after a protracted, 26-year battle with Terrace Park residents,^[20][21] it was extended southward to Newtown.^[22]

Fractional state bike route markers are posted between Newtown and Xenia.

In the late 2000s, state budget cuts have caused portions of the trail to fall into disrepair, resulting in the temporary closure of some wooden bridges and rest areas.^[23][24] However, an organization called the Friends of the Little Miami State Park Group ^[25] was founded late 2008 to focus attention and finances on critical portions to keep the trail open and make it safer. Most of the bridges within state park boundaries were paved or re-planked in 2009. In 2010, a failed parks levy prompted the Clark County Park District to indefinitely close its 5.6-mile (9.0 km) stretch of the trail, posting "No Trespassing" signs at park entrances.^[26] Because this stretch of trail was partially built with federal funds, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources attempted to force its reopening.^[27][28] The district reopened its parks in April 2011 with volunteer support.^[29]

Current route

The Little Miami Scenic Trail as it approaches the former Peters Cartridge Company factory in Warren County

Xenia made a deal to be the official start of the trail for a donation of land, making the mile markers change from the previous start. For the first 9 miles (14 km) to Xenia, the Little Miami Scenic Trail is operated by the Clark County Park District and the National Trail Parks and Recreation District.^[19] From the Simon Kenton Trailhead in Springfield, the Little Miami trail runs southward parallel to U.S. Route 68 and continues to Yellow Springs. Near John Bryan State Park, the North Country Trail and Buckeye Trail enter from Dayton to the west.^[13][30] For the next 15 miles (24 km) to Spring Valley, the Little Miami trail is managed by Greene County. At Xenia Station, it meets the Creekside Trail, as well as the Prairie Grass Trail, on which the Ohio to Erie Trail continues north to Columbus. A brief segment of the Little Miami trail that connects the Creekside and Prairie Grass trails is designated as U.S. Bike Route 50.^[31][32]

Little Miami State Park begins at Hedges Road in Spring Valley, quickly meets the banks of the Little Miami River, and follows U.S. 42 into Warren County. It passes through Corwin (near Waynesville), Caesar Creek State Park, and Oregonia, where the Buckeye Trail rejoins.^[30] At Fort Ancient, the trail runs under the imposing Jeremiah Morrow Bridge (Interstate 71). It then passes through the downtown districts of Morrow and South Lebanon to the former Middletown Junction, where the Lebanon Countryside Trail begins.

The Little Miami trail continues southward, opposite the river from Kings Mills and the rear of the expansive Kings Island park grounds. At this location the historic Peters Cartridge Company facility overlooks the bike trail. The trail passes under U.S. 22/State Route 3 at Fosters, across the river from the Landen Mounds. It continues by a few final cornfields before entering Clermont County and downtown Loveland, where it is known as the Loveland Bike Trail.

Loveland Bike Trail in Clermont County

At Miamiville, the trail crosses to the western, Hamilton County side of the Little Miami River, as it meets State Route 126 (Glendale–Milford Road). The trail passes by Camp Dennison and its former southern terminus in Milford. A 2006 extension carries the Little Miami State Park along U.S. 50 (Wooster Pike) to Avoca Park in Terrace Park. From here, the Loveland section of the Buckeye Trail branches off, following local roads southwest to Eden Park in Cincinnati. Finally, a short Hamilton County Park District extension leads the Little Miami trail back across the river, beside local roads, to the Little Miami Golf Center in Newtown.^[22] The North Country Trail and the Williamsburg section of the Buckeye Trail continue southeast along heavily trafficked roads to Batavia and East Fork State Park.^[33]

Planned extensions

The Hamilton County Park District intends to extend the Little Miami Scenic Trail to Clear Creek. From there, it will follow the Little Miami River to its mouth, just past Lunken Field. At the Ohio River, the trail will meet the Ohio River Trail and continue westward toward downtown Cincinnati.

The Adventure Cycling Association and OKI Regional Council have proposed designating the Little Miami Scenic Trail as part of U.S. Bicycle Route 25.^[34][35]

References

Further reading

• Black, Robert L. (1940). The Little Miami Railroad. Cincinnati, Ohio. 
• Weber, Art (1995). Ohio State Parks. Saginaw, Michigan: Glovebox Guidebooks. ISBN 1-881139-04-2. 

See also

• Great Miami River Recreation Trail
• Ohio to Erie Trail

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Little Miami Scenic Trail.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Little Miami Bike Trail.

• Little Miami State Park at Ohio Department of Natural Resources | Map
• Little Miami Scenic Trail at American Byways
• Little Miami Scenic Trail at Miami Valley Trails
• Unofficial Guide via the City of Yellow Springs

Hiking trails in Ohio American Discovery Buckeye Camp Chase Conotton Creek Hockhocking Adena Kokosing Gap Lebanon Countryside Little Miami Loveland Moonville North Country Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Ohio to Erie Roberts Pass Scioto Greenway University/Parks Wabash Cannonball

Coordinates: 39°48′26″N 83°53′17″W / 39.80723°N 83.88795°W / 39.80723; -83.88795