Great Miami River Recreation Trail

Great Miami River Recreational Trail

Old Miami & Erie Canal Lock 14-S on Section 1 of Trail
Photo by Robert J. Shook

Trail Overview: This 1.6 mile section is very historical and a beautifully wooded trail that follows the towpath of the Miami and Erie Canal. Visitors will see two well preserved locks and two towpath bridges over streams, clearly showing the logs used in the original canal construction, as well as a water overflow chute and a buried arch.

Directions: Take I - 75 North from Dayton. You'll come to State Route 571. Your exit is the next one. Exit off I -75 at County Route 25A. Turn right at the top of the ramp. Follow 25A for about 3 miles until you come to the Waco Museum and Airfield on the right. There is a sign. Dye Mill Road will be about 100 yards ahead on the right. There is a trail sign. After turning right go across the railroad tracks and follow the trail along Dye Mill Road. The road and trail will turn left and after about a mile there is a parking lot next to the Con Agra plant. This is the beginning of Section 2 of the trail which connects to the trail in Troy, Ohio; please see Troy Bike Trail.

Construction Plans: The trail follows the Miami and Erie Canal bed, running North and South. When all seven sections are complete the trail will run from Montgomery County's Taylorsville MetroPark North to Tipp City, Troy and Piqua, and will end in Shelby County at Sidney, Ohio. To see the other trails in Miami County see Miami County Trails.

Park and Ride Locations: On Dye Mill Road about one mile North around the bend next to the Con Agra plant, see the Yahoo Map below.

Impressions: We recently experienced this beautiful trail. The trail follows the old towpath of the Miami and Erie Canal. The trail is new to the old canal and several features such as locks are visible. There is a railroad line West of the trail and the area between the old canal and the railroad bed was full of wildflowers when we walked the trail. There are deep woods as well that are cool on a Summer's day. In all the trail is delightful.

The pictures of the trail on this page are being shown from South to North

Near the Southern end of this section we see Lock 14 South a part of the old Miami and Erie Canal. The trail here passes by two well preserved locks and two towpath bridges. To get some idea of the size of the lock please notice the man standing in back on the right side of the lock.	Photo by Robert J. Shook Click on photo for larger image

Click on photo for larger image	Here we are looking at the small steam that goes under the trail and then under the railroad tracks that are parallel to the trail for most of its length. We are standing on the trail bridge to take this photo. The old Miami & Erie Canal had a viaduct here to carry the canal over the stream

The stone foundation you see with the box shape in it is the viaduct that carried the canal across this stream. A viaduct is like a bathtub full of water that carries the canal and its' boats across a obstacle. You can picture it as a bridge that "carries water." The railroad bridge (above) is in the distance to left.	Click on photo for larger image

Photo by Robert J. Shook Click on photo for larger image	At left you can see a good impression of the trail. This photo taken by Bob Shook shows the trees and woods that surround the trail at this point.

At right is a picture, looking North, of the second bridge over the stream that meanders through the area. You can see the protective wood fence on both sides of the bridge and the low steel structure that is the bridge proper.	Click on photo for larger image

Click on photo for larger image	At left we looking to the North. You can see sun through the large number of large trees that surround the trail. It is a quiet and beautiful place.

In this photo you can see that the trail is heavily shaded by the many trees along the trail and canal.	Photo by Robert J. Shook Click on photo for larger image

Click on photo for larger image	Here we see the first bridge from alongside the trail. This multi-use trail has been built on the Towpath of the Miami and Erie Canal. At both bridges you can see where a viaduct carried the canal across the stream. The canal is on the West side of the trail. In this picture it is on the other side of the bridge. In this small meadow were some wild flowers that my wife and I picked for making natural dye.

In this photo we are coming to one of the two bridges on this section of the trail that cross a small stream. You can see the protective wood fence sections in the foreground and the steel bridge structure behind it.	Click on photo for larger image

Click on photo for larger image	At left I am looking down the trail following "friend wife" towards the South. We have left the two bridges that we crossed on this trail segment.

On the East of the trail, or left as you are walking North there is a large gravel pit and materials processing company. This photo show a dredge that is bringing something up from the small pond that its' in. The trail is at the right side of the picture.	Click on photo for larger image

Click on photo for larger image	This photo shows a small privately owned house that adjoins the trail. We spoke to the owner who has access to his house via the bicycle trail. So you may see a vehicle on this section of the trail. The home owner knows that he is sharing the trail with cyclists.

Here we have a photo of the staging area on the North end of Dye Mill Road. You can see the Con Agra water tower in the background and the trail going East to right of the photo. There are about 8 parking spaces in this staging area. You ride South from here to reach Tipp City or continue East from the parking lot to Troy.	Click on photo for larger image

Click on Photo for larger image	Here is a Yahoo Map of the trail between Tipp City and Troy. Please click on the link to see the Yahoo Map for yourself and to manipulate the map. On this map I have annotated it to show the Section 1 of trail going South at the bottom of the picture and Section 2 running alongside Dye Mill Road. The parking lot is next to the Con Agra plant near the top of the picture. The trail then travels East from there, crosses the Big 4 railroad bridge and continues North to Miami Shores Golf Course and Troy. The spur shown in the map takes you to a parking lot on SR-202 (Troy Pike).

At left is the sign for Waco Field and the WACO Museum. on County Route 25A as mentioned in the directions above. Just after you go by the sign on your left (going North) turn right onto Dye Mill Road. The Waco Aircraft Company was located in Troy for many years. They made several kinds of biplanes including crop dusters. During World War II, they had a contract from the Army Aviation Corps to build large gliders that were pulled by C-46 or C-47 aircraft to deliver troops, equipment and supplies. My father in law was in training to fly the "Waco Glider". When he visited us in Dayton he was amazed to see a "CG-4A Waco Glider" in the Air Force Museum. Here is what the Waco Glider looked like	Click on Photo for larger image

The trail continues North alongside Dye Mill Road and runs 2.5 miles to the beginning of the trail in Troy. See: GMRRT Section 2 and Troy Trails

Tipp City Trail The Great Miami River Recreation Trail in Miami County was extended South to the Tipp City Trail October 2008. It is 1.40 miles from Lock 14 to the Tipp City Parks Nature Center. From there the trail is completed through Tipp City Park, Canal Lock Park on SR 571 and Kyle Park. Eventually the trail will be extended South from Kyle Park to cross the Miami County line to connect with Montgomery County's trail in Taylorsville MetroPark which is called The Great Miami River Recreation Trail (Northern Segment)

Continue South to Tipp City