Little Miami Scenic Trail

By: Posted On: 2020-03-09

 

I have fond memories of biking parts of this trail on more than one occasion. The Little Miami Scenic Trail is a lot of fun to use. The trail stretches from the suburbs of Cincinnati to Springfield, Ohio, over bridges and through peaceful state parks and several small towns. According to https://www.traillink.com/trail/little-miami-scenic-trail/, the path is part of an extensive sequence of greater than 340 miles of off-road trails that pass through throughout Ohio’s Miami Valley. It is also a significant section of cross-state Ohio to Erie Trail, which takes you from the Ohio River in Cincinnati to Lake Erie in Cleveland on more than 270 miles of off-road trails.  Also, according to  https://www.traillink.com/trail-history/little-miami-scenic-trail/, the  Little Miami Scenic Trail has kept the same name as the railroad that first built the throughway. The Little Miami Railroad was a secondary branch line on the PRR (Pennsylvania Railroad) for most of the time that it existed. During the early 1980s, the Ohio Department of Transportation bought the corridor and began changing it into today’s Little Miami Scenic Trail, which now stretches 78 miles from Terrace Park outside of Cincinnati to Springfield’s West Jefferson Street.

 

 

So far, I have ridden between Avoca Park (southeast of Cincinnati) to Lebanon, Ohio, which is about 30 miles. One of the things that stick in my mind is coming upon the old Peters Cartridge Company factory. The Peters Cartridge company made ammunition for cannonballs, shotguns, and rifles. This former factory-made ammo for the Union army during the Civil War, and it is still standing. One more pleasant thing about this trail is that a lot of it is shaded, so it is cooler than walking or riding on a bright sunny day.

 

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This trail runs from the suburbs of Cincinnati, Ohio, to the city of Xenia, Ohio.  Cincinnati is the largest city in the southwestern part of Ohio. It has an international airport that you can fly to. To get to Xenia from Cincinnati, get on I-71 and follow it till exit 28. Take exit 28 to OH-48 and then turn right on to US-42. Follow US 42 into Xenia.

 

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There are two state parks along this trail, John Byran State Park and Ceasar Creek State Park. John Byran has 65 campsites with 9 full hookups. All of the sites at John Bryan State Park can accommodate an RV up to 30 feet in length.  At Ceasar Creek State Park, there are 282 campsites with 18 full hookup sites, 209 that have electric and 54 that are tent only. There is also a horse camp with 30 non-electric sites that are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

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The quality of the pavement and the volunteer maintenance of the Little Miami Trail is excellent. A very long time ago, this whole area (that you are riding around) was home to early mound-building societies.  The North Country Scenic Trail also follows this trail for some miles.

If you have ever been on the Little Miami Scenic Trail, let us know by filling in the comment section below.

 

 

---- References ----

https://www.ohiobikeways.net/miami.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Miami_Scenic_Trail

http://www.yellowspringsohio.org/places-to-go/little-miami-bike-trail/

https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/bikes/bike-projects/little-miami-scenic-trail/

http://www.littlemiamitrail.com/little-miami-trail.html

https://www.traillink.com/trail/little-miami-scenic-trail/#trail-detail-reviews

 

 

 

 


 
 

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