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The Little Miami Scenic Trail is a jewel in the crown of Ohio rail-trails, spanning nearly 78 miles between the outskirts of Cincinnati and Springfield over historical bridges and through tranquil state parks, charming small towns, and stunning natural habitats. In addition to walking and biking use, equestrians are permitted on the trail within Greene County.
About the Route
The trail's northern endpoint is located in the heart of Springfield, a town of 50,000 people with dining and convenience options. The trail heads south from here through the suburbs, where the trail backs up to several backyards, although at a berth.
After the trail leaves the suburbs of Springfield, the route enters a more rural space. The trail corridor itself here is shaded over by a cover of trees but the surrounding landscape is mostly flat sprawling farms dotted with houses.
7 miles from the northern endpoint is Yellow Springs, which offers a small downtown with a number of quirky shops and restaurants as well as a reminder of the trail's railroad past, Yellow Springs Station which now houses the town's Chamber of Commerce. The trail here also passes the Glen Helen Nature Preserve and Antioch College.
South of Yellow Springs, the trail heads through some tranquil wooded areas before reaching Xenia, a town that offers another old railroad station and numerous trail connections. Just to the south is the town of Corwin and Caesar Creek State Park, which offers more than 70 miles of hiking and bridle trails as well as canoe rentals.
There is a lot of ground to cover between Morrow and Xenia, but trail users should stop by Fort Ancient State Memorial, home to a large museum and 3.5 miles of mounds built by the Fort Ancient tribe. Near the town of Morrow, with its railroad depot and an ancient (but safe) iron trestle, the trail congestion ebbs.
The trail also crosses "Old Loveland" where the quaint, older section of town is jam-packed with stores, cafes, and a bike shop. The trail is busy here, and traffic remains constant past the Jeremiah Morrow Bridge and all the way to Hamilton Township's Fosters Park, where you'll find parking, and restrooms. As the trail heads toward Milford, a 2,500-foot-long bridge carries trail users south. The bridge, which carries I-71 and is named after a former governor, is the highest bridge in Ohio—a twin-deck, arch-truss bridge looming 239 feet above the river and the trail.
For most of the southern portion of the route, the Little Miami River accompanies the trail. After the trail passes Milton, it heads south on a bridge over US 50 and heads towards Avoca Park in the village of Terrace Park, which offers a plethora of natural greenspace.
In Newtown, the trail passes the Little Miami Golf Center and then Clear Creek Park, which offers a picnic pavilion and numerous athletic fields.
Shortly after this, the trail reaches its southern endpoint as it crosses the Little Miami River over the Beechmont Bridge, but trail users may continue along a number of trails from here.
Connections
At the trail's northern end in Springfield, the Little Miami Scenic Trail meets the Simon Kenton Trail and the Buck Creek Trail (OH).
In Xenia, the trail crosses with many other trails including the Prairie Grass Trail, Creekside Trail, Towler Road Spur, and the James Ranch Connecting Spur.
In South Lebanon, the trail intersects with the Lebanon Countryside YMCA Trail.
At the trail's southern end, the route meets two different loop trails, the Armleder Park Trail and the Lunken Airport Trail.
The Little Miami Scenic Trail is a significant section of the cross-state Ohio to Erie Trail, which travels from the Ohio River in Cincinnati to Lake Erie in Cleveland on more than 270 miles of off-road trails.
The Little Miami Scenic Trail is part of the Miami Valley Trails, a series of interconnected trails in the Dayton Metro Area and surrounding western Ohio.
The Little Miami Scenic Trail runs between W Jefferson St & S Center St (Springfield) and Beechmont Ave, Otto Armleder Trail (Anderson).
Parking is available at:
There are numerous parking options along this route, see TrailLink Map for all parking options and detailed directions.
Loved the trail - only did Xenia to Yellow Springs and back, in conjunction with one of the connector trails. Signs use trail numbers vs names, which we didn’t realize until we were on trail… Also, not clear signage at key intersections where trails intersect or turn. Won’t be a problem if you’re expecting/prepared for it, but not as clear and user friendly as many other top tier rail trails we’ve ridden.
We ride this trail very often from Milford to Yellow Springs and love this portion of the Trail. We went North of Yellow Springs for the 1st time back in 2022 heading to Urbana. for the 1st time my husband and I felt unsafe on the trails in Springfield area. We have been on 100's of miles of the trails all over Dayton, Troy, Miamisburg, Piqua, Loveland, Morrow, Beavercreek, Xenia, Cincinnati. I have never feared being on the path with my husband. This was the 1st time we made it a point to turn around before getting to our planned stopping point to be sure we had the energy to keep a steady pace to get back through an area without slowing or stopping. Homeless, graffiti, glass on trail, we love riding but will not go on this portion of trail again. I want to be clear it was only the Springfield area. If going North of Yellow Springs I would stop at I believe it was called Beatty Park, skip Springfield area and hop back on at a different time north of Springfield. I will Note that we never passed any other bike riders in this area in either direction, which we have never encountered being completely alone for a few miles. (I previously posted this some how on a 2nd account i was unaware I had until today.) We have not been back on the trail in that area for the past 2 years, however we were in that area a few weeks ago by car, and the path was not looking any better than we remembered.
Nice well maintained rail to trail.
Hello, we finished our lovely ride July 7 and returned to our car parked in Corwin. As my husband took off his glove, his wedding band came off as well and flew somewhere. It is gold with an inscription. We searched for a few hours as well as a few residents of Corwin and other bikers as they saw us searching. We returned today with a metal detector. I think it must have attached itself to a car. Please let me know if found
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