The Great Miami River Recreation Trail (Warren & Butler Counties)

Crains Run Nature Park to Franklin 3.7 miles	Franklin to Middletown (Not on contract but now funded) )	Middletown to Hamilton - In planning
Middletown Trail 6.56 miles	More Information	Trail in City of Hamilton 5.0 miles
Points Of Interest	Benefits	Trail Construction News
Map	Route of the Trail	Funding

Above are the trail segments from Crains Run MetroPark (since renamed to Crains Run Nature Park - Miami Township Parks) in Montgomery County South to Franklin (3.7 Miles), Franklin to Middletown (About 6 Miles) and Middletown to Hamilton (about 18 Miles). Each trail segment will have its own webpage. As other trail segments are identified more trail segment pages will be added. This page will be about the overall Great Miami River Recreation Trail [GMRRT] in Warren & Butler Counties. This trail will connect to the: Great Miami River Recreation Trail in Montgomery County and the Great Miami River Recreation Trail in Miami County.

Route of the Trail Construction has started on the 28 mile trail from Crains Run Nature Park in Southern Montgomery County to join an existing bikeway in Hamilton, Ohio. It ultimately joins an existing 3.6 mile pathway downstream of the Main-High Bridge in Hamilton to Joyce Park. Along the way the trail will follow the Great Miami River and the towpath of the Miami and Erie Canal. The trail will connect Dayton with Franklin, Middletown and Hamilton and will traverse Montgomery, Warren and Butler Counties .

March 2009 - The Hamilton trail extension to Rentschler Woods Preserve (Butler County Park) has been completed behind the Courtyard at Marriott in Hamilton which just opened. The next section by the riverside is in the process of being worked on. It will be completed sometime over the summer July 2007 - The City of Hamilton received funding from the Hamilton Community Foundation to continue the trail North from Hamilton to the Rentschler Forest Preserve. (about 5 miles). The entire route is not yet established but construction would have already started except for a pending litigation. October 2006 - The City of Middletown received funding from the Clean Ohio Grant Fund to continue to build the GMRRT. This grant will allow the trail to be built North from the end of the Middletown Section at State Route 4 North of the Middletown Airport 2.2 miles to halfway to Franklin. See Approved Multi-Use Trail Projects for more information.

Points of interest include: Franklin's first post office Middletown's Bicentennial Park and historic districts. Americana Amusement Park Rentschler Forest Preserve Ford Hydraulic Canal Headgates Downtown Hamilton's Soldiers and Sailors Monument and historic districts.
Benefits The GMRRT will: Connect to various other existing pathways designated for bicycling, hiking, rollerblading and the like. Encourage people to use alternate modes of transportation by connecting population centers to activities such as employment, schools, recreation and shopping. Provide an attractive alternative for outdoor activities in warren and Butler counties. Link existing pathways to create a continuous "open-space" path along the Great Miami River from north of Dayton to Hamilton. Join three of Ohio's major population centers.
Funding The estimated cost of constructing the pathway is $5 million. This does not include the cost of purchasing rights-of-way and major bridge structures. This estimate is based on current work for similar trails in other parts of Ohio. It is anticipated that about 75 percent of the cost will be paid by federal and state sources. The rest will be shared among local public entities and private donors. Most of the proposed right-of-way in on property owned by public agencies including: the cities of Franklin, Middletown and Hamilton, as well as the Ohio Department of Transportation, Metro Parks of Butler County and the Miami Conservancy District. A small portion is privately held.

For More information about The GMRRT contact the	Miami Conservancy District at (937) 223-1271 Information provided for and reprinted with the permission of the Miami Conservancy District
To see a map of the proposed trail click here	Click Here for a printable Map of the Trail

Great Miami River Recreation Trail Map (Online) - Please see the Miami Conservancy District's (MCD) new interactive on-line maps of the entire Great Miami River Recreation Trail. This includes the trail in Miami, Montgomery, Warren and Butler Counties. Best of all, you can zoom in on the area you wish to ride. I am told that this on-line map system is a "work in progress." MCD plans to improve it so that you can tell the system where you want to ride and you'll be able to print maps to order for Your Ride!