Retro Grouch 

Mrs. Grouch and I were thinking we might take a road trip to Xenia, Oh this summer. We don't know anything about Xenia. There is a group from St Louis who go there every year but I think they go during August or September and we can't go then. We need to go during June or July.

Dudelsack 

There's nothing in Xenia.

It is a hub for the bike trails system, so if you want to go cycling its great. But the town itself gots nothin'.

Just to the west is Dayton. I liked the air exhibits at the Base there.

edit- I just went to Trip Advisor. The only area attraction they list is the bike trail

Retro Grouch 

Uh - that's why I asked on a bicycling message board?

freedomrider1

Lots of fun, nice little inn at cedarville right on bike path. Yellow Springs is cool again on bike path. Springfield hmm. no so much. some very nice famous people live in the area. I hate to be a name dropper, ok i will, RTool, Beverly and John.

Dudelsack 

I honestly thought I was being helpful. There really is nothing in Xenia except the bike path.

They have a very nice building which serves as a hub for the Little Miami Scenic trail. Lots of parking and bike racks, picnic tables and rest rooms. It's a good place to meet up with friends if you're thinking of a group ride.

You can get a free copy of the rails to trails system there just by asking nicely. I got mine by sending an email to someone. They even paid postage.

I've been planning for over a year now of having my wife drop me off at Milford (greater Cinncinati) and going up to Xenia and then the spur over to Dayton where we have family. That's about 70 miles, doable on a bike path.

But, unlike the Great Allegheny Passage, where you can stop at cool towns and see cool stuff, in Xenia there ain't a lot going on.

Rogan

Wasn't Xenia the town that got wiped off the map by a tornado years ago ?

sonatageek

Xenia actually got half wiped off the map twice by tornados many years apart.

The trails are great. Do your friends go to the Greene County Classic each year? That is a fun support spoke and hub tour.

rm -rf

Is this a trip mainly for bike riding, or a sightseeing vacation with some biking added in?

Do you ride bike trails only, or also ride on country roads?

Retro Grouch 

I'm the world's worst tourist although I have visited and enjoyed the Dayton AF museum. We're just looking for a place to do some low key riding. We'll be riding the Kett train so we'll be real real slow.

Cychologist

The Little Miami and linked trails are great. You will love the cycling, especially good on a recumbent (no really steep hills).

rm -rf

The Little Miami Trail (pdf map link) runs from Xenia south to near Cincinnati.

The miles near Xenia OH become urban/suburban, with road crossings.

The trail from the south end up to a few miles north of Loveland OH are often busy on weekends, with walkers, skaters, kids on bikes, dogs, etc. Weekdays are quiet, and sections that are a few miles from a trail head have mostly bike traffic.

The trail uses an old railroad route, mostly along the Little Miami River valley. Much of the route is shaded by trees. The trail south of Morrow is down in the river valley, with wooded hillsides.


My favorite sections of the trail, from a Cincinnati perspective. These three sections include the whole trail, 55 miles from Xenia south to Avoca Park near Cincinnati. See the pdf map above to see the trail heads, and which ones have bathrooms and water.

~~~~~

Loveland OH to Morrow OH. 13.4 miles each way. This is mostly shaded by woods, running along the Little Miami River valley. If I only had one ride on the trail, I would ride this section. A nice summer route.

Loveland is a major trail head, with a city bike park, car parking, restaurants, and lots of trail usage on the weekends. I like the graceful concrete arch bridge that the trail passes under. Another interesting sight is the old Peterson cartridge factory, now mostly abandoned, with a fancy tall tower. The trail stop in Morrow is in the old railroad section of town, with some ice cream shops and an old train station.

~~~~~

Morrow-Xenia is 29 miles each way. ( or ride the best section, Morrow to Corwin, 14.5 miles each way.) It's a bit uphill on the last 6 miles to Xenia, just enough to notice, 160 feet in 6 miles. Mile 16 to 19 on the map is mostly farmland, with few trees for shade, hot in the summer sun. Corwin OH trail stop has water and bathrooms. Oregonia OH has a trailside restaurant. The Fort Ancient Indian mounds are just up the hill from the trail, but that's a very steep climb, at least a 12% grade.

The twin I-71 bridges are being replaced, and the trail passes under them. I don't know of any trail closures there, but they will be demolishing one of the old bridges soon. 2017: All done now.

~~~~~

Closer to Cincinnati, the Loveland-Milford-Avoca trail head is a nice ride, 12.3 miles each way. It can be quite busy on weekends. The south end of the trail is a couple of miles from the Avoca Park trail head, but there's limited parking there. Future extensions will go all the way to downtown Cincinnati, but that's years in the future. Most of this ride is shaded, under trees in the valley.

EDIT -- the trail now extends about 3 more miles, to the future site of a bridge across the river to connect to the Cincinnati bike trails. Ends at the parking lot: 5036 Batavia Road, Cincinnati OH 45244

~~~~~

South of Corwin OH:





restaurant in Oregonia OH. (EDIT -- in 2017, lunch reports have been mixed, not the same as it used to be.)

rm -rf

Cincinnati is quite hilly. Eden Park and Ault Park are interesting, but there's some big climbs to get to them.This is a scenic flat river route (ridewithgps map link), 12.6 miles each way. Most of it is bike trail or walkways in the city parks. 2.5 miles are on Riverside Drive with a dedicated bike lane. Drivers on Riverside see bikes all the time, so it's safe to ride. But it's very busy at rush hour. 10am to 3pm weekdays will be quiet, and weekends will have more walkers and riders on the Lunken loop trail.

The ride:
Armleder Park is a reclaimed sand and gravel pit, sitting in a flood zone. It's now prairie and some trees. It has expansive views, and a dog park.

There's a new connector trail to link to the Lunken Airport loop trail. (It's sort of hard to notice. Look for the small shelter before the dog park and turn left there.) It has a 40 foot tall, 4% grade climb. The 5 mile loop trail is popular with runners, skaters, and bike riders, and it gets quite busy on weekends.

Lunken Airport is now a small jet and prop plane airport. The Lunken Terminal building is small, Art Deco, with an 1930's tiny airplane hanging in the lobby. The interior is completely original. It has bathrooms and a nice restaurant, the Sky Galley, with outdoor seating.

The trail now continues, and turns toward the river at a newer school building on stilts (for flooding). Then it continues on Riverside Drive, with a new bike lane.

St Rose Church's back parking lot has benches at it's river overlook, with a sweeping view around the bend in the Ohio River, all the way downtown, and flood markers painted on the back wall.

The end of the ride is 2 miles through a series of riverfront parks. There's a lot to see here! Bikes are OK on the park walkways. Berry Park has interesting plantings and river views. Next is Sawyer Point, and then the newest park, Smale Park.

Smale Park is still getting completed. It has fancy water features, views of the river, Covington KY's historic river mansions, stadiums, and downtown, and is right next to the 1865 Roebling Suspension Bridge. There's an attached bike center, with rentals, repair and bike parking. EDIT--The park is complete, with lots of water features, gardens, and playgrounds. (The bike center appears to be closed.)

Dave Cutter

The area is mostly Midwestern friendly rural-suburban and rural farm or river-side rails to trails. Even though the rides can seem very much like your in the country (middle of nowhere).... you will never really be very far from parks, restrooms, doctors, drug stores, coffee.... whatever. People are friendly... just ask if you have questions.

One of my favorite rides is into Xenia then about ten more miles up to Yellow Springs (round trip is a metric century for me). Yellow Springs is a tourist attraction itself... and like Xenia has the old train station on the trail with bike racks, water, restrooms, and maps and such for local attractions. Yellow springs has bunches of little shops including a LBS (Xenia has two LBS's)... and a great area to have lunch.

yugdlo

And just up the road from Yellow Springs is Young's Jersey Dairy.
Great Ice cream, and they put on a really nice two day trek to Ada and back in late July. Approximately 170 miles round trip. Mostly over the road, but they do mix in some of the nearby trails.

Dave Cutter

Yep Yellow Springs isn't the bicycle path "hub" that Xenia is.... but I like the little village. I admittedly have made fun of Yellow Springs saying: I enjoy seeing where all the old hippy's went. As it is sort of a tie-dyed, long haired, sort of laid back... kind of place. The dairy is just up the road.... barely out of town and a stopping place for cyclist for miles around.

This part of Ohio... or hardly any part of Ohio... isn't a world class tourist attraction. I live here... and I think we all accept that about the area. But Ohio is very close to being fully bike path connected. We aren't exactly there yet... but close enough for most. And there are plenty enough distractions to visit near the areas that do have paths. And the paths that I've seen are mostly well maintained. I'd call most of the scenery pleasant. I wouldn't expect spectacular views. I think for the most part Ohio travel would have to be considered a good value. Most places aren't very high priced.

doctor j

Drierite is made in Xenia, OH. If you've ever worked in a chemical laboratory, you know from Drierite.

Lanovran

Just a minor quibble: the Cincinnati Bike Center is actually owned by a Chicago-based company, Bike & Park, and merely rents the space from the city (I worked there during its first summer, helping to get it up and running). Adding onto your note about the riverfront parks, meanwhile, I'd like to suggest to the OP that it's worth riding from that area over the Purple People Bridge into Kentucky to visit Newport and the Covington area (I currently work at the Newport Aquarium, so I am a tad biased ).

Dudelsack 

Well yeah, the aquarium is uber cool. But it's not in Xenia.

My wife says shed like to go to Xenia for our second honeymoon. Cheaper than Paris.

Terry66

I rode from Spring Valley to Xenia and then to yellow Springs and back on Saturday. Dayton is a fantastic bike town that doesn't get enough credit. Did you know that the Miami Valley has one of the largest connected bike paths in the country? In fact, I believe it is the longest connected bike trail system in the country at over 300 miles. The only real tourist attraction in Dayton is the Air Force Museum. Carrilon Park is nice and on the bike path. They have recreated many of the historic buildings in Dayton, including the Wright Bros bike shop. There is also a really nice minor-league baseball team called the dragons. I love being a cyclist in Dayton. It's a great place to ride. The Greene County classic in the fall is a fun ride that gets you around most of the bike trails

dleuthe

I rode the Little Miami route last September from south of Xenia to Yellow Springs. It is a good ride, very flat. It's nice that there is a bit of uninterrupted riding between the quaint little towns. I love the farm land and the river views. There is a spot on the route with an old RR station that is nice. It's a nice day long ride. There are some touristy things to do in Cinncinatti and Dayton that can turn the day into maybe a couple of days.
D

Terex

Nice map and info resource : https://www.ohiobikeways.net/regionlist.htm

The trails through the Dayton area look very extensive. The Ohio to Erie Towpath Trail in NE Ohio is also quite extensive. I've ridden much of the northern sections.

Cheese Head

I hope it is okay to bump this thread instead of starting a new one!

I am contemplating taking the Mrs. on a vacation towards the end of this summer (late August/early September) for a week. I like to incorporate some riding during our vacations and I heard about all the trails in the Ohio valley. So it would be nice to get out of Michigan and see some other areas. And Ohio being 4-5 hours away would make a nice get away.

So some questions for you -

Is there any hotels with indoor swimming pools (for the Mrs.) on or very near the trail system?

I am thinking of staying in or near Dayton. If we do then we could take in a minor league ball game or two. We have a team in G.R. Mi. (Whitecaps) that play in the same league as the Dayton Dragons and enjoy the minor league baseball atmosphere.

We also enjoy live music of all types. So any suggestions on night clubs/bars/venues for live music?

Is there a better town (maybe Cincy?) than Dayton to stay at for trail access and lodging?

What are some must see attractions/sights to see in the greater Dayton/Cincy area?

Thank

Retro Grouch 

Sorry, I can't help you very much with those questions.

Mrs. Grouch and I have returned to Xenia for a long week end each year. We stay at the Ramada in Xenia which is old and not very fancy but has an unusually attentive staff. Yellow Spring, just north of Xenia has lots of bars and stuff and, my favorite, whatever the name of that dairy is - yummy ice cream.

We're planning to go back the first weekend in May.

Dan Burkhart 

Xenia proclaims itself to be the bicycle capital of the midwest. Sez so right on their water tower.

Cheese Head

Thanks Retro. It looks like a neat area to explore.