Many trail users looking to explore a new (to them) section of the Miami Valley Trails, or looking to visit the Miami Valley Trails for the first time from another part of the country like to do advance planning using an interactive map. The Miami Valley Trails website has a map of the network on a static map, which, as has been communicated several time, some find to be difficult to use, and less informative than desired. The honest truth here is, building and maintaining a Google Maps level of interface would incur monthly fees from Google that were simply too high for our budget.

The Friends of Little Miami State Park and the Warren County Engineer's Office provided some great news in late December. Just in time for the New Year, the Little Miami Scenic Trail has been reopened at Grandin Road!

Clearing "flood mud" off the trail will be much easier after this project

Heading north as one approaches the underpass under Needmore Road on the Great Miami River Trail, you will pass a couple of signs...

Simon Kenton Pathfinders Upgrade Equipment

The Board of Directors of the Simon Kenton Pathfinders (SKP) recently invested in the future of the Simon Kenton Trail (3) by upgrading their mowing equipment. The SKP purchased from their maintenance funds a 2023 Ventrac Model 4520P tractor, to replace a similar 20-year-old piece of equipment. Cost of the new equipment was $27,700, purchased through a trail partner, Koenig Equipment in Urbana.

Continuing a theme, we're looking at how communities along the Miami Valley Trails are building connections to/from the trails to better connect their neighborhoods, parks, amenities, and destinations.

On Friday, October 20, 2023 the Miami Conservancy District and the University of Dayton jointly celebrated the installation of a new "storybook trail" along the Great Miami River Trail in Dayton. It was a blustery and misty afternoon, but that didn't dampen the spirits of the people that worked very hard to create the children's book, Into the River, and to transform it into the series of kiosks that unfold the story as one moves upriver along the trail. As can be seen in the picture above, the new features are on the trail near Jerome B.

The major project by the City of Riverside and ODOT to upgrade the intersection of US 35 and Woodman Drive was certainly overdue and will make that area function better for traffic when it is completed. It has had the unfortunate effect of closing and detouring the Creekside Trail in the vicinity. But it also will leave a permanent beneficial legacy for a couple of neighborhoods in Riverside that in years past had no safe and convenient connection to the trail right next to their community.

Trail users on the Mad River Trail (8) have a new, more direct route to reach Webster Street, the Second Street Market and other destinations in Dayton's Water Street District (such as Day Air Ball Park). A recently-completed ramp from the trail, up the levee, and to Webster Street has been opened by the Miami Conservancy District.