Review of Yellow Springs to Milford By Glenn Oster 1998

Review of Yellow Springs to Milford By Glenn Oster (1998)

The Little Miami Scenic Trail has got to be the easiest and most satisfying rail-trail I've ever ridden. Last Summer, as you may recall, I wrote about bicycle touring the West Bend Rail-Trail in West Virginia. That was an exercise in grit and determination because of the sixty-eight miles (round trip) of gravel for much of the trail. In contrast, the Little Miami Scenic Trail which I rode about ten days later is smooth and comfortable to ride, like bicycling a well-paved highway without any automobiles or trucks. I had read about it in the Rails to Trails Conservancy's publication Trail Blazer and resolved to ride it someday. Surely glad that someday arrived.

The trail, when I rode it in August 1998, extended some sixty-three miles from Yellow Springs, Ohio to Milford, Ohio (a suburb of Cincinnati). I have since learned via the Internet that the trail is now paved an additional seven miles from Yellow Springs to Springfield, with its northern terminus now at the intersection of West John and Yellow Springs Streets. While I enjoyed the riding surface as I've mentioned, there was much more that made me feel good about the trail. The area on both sides of the trail was well groomed. There were miles upon miles of tree canopies over the trail that provided shade as I rode. For much of the distance, you ride beside the Little Miami Scenic River and sense its peacefulness (except when rafts loaded with excited teenagers drift by). Well prepared signs appear at road crossings, and other very professional looking signs introduce you to each of the eight little communities through which it wends its way. The trail just seems to belong to these towns. Moreover, the trail designers have gone to great lengths to make it safe, for example, high wooden railings on its many bridges.

Another aspect of the trail was of keen interest to me. It is also the route of the North Country National Scenic Trail through that part of Ohio. It is a trail that, when completed, will extend 4200 miles through seven states from Lake George in New York's Adirondacks to Lake Sakakawea in North Dakota. It's one of several Congressionally sanctioned scenic trails in the United States, with stature similar to the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail - just one more reason why the Little Miami Scenic Trail is so special..

My plan for bicycling the trail was to take three days to accomplish it, carrying my gear in panniers and camping for two nights in the process. I drove to Yellow Springs on August 18 and spent the night at John Bryan State Park Campground. This is a beautiful park, but the restrooms are Spartan, and, let's face it, repulsive. So, camp elsewhere unless you have a recreational vehicle with its own facilities. One thing in its favor - it's close, just outside Yellow Springs. The trail's northernmost access point at the time was in Yellow Springs, immediately as you enter the town on US Route 68, about seven miles south of I-70, Exit 52.

On the first morning I parked in the town's municipal building lot next to the trail and reported my need for multiple day parking at the police window - fine by them - a reasonably safe place. I had planned to ride south, downstream, to Morgan's Riverside Campground across a bridge, north of the town of Morrow. I anticipated spending the remainder of the day relaxing and swimming in the river. As it turned out, I was able to get underway earlier in the morning than I had assumed and found that I was making better time than expected, even with time out for breakfast at McDonalds on the trail in Xenia. I had covered the thirty-six miles distance and arrived at the campground by noon. That was a bit too early to settle down for the day; so, I continued to ride. The trail never became tiresome, and by mid-afternoon I had reached the southern terminus at Milford. However, I still felt like riding and started to retrace my steps. Riding upstream is noticeably more difficult than downstream, although it only made about one mile an hour difference in my average speed (which I conveniently forgot because of my snail's pace). I concluded my ride for the day at the same campground I had originally planned on the way downstream, having ridden over eighty-eight miles for the day. Morgan's Campground is not perfect, but I enjoyed my shower and a grassy campsite surrounded at a distance by quiet campers. I made no attempt at swimming in the river because of the hour it became by the time I had set up my tent and finished dinner - no longer in the mood.

On the second day, I began riding at 7:45 a.m. and reached Yellow Springs before noon, thirty-six hours sooner than I had expected. Once again, bicycling upstream is more strenuous (that seems like too extreme a word for this trail in either direction) than downstream, and I was a bit tired - still not in good physical shape after an eight-month period of inactivity because of knee trouble and recuperation from a knee replacement in January. I was elated at the trail and vowed to introduce others to it. I'll surely ride it again in 1999 and invite others to join me, but on that trip, I'll want to start in Springfield and ride the new section, too.

The only place at which I had any difficulty following the trail was in the city of Xenia. Bicyclists have to be careful to stay on the Little Miami Trail since there are a number of rail-trails fanning out from the city's center. I almost followed a wrong trail, but early on discovered that I was not on Trail Route 1, as it is identified.

There are many ways of tackling this trail besides the way I did it. One could arrive the night before and spot a vehicle at the trail access in Milford, drive a second vehicle to Springfield, ride the trail in a day and either motel, camp (one possibility, the Bass Lake Family Campground, one-half mile west of US Route 68 on Ohio Route 4 and onto Lower Valley Pike) or head back home. Bicyclists without motor vehicle support have to recognize that motelling in the vicinity of the southern end of the trail requires some seven or so miles of additional riding over suburban highways, some of which on the map appear to be dangerous. Campgrounds in the vicinity of the Trail's southern terminus are not convenient for bicycling, but are, of course, a viable option for travel by automobile.

Another less demanding variation would be the approach just described but motelling or staying at a B&B in the little town of Waynesville, a half mile west of Corwin (about twenty-four miles south of Yellow Springs and thirty-nine miles north of Milford on the trail). Still, another variation would be to start at Milford and ride forty-three miles to Spring Valley plus another one and six tenths miles east to Valley Frontier Campground. Don't consider Caesar Creek State Park, hilly, and too far from the trail.) Then, on the next day, ride north to Springfield and return to Valley Frontier Campground, about fifty miles, or, alternatively, continue on to Morgan's Riverside Campground for a sixty-nine-mile day, and in both scenarios return the following morning to Milford. These are a few suggestions, but as you can see, there are many variations possible.

The ride can be arranged to cover fewer miles in a day, which would provide time to visit some of the attractions along the way, one such being river swimming, as I mentioned. Fort Ancient State Memorial, easily accessed from the trail (involves locking up your bicycle and walking to the site - not sure how far, but not likely to be excessive), preserves the earthworks of the prehistoric mound builders. At King's Mills, you can make a side trip to Paramount's King's Island Theme Park (appears to be only a couple miles west, but most likely includes a hill climb out of Little Miami River Valley). Then, there's a winery near Morrow you can visit and sample its wares, also you can see beautiful Little Miami State Park, north of Milford, the Spring Valley Wildlife Area (obviously near Spring Valley), Antioch College and Glen Helen Ecology Center in or near Yellow Springs, the Country Peddler in Waynesville (Antiques Capital of the Midwest) and, incredibly, other attractions as well..

You can obtain more information than you want by contacting the Convention and Visitors' Bureaus of Warren County (800) 617- 6446, Greene County (800) 733-9109 and Clermont County (800) 796-4282. In addition, a brochure, including a map of the trail, can be obtained from the Greene County Recreation and Parks Department, 651 Dayton/Xenia Road, Xenia, Ohio 45385 (937) 376-7440. As I alluded to above, the Little Miami Scenic Trail has its own website from which you can get descriptions of the various segments of the trail and lots of other interesting information. It will probably give the location of the trail's access point in Springfield at its next update. Check it out at (this URL). Glenn was kind enough to include my web page URL in his article- Tom) I had located the website originally by a search query and couldn't believe its address is really this long. Incredulously, after typing it in a draft of this article, I tried it out - and it works! I didn't dream it up to hassle you.

My notes from the ride include lots more than I have related, but this much may whet your appetite. I'll leave some for you to discover on your own. Ride the Little Miami Scenic Trail. It's a winner.

Trail Review by Glenn Oster (posted 1/13/99) [Ridden August 1998]

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

HOME PAGE