Biking Ohio's Alum Creek Trail

The Alum Creek Trail is 22 miles long, making it one of the longest trails in Central Ohio. I parked at  Wolfe Park in Bexley which is on Highway 16 south of downtown Columbus. I biked 6 miles north, returned, and then went several miles south. The trail also passes through Three Creeks Metro Park and Innis Park along its route.

This is one of the loveliest trails I've ever biked. In fact, of the 225+ trails I've biked across the country, I am putting the Alum Creek Trail on my favorites list! If you enjoy scenery like in the next few photos, then this is a trail for you...

It's difficult to believe you're in an urban area with constant scenery such as this, and the usual noises of civilization are also missing.

The trail is paved and is in pretty good condition except for occasional cracks and frost/root heaves. Signage is very good, pointing you in the right direction and showing mileage to areas ahead of you, and they have also painted directions on the trail pavement showing when to turn or go straight.

The Alum Creek Trail crosses its eponymous creek numerous times, allowing photos of the creek like these...

... and the variety of bridge structures they've built to get you across the creek is startling. My son the architect would have taken far more photos than I did! Here are a few examples...

The newest and final segment of the trail was completed in October of 2015 and is especially well done as seen in this photo. This new section runs through the campus of Ohio Dominican University.

Most road crossings are via underpass and the few actual crossings have traffic lights or are less traveled streets.

Several wetlands are protected by extensive boardwalks like these...

...and if you noticed the profusion of wildflowers in the above photo, here's a closeup for you...

Finally, as a retired teacher, I appreciated two historical markers along the trail, this one on the University's campus, reminding us that the "Underground Railway" was neither (literally) underground nor a railway. The old Spiritual "Wade in the Water" referred to "God's gonna' trouble the water" so the bounty hunters' dogs couldn't track them.

...and farther south on the trail, in Wolfe Park, homage was paid to a gentleman I'd never heard of, and perhaps you haven't either, one of America's most famous cyclists, Marshall Taylor, who in 1899 set seven world records, including riding a mile in 1 minute and 19 seconds, nearly 46 miles per hour!

Finally, the Ohio to Erie Trail was envisioned and the process of its creation begun by Ed Honton in 1991, and this plaque is located along the trail at a bridge dedicated in his honor.

Ohio's Sciota River Greenway Trail

This 10 mile paved multi-use trail is one of the oldest rail-trails in the state. It runs along the namesake river, connecting parks, linking to other trails, and recently bringing riders right into the new downtown Columbus riverfront revitalization project. I parked at Confluence Park where the Sciota and Olentangy Rivers meet. My intention had been to bike the longer Olentangy River Trail but I never found it. Since the trail signage said I was on the Sciota Trail, I biked it.

Though I could hear civilization's sounds in the form of motor vehicle noise constantly, there were numerous places where I felt I was in the wilderness, often along the river...

...but also through sections of forest at times...

The trail is near the city center with expressways seemingly to be everywhere, and the trail goes under ramps and expressways numerous times as seen here... 

The trail also crosses the river at times, and here's a shot I got from a bridge looking down at a dam...

...and another photo of the river...

The trail takes you out to and along Dublin Road at one end, but I preferred the opposite end of the trail, the new section showcasing the downtown...

This downtown section has trail on both sides of the river...

Biking Ohio's Prairie Grass Trail (Ohio to Erie Trail)

This paved 29 mile trail runs from Xenia to London paralleling but rarely seeing US 42. I began in Xenia at the Bike Trail Hub, and finding this trail was the only difficult thing about it. I ran into a family of three who were just as confused as I was, and they had tried to find it several weeks ago and had ended up biking the Xenia-Jamestown Connector by mistake and were back today to correct the error. So here are some photos I took to help you get on the right path.

First, the trail goes by the name Ohio to Erie Trail (referring to Ohio's planned 330 mile rail using existing trail segments.) All the literature says that the existing trails that will be used for the Ohio to Erie will retain their original names, but I saw no indication of this trail being called by its name, the Prairie Grass Trail.

After biking 24 miles of this trail, I discovered this sign as I was nearly back to Xenia Station.
If a duplicate sign would be placed across the street near the Caboose, it would greatly assist new users.

The easiest way to locate the start of the trail from Xenia Station is to take this path that runs to the left of the playground/water park...

...which gets you to Highway 68/Detroit Street. You want to cross this street but might find it easier to turn left, go a few yards on the sidewalk to where the curb is lower, cross, and then back on the other side. That's Hill Street over there -- go up it just a few yards and you'll see...

...the start of the trail on the left -- quite obvious when you get next to it, but no signage to direct you to it...

Okay, that was the hard part. Now just follow the trail for as many of its 29 miles as you wish to ride!

The trail pavement is in excellent condition and is tree shrouded for the start, but soon the tree canopy will no longer shade the trail, so on a hot, sunny summer day...

... it could be blistery warm as you get into the agricultural areas that dominate much of the trail and have no shade. But the scenery is wonderful and all of civilization's distractions are absent, so you can relish that.

Nowadays, we see composite material being used for fences, decks, and a lot more construction uses, but this trail has had a composite-material bridge over Shawnee Creek that dates back nearly 20 years to 1998! And they rightly brag about it with this sign...

Nearly obscured in the brush, I noticed this old 48 mile marker post from the original rail lines -- The PCC and St.L ( Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis RR) and the Little Miami RR.

At about 7.5 miles you'll come upon this rest area which is advertised as having monarch butterflies, but not while I was there...

 ...but just a mile or so beyond is the town of Cedarville. They have a kiosk with a printed card listing all the town businesses available to you with a map on the town on other side of the card.

I went another 3 or 4 miles before turning back to Xenia, but about 10 miles beyond Cedarville is South Charleston with picnic tables, water, and restrooms, and then another 10 miles gets you to the other terminus at London.

Biking Ohio's Creekside Trail

The Creekside Trail is a 15 mile route primarily through lovely woods running from Xenia to Dayton. It begins at the Xenia Bike Trail Hub which serves this and three other trails, The Little Miami Scenic Trail, the Prairie Grass Trail, and the Xenia-Jamestown Connector. Follow highway 68 into Xenia and turn at the red caboose and park in the lots by the rebuilt Xenia Station.

This photo could represent the vast majority of the trail. Though lovely, it doesn't offer much shade, so on a really intense 90 degree day, I suggest you choose the Little Miami Trail if you want shade.

Shawnee Creek gives the trail its name, and it runs alongside the trail for several miles though it is difficult to see because it is 20 feet lower than the trail and often obscured by the trees and their shadows. This photo was taken on a bridge over the creek taking you to the adjacent Sol Arnovitz Park (which could serve as a trailhead parking area for you.)

About four miles from the start you'll cross the bridge over the Little Miami River. There are small rest stops at each end of the bridge with overlooks onto the river.

After crossing several Xenia streets as you began your ride, you'll go some distance before crossing additional roads, and two of the larger roads have underpasses for you. You'll also pass several nice parks along the trail.

The Kil-Kare Dragway and Racetrack will be on your right alongside the trail. If it's race day, you'll hear it before you reach it!

It was race day on the drag strip as I rode by, and if you look closely at the black car in the lower right corner., you'll see smoke from his spinning tires as he prepares to move up to the starting line.

The town of Beavercreek has a poignant rest stop/park/memorial along the trail dedicated to 9/11, with several signs explaining the events and showing photos of that terrible day...

...and the memorial includes a column from the north Trade Tower.  Over 1000 municipalities and non-profits applied for pieces from the Towers, and Beavercreek's application was granted. Two of their firefighters who had worked the horrific aftermath drove back to accept this remnant and bring it to Ohio. This section was a multi-story window casement structure between floors 101 and 105 of the north tower, just above the point of impact of flight 11. It is 25 feet tall, eight feet wide, and weighs three tons. This memorial was dedicated on the 10th anniversary of the attacks in 2011.

The juxtaposition of two stark and dramatic photos in the display brought home to me anew the outrage of this monstrous attack: This "before: photo...

...and the "after" photo...

The memorial was especially poignant to me because one of my all-time favorite high school students, Mari-Rae Sopper, a state champion gymnast and a Navy JAG Corps lawyer, was aboard, heading for a college gymnastics head-coaching job in California.  RIP Mari-Rae.

The trail then crosses I-675 on this impressive 465 foot long restored railroad overpass.

Biking Ohio's Little Miami Scenic Trail

The Little Miami Scenic Trail runs 73 miles from Newton (near Cincinnati) to Springfield, traversing five counties and a dozen towns. It is the longest of Ohio's Miami Valley's 330 miles of paved bike trails. The trail is also part of the 240 completed miles of the Ohio to Erie Trail which will eventually connect the Ohio  River to Lake Erie, a distance of 320 miles.

Hurricane Harvey's torrential rains prevented me from biking the southern section out of Cincinnati yesterday, but today I biked 22 miles of the northern section. I began in Xenia at their "Bike Trail Hub" where four trails can be accessed. This replica of the old Xenia Station has a large parking area and washrooms. The original station had been built in 1880.

This caboose is predominantly placed near the main roads to help you find this trailhead parking area.

Much of the trail north of Xenia parallels US 68 and runs within eyesight of the road and I saw it as I drove to Xenia, , so I decided to bike south from town, not north. I think it was a good decision.

After leaving town heading south, the trail immediately becomes scenic with dense tree cover on both sides which provides good shade from the sun and protection from any wind. The trail is paved and in excellent condition. Volunteers do a lot of work maintaining the trail-- clipping encroaching foliage, cleaning debris off the trail, etc.

The namesake river is near the trail for the most southernmost section out of Cincinnati, heading west from the trail around Spring Valley. Glady Run Stream flows alongside for some of the next section which I biked today, and a big restoration effort has been undertaken and finished to bring it back to ecological health. The dense foliage, however, only allows occasional viewing.

Occasional agricultural fields are seen, as are occasional buildings. I'm not what sure has the attention of these goats, but something is intriguing them...

The small town of Spring Valley is along the trail...

...and a bit south of the town is this scenic lake in the Spring Valley Wildlife Area...

All in all, this is a lovely ride through a scenic area with few road crossings and fewer interruptions and distractions by civilization. I hope to be able to ride the southern section next time I'm passing through the area.