Happy Wednesday Scoopers,

This past weekend I (Mitko) did something I’ve always wanted to do - walk the entirety of the Little Miami Trail.

The journey took nearly 7 hours and added up to 17 miles of walking and in this email I will give you a summary of what it was like and why I’d definitely do it again!

But first, here are the most important things you should know for the week…

🍦 MINI SCOOPS

🍔 Element Eatery food hall has added two new options: Zaria Street Eats (Italian) and BrewRiver Sandwich Shop (New Orleans creole inspired dishes)

🚨 New Restaurant Alert: Madisonville’s new high-end restaurant Alara is finally opening on March 25th.

🥃 Help a local bar: OTR’s Orbit Room has launched a GoFundMe in the hopes of raising enough money to remain open

🏳️‍🌈 Lebanon Pride: The first ever pride parade in Warren County will take place on July 20th at Mulberry Plaza in downtown Lebanon.

🍻 Cincy’s favorite beer: In celebration of March Madness, the Enquirer has launched a bracket style competition to pick the city’s favorite brew.

📆 UPCOMING EVENTS

Every week we go through 100s of events and curate what we think the most fun things happening these week are. Here’s our selection for this week:

WED Mar 20: 

• Beer for Humans Pint Night at Rhinegeist

• Cincinnati Cyclones $2 Beer Night at Heritage Bank Center

• Adult Space Camp at Cincinnati Observatory

THU Mar 21: 

• Film Premier: “Deep Sky” at Cincinnati Museum Center

• Film Premier: “Volcanoes: The Fires if Creation” at Cincinnati Museum Center

FRI Mar 22: HorrorHound Weekend at Sharonville Convention Center

SAT Mar 23:

• Hoops and Hops at Purcell Marian High School

• TEDxUCincinnati: Laying the Groundwork at UC

• Hog Log Hiking Series: Mushroom Hunt at Sharon Woods

• Brewery Tour and Guided Tasting at Rhinegeist

• Purr, Paint, Sip Art Class at Purrfect Day Cat Cafe

• Board Game Swap at Capstone Games

SUN Mar 24: Sunday Drag Brunch at Bloom OTR

💥 PROFILE

Mariemont to Loveland: Hiking the Little Miami Trail

Growing up in Loveland, the Little Miami Trail was a part of daily life. I would drive over it on the way to school, walk along it with a date, or use it to find a good fishing spot.

But beyond the 1 mile stretch around Loveland, I really didn’t know what the rest of the trail looked like…

And I think that’s a real shame! Do you know that the trail isn’t just in Cincinnati but it stretched all the way to Cleveland!?

That’s right! The Little Miami Bike Trail is actually part of a larger trail called the Ohio to Erie trail because it does just that. You can walk from the Ohio river all the way to Lake Erie!

So, in a pilgrimage of sorts last weekend I walked the full stretch of the Cincinnati portion of the Little Miami Trail from Mariemont to Loveland. Here’s my experience:

Finding the start

The first challenge of my trip was actually finding the starting point.

According to Google Maps, the trail starts behind the Carriage House Car Wash on Wooster Pike, however you can’t access the trail there.

The car wash is surrounded by a tall fence and as I explored for a spot where I could jump the fence and get on the trail I was approached by an attendant who told me I couldn’t do that and to instead head down to Fifty West.

About ¼ of a mile down Wooster is Fifty West and they have definitely embraced that they butt up to the trail.

When you walk into the Beer Garden you will see the entrance to the trail on your left. There is a giant Fifty West logo on the ground by the gate making it easy to spot.

Kroger Hills State Reserve

The first part of the trail is nice and quiet. It cuts through the Avoca Park and gives you really nice views of the Little Miami River. There are also several chances to actually get off the trail and go down to the river.

After about 2 miles the trial comes by the Kroger Hills State Reserve.

I’m not sure if it’s just me, but I had never actually heard of it before and the shut “driveway” gate wasn’t exactly inviting. There was a sign however that said the park was open daily from sunrise to sunset so I figured it would be fine to enter.

Initially my plan was to just poke my head in and see what it was all about but the Reserve turned out to be lovely and completely empty.

You can easily cut across the forrest and get to the river which is really lovely and calm in that section.

I decided to roll the dice and walk through the Reserve instead of doubling back to the entrance.

It was a lovely day without a cloud in the sky and yet I was completely alone in the Reserve. My guess is that the reserve is popular with bird watchers. I must have walked past 20 or so bird feeders on the trail so if you’re into that sort of thing you should put the Reserve on your list.

Crossing the Reserve took about 15 minutes and my concerns proved to be true - the Reserve does not join up with trail again.

However there is a small overgrown trail that you can use to cross into Drackett Field. From there you can either walk towards the Terrace Park Swim & Tennis Club and join the trail again from there, or climb the small hill up to the trail and jump the fence like I did to save time.

Lunch at Little Miami Brewing

Around Terrace Park, the trail became much busier as people enjoyed their Saturday morning run.

Between the trees I could see the scenery beyond the trail change from mostly forrest to little houses which backed up to the trail. Kids popped in and our of the trees as they too enjoyed the nice day playing in their backyards.

After Terrace Park the trail once again rejoins the Little Miami River in Milford.

Here I decided to stop to have lunch and “rehydrate” with a beer at Little Miami Brewing. It was St. Patty’s Day weekend after all.

If you haven’t been to Little Miami Brewing in my opinion it’s one of the best breweries in the city. Yes, the beer is good, but beyond that it just feels good to be in the brewery.

All the tables were packed with people sipping on beer and digging into tasty pizzas so I headed outside to sit by the river and enjoy my lunch.

You seriously need to put Little Miami Brewing on your “to visit list” this summer if you haven’t been there. Nothing beats sitting on a Adirondack chair 10 feet from the river with a cold beer in hand as the sun warms your face!

Bikers, bikers, and more bikers

After Milford the trail winds through Camp Denison before reaching Miamiville and during this stretch I didn’t see a single other person walking. However, it was biker central.

I feel like I heard “On your left” every 2 minutes and spent a majority of the time in this stretch walking on the grass on the side of the trail as opposed on the trail itself in order to dodge all the bicycles.

This makes sense - this stretch of the trail is 3.5 miles long and there isn’t really anywhere for someone to park their car and walk. What you’re left with are bikers likely on their way up to Loveland where there is plenty of parking.

The scenery here however is best described as the picture you’d see next to the dictionary definition of idyllic!

Camp Denison itself is a small neighborhood and as I walked through it on the trail I passed lovely houses, a horse farm or two, and even saw some kids setting up a Lemonade stand off the trail.

The only thing that broke the peace was the sound of gun shots…

On the corner of E Galbraith Rd and Glendale-Milford Rd is the Indian Hill Shooting Club which definitely made me jump when I first heard the sound of gun fire followed by the unmistakable PING of a metal target.

Miamiville Trailyard and beyond

I don’t feel like the Miamiville Trailyard is super well known but it’s actually an awesome spot if you’re looking for outdoor dining.

As the name suggests, the restaurant’s yard backs right up to the trail. There are even spots where you can tie up your bike if you’re biking past and get hungry.

Until this point I had a pretty good idea of what to expect on the trail but from this point until Loveland the trail was a mystery to me.

And honestly you’re not missing much if you’ve never explored this part of the trail either. You will pass what I believe is a mulch yard and the new Moeller Kremcheck Athletic Facility but besides that there’s really not much to see in this part of the trail. It’s also the only time during my hike where I was completely alone and didn’t pass another person for a soling 20-30 minutes.

Miami Riverview Park and Loveland

Eventually you will reach the 275 overpass (which feels very strange to walk under on foot) and you will officially be in what I’d call the Loveland corridor of the Little Miami trail.

In this section the trail goes from desolate to packed. Suddenly you won’t just have to look out for joggers and bikers but families as well.

You will pass Miami Riverview Park which is a popular spot for people to park their cars and access the trail so it gets really busy but after that the traffic dies down again until you reach Loveland.

Including my lunch break at Little Miami Brewing the entire hike took 6 hours and 40 minutes and added up to a total of 16.7 miles.

I’m not going to lie by the end my feet were in quite a bit of pain so if you’re inspired to do the full hike I highly recommend picking your shows well and bringing a change of socks. Mine were soaked at the end.

I think one of the things that really makes the Little Miami Trail stand out is that it’s a proper hike with plenty of things you can stop and do along the way.

• You can grab a hot dog at Fifty West as you set off

• Stop for a beer at Little Miami Brewing

• Grab lunch at the Miamiville Trailyard

• Get a beer at Narrow Path or anyone of the many restaurants right off the trail in Loveland.

Despite my feet hurting for the next 2 days I loved my little side quest up the Little Miami Trail and am already planning to do something similar again.

Perhaps next time I’ll bike to Cartridge Brewing or who knows… maybe I’ll walk the entire way to Cleveland!?

🐕 CINCYDOG OF THE WEEK

Luna says hi from the Miamiville Trailyard!

Thanks for being here with us. We’re looking forward to building a strong community of informed Cincinnatians who want to stay in the loop.

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