Little Miami State Park

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Oregonia Bridge. Photo by Ohio DNR.

Winter snow on the trail. Photo by Ohio DNR.

Just hinting yellow. Photo by Ohio DNR.

Corwin shelter 2

Corwin shelter

Applying cold patch to Trail

Volunteer Crew

Volunteers from Kings High School

Root Cutting Team

Trees fallen on trail

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The Little Miami Scenic Trail is the longest paved, rail trail in the United States, stretching for 76 miles from Terrace Park, OH in the south to Springfield, OH in the north. The Little Miami State Park represents 50 of those miles. Of the 330-mile Ohio to Erie Trail, the Little Miami Trail represents 50 miles. Its history is that it was originally the Little Miami Railroad (LMRR).

In 1836 the LMRR Railroad was chartered to connect Cincinnati OH and Xenia OH. The LMRR figured prominently in our nation's history. In 1860 president-elect Abraham Lincoln rode the LMRR from Springfield, Illinois to his inauguration in Washington D.C. During the Civil War, Morgan's Raiders captured a Union troop train and made the troops walk back to Camp Dennison. And in both World War I and World War II, the LMRR transported ammunition from Peters Cartridge in Kings Mills to the various theaters of conflict. To this day you will see along the Trail railroad artifacts as well as artifacts from the Civil War, World War I, and World War II. The Friends of the Little Miami State Park are active in restoring and preserving these artifacts.

Work to convert the LMRR into the present-day state park began in 1981 with the final Terrace Park leg being completed in 2005. Today's Trail goes through 4 Ohio counties (Hamilton, Clermont, Warren, and Greene) and 11 jurisdictions (Terrace Park, Milford, Camp Dennison, Miamiville, Loveland, Fosters, Morrow, Oregonia, Corwin/Waynesville, Spring Valley, Xenia).

Today the Little Miami State Park is the gateway trail between the trail systems in the south (Cincinnati and the surrounding area) and the trail systems in the north (Dayton, Columbus, and Cleveland). Trail usage in 2020 was 2.3 million based on current and historical electronic trail counters strategically placed along the trail. For most of its 50 miles, the Little Miami State Park follows the Little Miami River, a state and national scenic river.

State resources to maintain the Little Miami State Park are always severely restricted. So in 2009, a group of concerned citizens formed the non-profit Friends of the Little Miami State Park (FLMSP) for the purpose of maintaining and preserving this regional asset. Over 2,400 people receive FLMSP's Trail Mail monthly newsletter, over 400 people are dues-paying members, and FLMSP volunteers account for over 4,000 volunteer hours per year --- FLMSP has no paid staff. Back in 2009, FLMSP's first task was to pave the 15 wooden bridges along the 50-mile trail. 

Adopt-a-Trail was the first FLMSP program established --- similar in concept to Adopt-a-Highway. For a 50-mile trail, logistics is a constant challenge, so FLMSP divided the trail into 4 sections and divided those 4 sections into 24 segments for the purpose of recruiting volunteers. As the owner, ODNR is committed to mowing and capital projects, the 24 Segment Adopters and their volunteers are responsible for everything else, e.g. removing honeysuckle, repairing fences, clearing lines of sight at intersections, removing trash and other debris, removing fallen trees, blowing leaves and walnuts from the trail, reforestation, hotline, etc. Today the Adopt-a-Trail program has a volunteer corps of over 100.

The oldest section of the trail was paved in 1981 --- 40 years ago. Over 40 of the 50 miles are the original surface. To the credit of the original railroad engineers, the trail foundation remains in good shape --- but we can't count on this continuing indefinitely. Therefore, we have a multi-year plan in place to scarify (grind down) the bumps that are the result of root encroachment, cut the offending roots at the trail's edge, and crack-fill the entire trail while we wait for state funding to repave the entire Trail.

Reviews

Kurt Poppe

May 8, 2023

Scenic trail

We have used sections of this trail for biking and hiking for years. We highly recommend it.

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Allowed Uses:

Other Activities

• Heritage and history
• Snow, snow play general
• Wildlife viewing / observation

• Certified as an NRT
  Jun 2, 2022