 | This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: Beechmont Bridge Connector opened. (September 2022) |
| Little Miami Scenic Trail | |
|---|---|
 Little Miami Scenic Trail, crossing the Little Miami River near Xenia, Ohio, May 2018 | |
| Length | 78.1 mi (125.7 km)[1][2] |
| Location | Southwestern Ohio |
| Designation |
|
| Trailheads | Springfield to Cincinnati |
| Use | Cycling, walking, rollerblading, horseback riding |
| Elevation change | −486 ft (−148 m)[3] |
| Highest point | Springfield trailhead |
| Lowest point | Armleder Park, Cincinnati |
| Difficulty | Easy (fully accessible[4]) |
| Season | Year-round |
The Little Miami Scenic Trail is the fourth longest paved trail in the United States,[5] running 78.1 miles (125.7 km)[1] through five southwestern counties in the state of Ohio. The multi-use rail trail sees heavy recreational use by hikers and bicyclists, as well as the occasional horseback rider. Over 700,000 people made use of the trail in 2014.[6]
Most of the trail runs along the banks of the Little Miami River, in a dedicated, car-free corridor known as Little Miami State Park. This unusually linear state park passes through four counties, with a right-of-way running about 50 miles (80 km) long and averaging 66 feet (20 m) in width[7] for a total of about 400 acres (160 ha). Elsewhere, the corridor ranges from 8 to 10 feet (2.4 to 3.0 m) in width.[8]
The Little Miami Scenic Trail is signposted as State Bike Route 1 south of Xenia and State Bike Route 3 throughout.[9] It is the backbone of a nearly continuous network of paved multi-use trails, centered on the Miami Valley area, that stretches 330 miles (530 km) and connects the Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus metropolitan areas.[10] The Little Miami trail is an incrementally growing section of the Buckeye Trail and North Country National Scenic Trail, while the trail south of Xenia also forms the southern leg of the Ohio to Erie Trail and part of U.S. Bicycle Route 21.[11]
- ^ a b "Little Miami Bike Trail expanding, putting it closer to downtown Cincinnati - Cincinnati Business Courier". Cincinnati Business Courier. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
- ^ "Little Miami Scenic Trail". Ohio Bikeways. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
- ^ Recktenwalt, Thomas J. (November 16, 2008). "Little Miami Scenic Trail". Miami Valley RailTrails. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2008.
- ^ Menke, Bill (August 1996). "Standards for Trail Construction" (PDF). North Country National Scenic Trail: A Handbook for Trail Design, Construction and Maintenance (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
- ^ "Longest trails: longest paved trail and longest ice skating trail". American Trails. June 28, 2013. Archived from the original on July 4, 2008. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
- ^ Lee, Marika (May 13, 2015). "Improvements coming for the Little Miami State Park". The Loveland Herald. Gannett Company. The Community Press. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
- ^ "Little Miami State Park". Ohio State Parks. Ohio Department of Natural Resources. 2008. Retrieved November 18, 2008.
- ^ "Little Miami Scenic Trail". Trails From Rails. November 16, 2008. Archived from the original on January 27, 2009. Retrieved January 18, 2009.
- ^ Billiter, James (April 8, 2013). "1/3 as important as a car?". Jimmy Road Rash luvs Bjet. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
- ^ McCall, Ken R. (June 11, 2015). "Do we have the nation's largest paved trail network?". Dayton.com. Cox Media Group. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
- ^ Boyd, Wes (December 12, 2003). "Ohio: Heart of the North Country Trail". Following the North Country Trail (3rd ed.). Lowell, Michigan: North Country Trail Association. Archived from the original on February 25, 2009. Retrieved November 22, 2008.