Great Miami River Recreation Trail (Northern Segment)

In Montgomery County, Ohio
Ohio State Route 25 (1)
7.0 miles
[ Additional 7.5 miles being built in 2007-08]
Total of 14.5 miles by 2008

Click on thumbnail for larger picture

South from Taylorsville MetroPark to Triangle Park in Dayton
(When completed in 2008)

Construction Progress - Five Rivers MetroParks received $3.4 million to extend this trail South from Rip Rap Road 7.5 miles, along the Great Miami River to meet the Great Miami River Recreation Trail at Triangle Park. The construction will be finished in mid 2008. Eventually the trail will be connected North to Miami County to connect with the Great Miami River Recreation Trail (Miami County).

2007-2008 Construction of new bridges over the Great Miami River at Taylorsville MetroPark will close the trail for parts of 2007 and part of 2008. The trail was closed at the I-70 bridges for construction on 28 November 2005. ODOT plans to finish construction of I-70 from the I-75 intersection East to the I-675 intersection by July 2008. The bridges are being replaced and if you decided to ride in the vicinity of the construction you bear all liability if something happens. I know some of you are going to ignore the ODOT warning. Please remember , if you do, you are on your own and will not be able to sue the construction firm or ODOT if you are injured.

2007 - Trail will be extended South under Needmore Road, past the Dayton Well Field and will end at Triangle Park in downtown Dayton. This will connect the trail to the Great Miami River Recreation Trail.

Route North from Birch Drive at Wagoner Ford Road, to the Huber Heights Soccer Fields, through Taylorsville MetroPark under the dam and past the old town of Tadmor in the park. The trail ends at Old Springfield Street (Ross Road) the Northern boundary of the Park. When extended South the trail will follow the river parallel to Birch Drive under Needmore Road to Triangle Park in downtown Dayton.

Photos start at the South end of the trail and read to the North end of trail

Trail Construction: The photos below are of the construction starting in Fall 2007 of the trail from Triangle MetroPark in downtown Dayton, along the East bank of the Great Miami River North into Huber Heights to connect with the existing trail North of Needmore Road.

This first picture is of the bridge linking Island MetroPark to Triangle MetroPark in downtown Dayton. The trail starts on the other side of this beautiful bridge on the West side of the Great Miami River.	Click on image for larger picture

Click on image for larger picture	Here we are across the bridge looking East back towards Island MetroPark across the river. The new trail starts here and runs North alongside the West bank of the Great Miami River.

This is a Yahoo Maps image of Island MetroPark on the East bank of the Great Miami River and Triangle MetroPark on the West bank. You can see the bicycle bridge that is shown above, connecting the two parks and marking the start of the new trail North. Click on the link above to see and manipulate the map online	Click on image for larger picture

Click on image for larger picture	Here we have crossed the bridge and are facing North. To our left, the existing trail goes North alongside the Stillwater River 3.8 miles past Wegerzyn Garden to Sinclair Park. This trail is called the Stillwater River Recreation Trail.

Here is a photo of the trail heading North towards the large parking lot on Ridge Avenue in the park.	Click on image for larger picture

Click on image for larger picture	In this photo we have reached the parking lot which is at the left of the photo. You can see it in the Yahoo Map above. The trail will now go uphill to go past the closed parking lot off of Embury Park Road.

In this photo we can see the closed parking lot on our left. Ahead of us the trail will cross a small bridge and then join the river. The trail goes down to run alongside it.	Click on image for larger picture

Click on image for larger picture	In this photo we are looking North of Triangle MetroPark with the new trail on the river.

This image is looking back down the trail South towards downtown Dayton. The trail goes under the Keowee Street Bridge that you see here.	Click on image for larger picture

Click on image for larger picture	Here we are looking North at the I-75 bridge over the Great Miami River. The trail will be going under it in about 200 yards.

This Yahoo Maps image of the trail shows it following the river North and going under the Keowee Street and I-75 bridges. Click on the link to go to the map online so that you can manipulate it.	Click on image for larger picture

Click on image for larger picture	Following the river North the trail goes under the CSX railroad bridge ahead on which you can see a train. Just beyond the railroad bridge the trail turns North and skirts the West side of an industrial park off of Wagoner Ford Road.

Here we are in the industrial park. We are behind Integrity Mfg. Co. on Inpark Circle off of Dayton Park Drive. This photo shows the trail looking North. Here it is on about a 25 foot high levee. Ahead of us the trail will make an "S" turn to the East and follow Dayton Park Drive.	Click on image for larger picture

Click on image for larger picture	The trail goes behind Dayton Bindery Service at 3757 Dayton Park Drive and follows it North to Chuck Wagoner Lane off of Wagoner Ford Road.

Here we see the end of the construction looking North. The trail ends about 30 yards from Wagoner Ford Road.	Click on image for larger picture

Click on image for larger picture	In this Yahoo Maps image we can see the railroad tracks at the bottom of the photo. The trail goes under them and then turns North to run alongside the railroad track to West and the industrial park off Wagoner Ford Road to the East. The trail goes behind the buildings near the railroad and runs North to Chuck Wagoner Lane. You can click on the link above to be taken to Yahoo Maps to see the area for yourself and manipulate the map.

In the photo above the map we showed the trail running into Chuck Wagoner Lane. Here we see it ending at Wagoner Ford Road. The sign shows that this is the entrance to not only the industrial park but also to the Kittyhawk Golf Center.	Click on image for larger picture

Click on image for larger picture	In this image, we have the sign to our back and we are looking North alongside Wagoner Ford Road. The trail will go East alongside the golf course and then go under the bridge over the Great Miami River on Needmore Road. The trail will connect to the existing trail alongside Rip Rap Road, which is what Wagoner Ford Road becomes North of Needmore Road.

At the end of Birch Drive, which ends at Rip Rap Road, North of Needmore Road is this beginning of construction. The trail is being "hogged out" of the woods to get to the river and then to go under the Needmore Bridge to connect South. We are looking East from Birch Road.	Click on image for larger picture

Click on image for larger picture	In this Yahoo Maps image we can see Needmore Road running East to West at the bottom of the photo. The river runs North and then makes an "S" turn to the North going under the new highway and bike-lane bridge on Rip Rap Road which you can see at the right of the photo. At right, you can see Birch Road running East towards the river and then North. Just beyond the turn are the photos taken above and below of the just beginning construction of the trail. The trail will connect at the Rip Rap Road bridge that you see in the left on the photo crossing the Great Miami River.

In this last photo, we see my car parked on the Rip Rap Road bridge. The new trail will be coming in at river level to the right of the picture and will connect to the existing trail that you see at the left of the photo to continue North into Taylorsville MetroPark. This is the last of the construction photos that I took of the 7.5 miles of new trail on 29 September 2007. I will take new photos of the completed trail which is planned to be done early in 2008.	Click on image for larger picture


Existing Trail: The photos below are of the existing trail (Fall 2007) alongside Wagoner Ford Road North through Taylorsville MetroPark

Click on thumbnail for larger picture	At your left is the point where the trail will cross Wagoner Ford Road and follow Birch Drive alongside the Great Miami River when the trail is constructed underneath the bridge on Needmore Road. Currently from this point if you look North you'll see the trail segment on the West side of Wagoner Ford Road that runs North.

At your right is the current end of the trail at Wagoner Ford Road and Old Rip Rap Road. You can see a car on Wagoner Ford Road. We are looking North towards the park. At our left is a road that leads to a narrow bridge across the river. This bridge is normally locked since it leads to one of the City of Dayton's well fields.	Click on thumbnail for larger picture

Click on thumbnail for larger picture	At your left is the trail going by the old Rip-Rap Road Bridge north of the photo above. From what I have been told, because of the nature of the funding to develop the trail, the old bridge had to be restored. It would go into the well field mentioned above, but I don't think there will be much access except to the bridge itself. Having said that, it's a good looking bridge that is probably worth saving.

Further North the trail crosses the new combined highway and bicycle bridge over the Great Miami River. The new bridge is good looking and the bicycle trail is completely isolated from traffic which makes it very safe for you and your family. In this photo we are looking South towards Birch Drive.	Click on image for larger picture

Click on thumbnail for larger picture	Moving North again we are now one mile from the end of the trail. There is a small parking lot here. You can see my car at right. The road is on our left and the trail follows the West side of the Road south to near Birch Drive.

As you can see the trail now continues north. If you look in the distance you'll see the same parking lot as in the above picture. This trail segment follows the Great Miami River's course and so is turning West at this point to follow the river.	Click on thumbnail for larger picture

Click on thumbnail for larger picture	At left the trail continues following the River and winding now to the East. The trail builders put this part of the trail through a small but very pretty grove of trees near the river.

At right the trail is running parallel to the River where it makes an "S" curve. In the distance if you look hard you can see about a mile away the old highway bridge across the river that once carried Rip Rap Road over the river. It was refurbished as a part of the development of the trail. We are looking to the South in this photo.	Click on thumbnail for larger picture

Click on thumbnail for larger picture	Here you can see where the trail enters the woods looking South. The trail builders put the trail as close to the River as possible which means in some high water situations, like Spring, the trail will be flooded. At the left of the picture are the Huber Heights Soccer Fields. At the far right (outside the picture) is the parking lot.

The Huber Heights Soccer Field on Rip Rap Road at right acts as the center point and a parking area for the trail that extends North and South 5.6 miles at this writing. The trail runs North into Taylorsville MetroPark as follows below this photo and South to Birch Drive above this photo.	Click on thumbnail for larger picture

Click on thumbnail for larger picture	The trail runs north from the Soccer Fields and goes under the highway bridge at Rip Rap Road where it crosses the Great Miami River as you can see in this photo.

After crossing under the Rip Rap Road bridge the trail crosses the new Bike Bridge across the Great Miami River seen here at right. From the bridge there is an excellent view of the River.	Click on thumbnail for larger picture

Click on thumbnail for larger picture	At left is a section of the trail north of the bikeway bridge. After the trail leaves the bridge it follows along the route of Anglers Lane, a narrow road north to the highway bridge across the Great Miami River and Interstate Route 70

At right in the highway bridge over I-70 at the Great Miami River. The Five Rivers MetroParks contractor was able to put the trail under the highway bridge at you see here	Click on thumbnail for larger picture

Click on thumbnail for larger picture	After the trail leaves the highway bridge at I-70 it swings West briefly to get into the park. At that point the trail joins an existing road on a levee in the park. The road was called Cassel Road and has been repaved as a trail. It runs due North for over a mile until it reaches the Taylorsville Dam itself where it turns West again to reach the bridge the allows US-40 (on the Dam's face) to cross over the CSX tracks at the West end of the dam

At right is the US-40 bridge on the dam over the CSX tracks. There is a train going by on the right of the photo. The trail then makes an "S" curve to get back to surface level and joins the existing Tadmor Trail North of the dam.	Click on thumbnail for larger picture

Click on photo for larger picture	After the trail gets to the North of the dam it runs into a parking lot that can be accessed from US 40 near the West end of the dam. The parking lot has a portable restroom for your use but no water. This part of the trail runs North from the dam to the former town of Tadmor, a major hub for the old National Road (US 40), the Dayton-Michigan Railroad and the Miami-Erie Canal. Remains of the canal and the railroad station lie along the route. Here we see the trail leaving the parking lot on its way North through the park.

The trail is straight and under a canopy of trees for the first 500 yards or so of trail.	Click on photo for larger picture

Click on photo for larger picture	At left we can see that the trail that was paved in August 2005.
In this photo we have come out of the trees into the sunshine. For a large part of the this part of the trail it follows under a set of high-voltage power lines. To the left out of the picture is the high speed CSX railroad tracks. At right, although you can't see it is the route of the Miami and Erie Canal (Click for Brochure) which traveled from Toledo South through Dayton to Cincinnati.	Click on photo for larger picture

Click on photo for larger picture	The trail continues North towards the old town of Tadmor. We are looking North in this older photo of the trail.

Again we see the power lines that the trail runs under on its way to the Taylorsville MetroPark Northern boundary at Old Springfield Road AKA Ross Road.	Click on photo for larger picture

Click on photo for larger picture	The trail passes by what once was the location of the town of Tadmor, Ohio. In 1900 Tadmor was the busiest city in Ohio. It had the National Road (US-40) running through it from East to West. It also had the railroad and the Miami and Erie Canal running through it from North to South. The town served as a way point on the canal until it was destroyed by the Dayton Flood of 1913. Five Rivers MetroParks intends to erect a historical kiosk in the area with pictures of Tadmor and explanations about the city of Tadmor..

We have reached the end of Taylorsville MetroPark at Old Springfield Road. There is a staging area here. From the parking lot the trail is planned to cross under Old Springfield Road using a box culvert and follow the East side of Old Canal Road (across the street) North to Tipp City and join the Tipp City Trail.	Click on photo for larger picture

Park and Ride Locations You can park at the Huber Heights Soccer Field on Rip Rap Road South of Taylorsville MetroPark as well as in the Park either North or South of the dam and at Old Springfield Road at the North end of the park. You can also park at the small staging area across the street from the intersection of Rip Rap Road with Fishburg Road in Huber Heights. The trail continues South almost to Birch Drive.

Restrooms There is a portable restroom at the parking lot for the Huber Heights Soccer Field and in the park in several places including the parking lot on the North side of the dam a the parking lot there.

Impressions We highly recommend this short trail to you and your family. If a scenic trail is what you'd like then this trail has it all. It has shade, sun, rivers, bridges and trains. Try it for yourself!

Trail Review The trail is a beautiful, shady bike trail along the Great Miami River. The Bike Bridge is a graceful structure built out of a steel that never needs to be painted and one that will weather over the years to look even better that it does today. The builders were careful to spare the beautiful old trees. After you cross the bridge onto Anglers Lane look for the large tree on the left with multiple boles and a large burl. It is an ancient Bass Tree, used for making baskets and hand carved carousel horses. The tunnel under Interstate 70 is beautiful as well. You come out of the shade and quiet of the trail North of I-70 into the sunlight and noise of a busy highway. As you leave the highway behind the trail winds West to meet Cassel Road in the park. There is a meadow to the left which has many wild deer as residents. I saw one as we went by. The trail then runs left (West) again and up to go under the dam's face at the CSX tracks. The opening under the bridge is small but impressive. After you've left the bridge you "S" down to the existing trail for another 1.4 miles going through the site of the town of Tadmor in 1900. The only sound will be the trains going by on your left. The trail ends at the North end of the park on Old Springfield Street where there is a small staging area

New Land Acquisition - Five Rivers MetroParks has acquired more land West of the CSX railroad tracks. The six acres of land which includes a waterfall is next to a 130 unit residential development called the Falls near National Road and Cassel Hills Golf Course. MetroParks is working on long range plans to develop this acquisition along with other property leased to them and land from the Miami Conservancy District.

Trail Review When complete from Old Springfield Road to Triangle Park the trail will be 11.2 miles long. Information for this article came largely from Mr. Mark Davis ( mdavis at metroparks [dot] org ) the Taylorsville MetroPark Manager for Five Rivers MetroParks .

Trail Description	Surface
Route	Map
Park & Ride Locations	Restrooms
Impressions	Trail Review
Pictures of Trail with descriptions	Construction Progress
Pictures of New Trail (2007) Under Construction	New Land Acquisition