Yellow Springs To Springfield on the Little Miami Scenic Trail

This section of the Little Miami Scenic Trail runs 7 miles from Yellow Springs to the end of the shared-use trail at I-70, South of Springfield Ohio. There is a route along roads and with some separate trail segments of approximately 3 miles to Springfield to meet with the Simon Kenton Trail at the Heritage Center downtown. From there it is about 2 miles North to the intersection of the Buck Creek Trail in Northern Springfield.

Trail Description: The trail follows the old railbed in a very straight route directly North. There is a lot of shade on the trail and resources for the trail are as follows. When completed the Ellis Park Spur will have parking, water and restrooms. You can also get off the trail at Jackson Road (turn right) about 1.75 miles North of Yellow Springs. After riding on Jackson Road for about .5 miles you will cross US Route 68. Watch out for fast moving traffic. Turning South (right) you'll come to Young's in about 400 yards. It's well worth the stop. Young's ice cream is first rate plus they have a full menu as well as lots of parking, water and inside restrooms.

Ellis Park Spur - A short, 1400 foot extension to the West of the trail about one half mile North of Yellow Springs. The spur, leads to Ellis Park in Yellow Springs and provides parking, water and restrooms.

Construction Plans: National Trail Parks and Recreation District (Clark County) has plans to connect the current end of the trail at I-70 to the Simon Kenton Trail Phase IV in downtown Springfield at the Heritage Center. The Parks District has not completely acquired a suitable right of way to make the trail a dedicated multi-use trail to I-70.

At the right is the logo for ExploreYellowSprings. Click here or on the picture to be taken to their website. They have good information on restaurants and lodging in Yellow Springs.	Click on photo for larger image

Click on photo for larger image	At left is a photo of the Yellow Springs Station in Yellow Springs. It contains restrooms and water. The Chamber of Commerce has their offices here and you can get brochures and trail information here. They are located at: 100 Dayton St. Yellow Springs, Ohio 45387 Phone: 937-767-7202 In order to follow the Little Miami Scenic Trail through Yellow Springs you have to go by The Station.

This is the Yellow Springs Municipal Building at Dayton Street and US Route 68 in what was once a handsome school. There is a large parking lot there with restrooms and water inside the back of the building. From the parking lot you can see across Dayton Street to Yellow Springs Station. There is a ramp from the back of the parking lot to the trail going North.	Click on photo for larger image

Click on photo for larger image	About 100 yards behind us is Dayton Street the cross street just North of Yellow Springs Station. We have also gone past the ramp from the Yellow Springs Municipal Building that allows you to ride your bicycle from their parking lot to the trail and we are heading North on the trail towards Springfield.

Just beyond where the picture above was taken is a small bridge over Yellow Springs-Fairfield Road with a ramp at left to get down to the road. You can see the bridge and ramp in the picture at right. Just beyond this area on the right or West side of the trail is Ellis Park. Greene County Parks and Recreation built a .36 mile spur from Polecat Road to connect the trail to the park. There is now another place to park with restrooms and water available for your use.	Click on photo for larger image

Ellis Park Spur
Ellis Park Spur - Greene County Parks District have finished the 1400� trail spur (.36 mile) from the Little Miami Scenic Trail North of Yellow Springs to Ellis Park which is West of the trail. The trail spurs starts about � miles North of Yellow Springs � Fairfield Road.
Click on photo for larger image	The photo at your left is the entrance to the Ellis Park Spur looking directly towards it. The trail curves to the South, goes downhill for a hundred yards or so then curves to the right or West and continues along the edge of a farmer's field. After crossing the field it crosses the Polecat Road and enters into Ellis Park. For more pictures of this new trail click on: See Ellis Park Spur

Here you can see the trail running through the trees. It is going downhill to the level of the farm field from the railbed level.	Click on photo for larger image
Return to Little Miami Scenic Trail (North to Springfield)

Click on photo for larger image	At left is a typical Fall day picture of the trail just North of Yellow Springs. This section of the Little Miami Scenic Trail was completed in 1998. This is the trail crossing Jackson Road. See below for Young's Jersey Dairy.

Young's Jersey Dairy The first major cross street is West Jackson Road about 1.75 miles North from Yellow Springs. This is the county line between Greene and Clark counties. If you were to turn right onto Jackson Street about one half mile down the road is US Route 68 and just to the right about 400 yards is Young's Jersey Dairy. It is a place to visit for food, ice cream and entertainment for all ages. Parking, inside restrooms and water are all available. If you have not experienced the ice cream and food at Young's Jersey Dairy please turn right (going North) onto West Jackson Road and have a treat!	Click on photo for larger image

Continuing North on the trail, we followed a straight 10' wide bikeway between two tree lines for another mile or so to the next cross street. The streets and mileage are as follows: Hustead Road 2 3/4 miles Collier Road 4 1/4 miles Fairfield Pike 5 1/2 miles US-68 About 6 miles Springfield-Xenia Road 6.1 miles The trail is as straight as a string and has one or two mile stretches (or more) without a stop so you can get a good workout between stops. However, may I strongly suggest you stop at all the crossings. One cyclist "blew through" a crossing last Fall (2005) and was creamed by a car he didn't see. The cyclist did not survive. A word to the wise?

Click on photo for larger image	After another mile or so we cross US-68. Watch out for the high speed traffic. In about another 100 yards or less we cross Springfield-Xenia Road and immediately enter Beatty Station. In this photo we are looking back at it (South) from beyond Beatty Station. The small town of Beatty is nearby and this is the location of the long gone station. At the end of the parking lot is Springfield-Xenia Road.
This is another picture of Beatty Station looking North. This is the only other staging area on the trail. To get there take US 68 North from Yellow Springs. About 2 miles from US 68's intersection with I 70 there is a fork in the road. If you stay left you continue on US 68. Bear right and you come to Springfield-Xenia Road. If you cross the bike trail on US 68 you'll gone about 100 yards too far. Beatty Station Staging Area offers parking and a portable restroom. It does not have water. With permission you can leave your car overnight here to ride our trails. To get permission call National Trails Parks and Recreation at 937-328-7275	Click on photo for larger image

After another one mile or so we cross West Possum Road. No. I am not making up these names.

Click on photo for larger image	In the distance you can see Interstate 70 for some time before you reach it. It's about one half mile North of West Possum Road. The Interstate marks the end of the shared-use trail at about 7 miles from Yellow Springs.

Here we see the end of the formal trail. One span of the I-70 bridge is at left in the picture. At the end of this ramp you turn right (North) and continue under I-70 towards Springfield on South Yellow Springs Street.	Click on photo for larger image

The trail continues on streets and trail segments North about 3 miles to the Heritage Center in downtown Springfield. At that point the trail becomes the Simon Kenton Trail. You can ride the Simon Kenton Trail all of the way to Urbana, Ohio in Champaign County. See below for more information. Mr. Steve Voytko has provided a turn-by-turn set of instructions (Ms Word) to take you from the end of the official trail at Interstate 70 to the Heritage Center in downtown Springfield. Thanks Steve!

Click on photo for larger image	Here we have reached the corner of West John Street with South Yellow Springs Street. At this point we turn right and in about 100 yards we will reach another trail segment.

Here is a link to Yahoo Maps that will show you Springfield fro I-70 North. You can clearly see South Yellow Springs Street (running North to South) I-70 and West John Street. You need to travel North of South Yellow Springs Street to W. John Street and turn right (West). After a hundred yards or so you'll see the trail continue North. In the Yahoo Maps image you can see a small green space that the trail continues through.

We are looking North on the trail segment connection to West John Street. You have to turn left (North ) from W. John Street to get to this trail segment. You can see it from the road. The trail continues on streets with a marked lane and on short trail segments through Springfield to connect with the Buck Creek Trail and the Simon Kenton Trail. The National Trail Parks and Recreation District (Clark County) is working towards removing the trail segments on city streets. They hope to acquire property in the W. Leffels Lane area to make the trail from I-70 to downtown Springfield at the Heritage Center a dedicated multi-use trail.	Click on photo for larger image

The seven mile extension to the Little Miami Scenic Trail now makes it possible to ride over 76 miles from Springfield in the North to Little Miami Golf Center, South of Milford, (near Cincinnati) in the South.

Place	Location	Restrooms	Water?	Parking?
Yellow Springs Station	Yellow Springs	Inside	Yes	No
Yellow Springs Village Offices	Yellow Springs	Inside (24 hr)	Yes	Yes
Ellis Park Spur	North of Yellow Springs	Portable	Yes	Yes
Young's Jersey Dairy	East at the Jackson Road Intersection	Inside	Yes	Yes
Beatty Station	Almost to I-70	Portable	No	Yes Overnight
Heritage Center	Downtown Springfield	Inside	Yes	Yes