Western Ohio's Great Rail Trails -Oster Sept 2004

WESTERN OHIO'S GREAT RAIL TRAILS
By Glenn Oster
September 2004

Enjoy rail trails? Then western Ohio is the place to go. If you read my recent article about the Little Miami Scenic River Trail, you'll think I have a one track mind. Well, perhaps I do, but with good reason. These rail trails are great.

Fanning out from Xenia, are 1) the Little Miami Scenic River Trail, just mentioned, 2) the Prairie Grass Trail and 3) the Creekside Trail that leads to Eastwood MetroPark and the Mad River Trail that, in turn, leads to the Great Miami Recreation Trail.

When cyclists reach Dayton, they can ride the Great Miami Recreation Trail downstream on the eastern side of the river to Crains Run Park and upstream on both sides of the Great Miami River to the Stillwater River Recreation Trail. From the west side of the river, the Wolf Creek Recreation Trail can be accessed.

Have I listed all the trails in the area? No way. There are numerous shorter trails that locals enjoy, but describing them would make this article much too lengthy.

Let's go into a bit more detail on each of these longer trails. First, let me mention that all these trails are paved, mostly with asphalt that is smooth and well maintained. The shoulders are grassy and mowed. Most trails are well signed. Moreover, for some of these trails maps are available from their respective counties that include information about water and toilet facilities. Before planning to ride these trails, you should check the website of Miami Valley Rail Trails http://www.miamivalleytrails.org It will fill you in on various items the maps don't provide. Some of the maps can be downloaded from this site. Creation and maintenance of this website is the love child of Tom Recktenwalt. He puts in endless hours working to make the website even better.

Tom Recktenwalt at Xenia Station
Photo Glenn Oster
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The granddaddy of them all is the Little Miami Scenic River Trail that three of us rode over the recent Labor Day Weekend (2004). I rode this trail initially in August, 1998 - the first of the nation's great rail trails that I'd ever ridden. Coincidentally, it's identified as Ohio Trail Route 1. At 72 miles in length, it extends from Springfield to Milford, a suburb of Cincinnati. I was so pleased with it that I wrote an article that was published by several outdoors organizations. If you are interested, go to the website shown above and then to "Reviews of Ohio Rail Trails by Users". When that panel opens, drop below the divider and click on "Glenn Oster's Trail Reviews." There are a number of other trails reviewed as well as those in Ohio

Last September, fellow Pittsburgher, Maureen Kelly, joined me in riding the Creekside Trail (18 miles) and The Mad River Trail (3 miles) from Xenia to Dayton and back. We started at Xenia Station, the refurbished center point for the trails out of Xenia and followed Ohio Trail Route 2 at the southwest corner of the parking lot. When we reached the Mad River, (Ohio Trail Route 8), we rode downstream to what is known as RiverScape (a grandstand for river related events) turned around and retraced the route. Nice trail.

The following day, we drove to Dayton and parked alongside the trail at Carillon Park across from the 57 bell Deeds Carillon, a tower with a beautiful appearance and sound. We later found that is preferable to park within Carillon Historical Park nearby. We rode The Great Miami River Recreation Trail, (Ohio Trail Route 25) about 15 miles downstream to its southern terminus at Crains Run Park and returned. Surely was scenic riding along the Great Miami River. You will discover that this trail is paved in concrete; the expansion dividers are noticeable, especially if you are riding on high pressure tires.

Down the trail
Photo Glenn Oster
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In August, this year, I returned to ride others of the trails I had come to admire so. My first ride was from Xenia Station to the town of London and back, some 29 miles one way, plus a little side trip into a local college. This trail (Ohio Trail Route 4), known locally as the "Prairie Grass Trail," has special significance. It is a sector of the Ohio to Erie Trail that, when complete, will extend from the Ohio River near Cincinnati to Lake Erie at Cleveland. Essentially an open country route, it traverses some of the last stands of prairie grass in Ohio. No shade - do this one on a cloudy day. Tom Recktenwalt, the website manager mentioned above, rode with me to the town of South Charleston. It was a pleasure to meet and ride with him. He'd been placing my articles on his website for years.

Next day, I drove back to Carillon Historical Park, where we started our ride downstream the previous year. This time I rode upstream on the Great Miami Recreation Trail a short distance, crossed the Stewart Street Bridge, turned right and continued following the trail upstream on its western corridor to Wolf Creek. There I headed northwest, i.e., upstream on the Wolf Creek Trail.

This one (Ohio Trail Route 38) was more challenging. It started with a long, gradual uphill climb, virtually unheard of in this part of the world - piece of cake for Pennsylvania cyclists. Another aspect of the challenge in doing this trail is its discontinuity. There's a six mile gap between the two segments. When one reaches the obvious end of the downstream segment, turn right and ride a short distance to James H. Mc Gee Boulevard. Follow it right on a, rough at times, but paved, multi-use lane for 2.5 miles and ride directly ahead onto Wolf Creek Pike. This will involve a road ride of 3.2 miles to Main Street in Trotwood. Turn left onto Main Street for 0.3 miles to the trail's access point on the right. The trail continues for 13 miles to Preble County Line Road. With an especially smooth surface, it is largely tree lined and shady. Impressive shelters pop up periodically at major locations and toilet facilities are available along the way. If lunch is on your mind, leave the trail at Brookville. You'll see fast foods and restaurants east of the trail. On reflection, were I to do this trail over again, I'd skip the southeastern segment and only ride northwest from Trotwood.

Up Wolf Creek
Photo Glenn Oster
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I have yet to ride the 8.0 mile Stillwater River Recreation Trail (Ohio Trail Route 7) that branches off the northernmost point of the Great Miami Recreation Trail; so, no report.

As to accommodations, I stayed at Frontier Campground, near Spring Valley, but there are other campgrounds and motels as well. I found my time spent on these trails to have been well spent and recommend them highly. This place is worth a mini-vacation. Try it and see for yourself.

For more information on each Web Page or Trail click on its name.