Little Miami Scenic Trail - Miami Valley Trails
DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 39.87944, -83.84085
 |
| Beatty Station Parking |
TRAIL MAP:
Little Miami Scenic Trail Map - Friends of the Little Miami State Park
BIKE DISTANCE: 32.6 miles
along with a hike at Glen Helen Preserve/John Bryan State Park/Clifton Gorge Preserve - 10.1 miles
THE BIKE:
Day two of the drive from NJ to MO. Glen Helen Nature Preserve is right on this bike path and I had planned on hiking about 4 miles there. But I knew it connects to John Bryan State Park where I have hiked twice previously. Then there is Clifton Gorge Preserve next to John Bryan State Park where I could never hike before because I always had a dog with me and dogs are not allowed. So it turned out to be a 10 mile hike capturing all of it because, why not?
 |
| Heading south from Beatty Station. |
 |
| Coming into Yellow Springs, OH. |
 |
| Passing by Glen Helen Nature Preserve where I would be hiking on my way back. |
 |
| Was it ever exciting to see a leucistic squirrel! I was afraid I would not get a decent picture of him but then ... |
 |
| ... he posed so nicely. |
 |
| The trail crosses several creeks ... |
 |
| .. and the Little Miami River that I would be seeing a lot of on the hike. |
 |
| Little Miami River |
 |
| Bummer! A detour. |
 |
| Back on the trail I was wondering if that section of trail was actually closed as the barriers were along the sides. I'd check that out on the way back. |
 |
| Coming into Xenia, OH. |
Back in 1974 when I was in high school and living in St. Louis, the company my dad worked for was getting ready to transfer us again. It was either going to be Xenia, OH or Fredericksburg, VA. We ended up in Fredericksburg, VA. Then on April 3, 1974 an F5 tornado devastated Xenia. I have driven by the Xenia sign on I-70 many, many times over the years on my way to and from St. Louis and it always reminded me about that tornado. Now I had the opportunity to actually visit Xenia after all these years.
 |
| At this point the trail end but continues along the road after crossing right then left. |
 |
| An aerial photograph of Xenia, Ohio, following a fatal and destructive F5 tornado on April 3, 1974 from Wikipedia. It show the same church as in my picture above this one. |
 |
| There is even a dedicated bicycle crossing light at this very busy intersection. |
 |
| Arriving at Xenia Station where the Little Miami Scenic Trail continues and a few other trail branch off. Ohio had quite an amazing network of trails. |
 |
| Heading back. |
 |
| Back at that detour I saw a woman up ahead walking her dog and asked her if the trail was actually closed. She said no, it's open. They had done some repaving but it was finished, they just hadn't removed the detour signs yet. |
 |
| Heading into the Glen Helen Preserve where there is a $10 parking fee for cars but no fee for bikes. Locked my bike to the bike rack and changed into hiking gear. |
 |
| Back on the trail after hiking 10 miles and my legs were feeling it! Only 6 miles to go. |
 |
| Yellow Springs was quite the hub of activity this time of day with restaurants full and a band playing right off the trail. |
 |
| Back at Beatty Station to continue on a 5 1/2 hour drive to St. Louis. |
No comments:
Post a Comment