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Print Friendly MapOhio’s Miami River Valley, with 340 miles of off-road trails, is home to one of the nation’s largest paved trail networks. Heading northwest from Dayton, the Wolf Creek Trail is one piece of this important transportation system. The well-maintained asphalt route is currently open in two disconnected segments. The longest section of the trail begins in Verona at the county line and heads southeast to Trotwood; the shorter segment of the trail follows a northwest course from Dayton’s Sunrise MetroPark to Little Richmond Road.
The northern segment follows the former corridor of the Dayton and Greenville Railroad. The railway was built in 1852 and went through many mergers over the years before finally ending service in the 1980s. Starting at the western end, near Sweet Potato Ridge Road, the trail’s first 5 miles pass through spacious expanses of farm fields. At US 40, you’ll reach a trailhead; the busy crossing is unmarked for motorists, so take care. Shortly thereafter, an underpass for I-70 provides safe passage from heavy traffic. On the other side, enter Brookville, a sleepy town of 5,800. A real gem here is Golden Gate Park, which features a kids’ playground that resembles a scaled-down castle and even hosts local theater productions. Also find restrooms, water fountains, and picnic shelters.
At Snyder Road, you will come upon an entrance to Sycamore State Park, which has miles of hiking and bridle trails under canopies of giant sycamore trees. Farther on, the Olde Town Depot in Trotwood, with historical exhibits, an information kiosk, and restored railroad cabooses, is an ideal spot for a break. A bus stop in front of this old railroad station provides a convenience for bike and bus commuters. The trail continues less than a mile from here, crossing Wolf Creek before the first segment ends.
After a short gap, the shorter section of the trail begins farther east and follows Wolf Creek for most of its journey toward downtown Dayton. While it is possible to bridge the 3.5-mile gap on-road, the route is very busy and not recommended. Pick up the trail at Little Richmond Road and James H. McGee Boulevard, and travel about 3 miles to end in Sunrise MetroPark, where the Wolf Creek Trail meets the Great Miami River. In the park, the path connects with the Great Miami River Trail, which stretches more than 80 miles between Piqua and Fairfield.
To reach the Verona trailhead on the northwestern end: From I-70 W, take Exit 24 toward OH 49. Continue north on OH 49, and go 1.3 miles to Wengerlawn Road. Turn left onto Wengerlawn and look for the trailhead just past Number 9 Road, after 4.5 miles. From I-70 E, take Exit 14, and head north on OH 503. In 1.3 miles, turn right onto US 40, and go 2.9 miles. Turn left onto Preble County Line Road, and in 0.9 mile turn right onto Wengerlawn Road. Go 1 mile to the trailhead.
The Olde Town Depot trailhead in Trotwood is located at the intersection of Wolf Creek Pike/Main St. and Broadway. From I-70 W, take Exit 26, and head south on Hole road. Go 0.3 mile and turn left onto OH 49. Follow the directions below from OH 49. From I-70 E, take Exit 26, and head southeast on OH 49. In 3.5 miles, turn right to remain on OH 49, and continue 1.6 miles. Turn right onto E. Main St. toward Trotwood and look for the depot after 1.6 miles.
To access the shorter trail segment on Dayton’s west end, park in Wesleyan MetroPark (2222 N. James H. McGee Blvd.). From I-75, take Exit 52 for US 35 W. Head 0.1 mile west on US 35 and take the exit for James H. McGee Blvd. Take a right onto the boulevard and follow it north 2.1 miles to the park; the parking lot will appear on your right.
My wife and I rode this trail on Labor Day and it was fantastic. We began at the train station in Trotwood and rode to Verona and back - just over 24 miles round trip. The trail has many farms, a few parks and very peaceful. Brookville is charming and is about the half-way point. We only passed a few riders and joggers. It was a great ride!
I started this trail (bike) in Dayton, just off on 3rd street. The entire trail was poorly marked - at one point I didn't know if I was on the trail. It turns out I wasn't. Trail was full of broken glass and trash. Absolutely ridiculous. Whoever maintains the trail, Dayton City or Montgomery County - should be embarrassed.
I parked at the train station in Trotwood and rode north west to the end of the trail in Verona and back. Trail is in good condition with places to take a break. The trail goes through the country and is very scenic. If you’re looking for a nice easy enjoyable ride this is it.
The trail from Verona to Trotwood is nice, some tree lined, mostly riding through corn and bean fields. DO NOT try to take the connector to the southern section. Route is not marked, no bike lane and once we found the trail back, it was covered with weeds and glass.
We rode this trail on our tandem not realizing how bad the connector roads between the two segments were. Old Richmond has a wide sidewalk but has so much glass and so many weeds it is impassible. Not sure how we didn't get a flat.
We gave up and turned around and headed back to downtown Dayton. Ride the Mad River instead.
From downtown out to Wesleyan Metro Park (only a few miles) is nice and we like the new work that has been done.
There are two separate segments to this trail. I started out riding the Dayton segment of the Wolf Creek Trail by parking and starting out at Adventure Central at Wesleyan Metropark. This portion of the Wolf Creek Trail parallels a good part of its length along James H. McGee Blvd. Closer to downtown Dayton the trail drops down below the levees on the banks of the creek and you ride east along the creek’s floodplain until you reach the Great Miami River and the Great Miami River Trail. This portion of the trail and the spur into Wesleyan Metropark are the most scenic parts of the ride. At the western end of the Dayton (southeastern) segment, the farther west you go the poorer the condition of the trail gets. There are lots of weeds and brush growing into the pathway. The overgrowth is so bad that it is virtually impossible to ride the trail to the its end at the intersection of James H. McGee Blvd. and Little Richmond Road. Like many urban trails there is lots of broken glass on the trail surface — in most cases probably thrown there from passing cars on McGee Blvd. If you choose to ride this section of the trail, start at Wesleyan Metropark and ride toward Dayton, there is not much to see west of Adventure Central and the condition of the trail in that direction is definitely substandard.
The Montgomery County segment of the Wolf Creek Trail, runs from the city of Trotwood, through Brookville, and ends at the town of Verona at the Preble County line. There is a short half mile portion of the trail that travels southeast from the Trotwood station/depot toward the Dayton segment of the trail but it ends and the 4 mile gap between these two sections still remains. If and when the two sections of the Wolf Creek Trail are finally connected then perhaps the poorly maintained section of the Dayton segment will be improved and something interesting to see or visit will be developed in this current gap between segments.
The Montgomery County segment of the Wolf Creek Trail is straight as an arrow from Trotwood to Brookville and then after crossing under I-70 it takes a very gentle curve more north toward Verona. The trail surface is asphalt which is in good shape. This trail is very much a green tunnel with trees and shrubs on both sides of the route. You get a chance to see outside of the tunnel mostly at road crossings and when you enter the towns of Trotwood and Brookville. Once west of Brookville there is less tree cover and you find yourself surrounded by corn and soybean fields. I’d love to see this trail extended through Verona and on up into Greenville, Ohio where it could connect with the Tucumseh Trail Multi-use Pathway and the Union City Gateway Trail. This actually may be the part of the route that Rails to Trails Conservancy may be proposing for the nationwide Great American Rail-Trail through Ohio to link up with the Cardinal Greenway in Richmond Indiana. Hopefully, the powers that be in Ohio will have both the vision and the will to complete our state's part of this ambitious recreational plan. This trail has great potential to be a significant link of this cross country trail but only time will tell if it will reach that potential.
I have traveled to ride this trail several times, and will continue to do so as it gives you open space to speed up your pace for a good workout. The trail is smooth with not too many cracks or crevices in the surface, and lends itself to really getting your speed up. Wolf Creek is like a lot of other rural trails in the Midwest which are mostly flat with some gradual inclines. Most of the trail is located in rural setting, and gives some good distance between road crossings.
I have only ridden the Verona-Trotwood portion and find that it is not too busy when I have been here. Brookville is a nice town with several places to eat, and convenient trailhead parking just off of I-70. The trail is marked very well with mileage between places, and you can also easily access Sycamore State Park.
This is about a 25 mile flat ride from Verona to Trotwood, OH. I like the location of this trail. If you are going to or from somewhere on US 70 it's easy to get off in Brookville do an easy 25 and continue on your way.
The name is a misnomer I've never seen a wolf or a creek on this ride! If you start in Verona just park on the street or at the grain elevator there is no formal trail head. Well kept trail, nice country scenery good restaurant, near nice motel in Brookville. You can leave your car there or in the lot across the street.
I plan to extend my next ride by taking some of the side country roads, little traffic, much to be explored.
Rode this trail for the first time today, and was not disappointed. Started in Verona and had a little trouble finding a place to park, decided on the city park it worked out well. Just under 25 miles to Trotwood and back. Surface was excellent, several rest points available. Plenty of fall colors to take in today. If you plan to stop for food there are several options right along the trail in Brookville. Nice relatively flat trail that I would recommend this ride for all!!
We ride north on this trail from Trotwood to Verona. From Trotwood to Brookville there is a slight uphill grade which provides a great workout. The next five miles to Verona are not as challenging but the views are great. Some times we get off the bike trail at Verona and ride the country roads back to Trotwood. Great trail to ride.
We rode this trail starting at the south end and going north. Very nice weather today, trail is in great shape. At the start though we wanted to see the railroad museum there, but it and the bathrooms there were closed, BOO!!! We rode north through the town of Brookville, a gas station right off the trail which is a good idea. Some small shops there as well. We got to the turn around point and began our trip back stopping in Brookville to eat at K's Restaurant not too far off the trail just to the west at 458 Arlington Road. Great food, famous for their pies. Received excellent service from our server Mackenzie there. We finished and continued on to the south stopping point.
We did see many animals along the way, some cool little Indigo Buntings that were bright blue. A few dogs, cats, groundhogs, bunnies, squirrels and horses. Not much to see along the way though, an easy ride overall.
My 3-day, 3-trail vacation in Southwestern Ohio concluded here today - Another amazing blue sky - 80 degree day in mid-October. My goal was to study, in detail, the farthest west one can access the old Pennsylvania Railroad's Pittsburgh-St. Louis Panhandle Main Line in the Buckeye State. Starting at the beautifully restored "union" passenger depot, I headed west. Another one of those interesting shared ownership railroads so common to the state, this line west of Dayton was shared by the Pennsy and the old Baltimore & Ohio. Within two years after the demise of Amtrak's National Limited in November of 1979, the line was quickly abandoned by Conrail, the successor to the PRR and Penn Central. Chessie (later CSX) continued to service the abundant corn harvests out of Arcanum, so the line continued to see service from Dayton out to Dodson, well into the 1990's. In that light, it was not surprising to find the line's mileposts renumbered from Dayton, so you will see CSX milesigns 14 through 19, between Brookville and Verona. Note the railroad rail beside MP16, stenciled "16", stuck into the ground on-end, in the manner in which the old Western Maryland Railway marked their milepoints. 2.1 miles west of Brookville, the PRR and B&O routes diverged. In little Dodson, you will see several relay cases and a phone box, lovingly restored with "Chessie Systems" (Sorry, guys, it was only one "System"), and "PRR", in a somewhat distorted keystone corporate logo. But, very nice!... Very nice! If you look carefully at the location of the phone box, you can see the old PRR grade diverging from the trail (the B&O grade from here north) to the northwest. The teaser in the trail description entices the imagination to wander the 20 miles farther west the trail will someday hopefully go into Richmond, Indiana! Hard to believe that we had high speed passenger trains running out that direction, from the Pennsy's "Blue Ribbon Fleet" to Richmond, Indianapolis, Terre Haute, and Saint Louis, to Amtrak's 1979 "Train of the Year!" With the paradox that the old B&O branch to Greenville survives as the trail, north to Verona! Do stop and take a walk through Dull's Woods", just north of Dodson. Mr. Dull, an ardent conservationist and farmer, donated this tiny, 8-acre remnant of the region's once massive swamp forest, to the trail's caretakers. Huge pin oaks and other massive trees present this region as it appeared before farming drained and tamed the land. A "tree island in a sea of agriculture." A beautiful little wooden walkway conducts the visitor around a quarter-mile circle under this most interesting refuge! After a gentle 2.5 mile climb out of Brookville to Dodson, you will enjoy a pretty much all-downhill 4 miles into Verona. With this, I closed out my little "weekend vacation" over the west ends of the Creekside and Wolf Creek Trails. And what a better way to be serenaded back into Brookville and its town festival, than with a female country vocalist singing Arlo Guthries' "City of New Orleans!" "Good night, America, how are you?... Don't you know me, I'm your native son... I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans... I'll be gone 500 miles when the day is done..."
"I did this ride on a beautiful warm Saturday in late April. I was surprised to be the 1st one in the lot at the old station in Trotwood at around 11am. The bathrooms were locked...grrr.
The beginning of the trail isn't obvious from the parking lot, or marked on the maps there. From the station, walk your bike across Main, then immediately cross Broadway and then you'll see the start of the trail breaking right, from the sidewalk.
I thoroughly enjoyed this ride-it wasn't crowded, and Brookville was a pleasant town in the middle of the 13 mile trail. You'll pass a wetland preserve along the way. The trail becomes rather remote and sparsely ridden as you head to its northern end. Then it very abruptly ends next to a farm field, just shy of a stone mill."
Riding or blading from the Verona end of this trail starts out serene and quiet in a country setting. It builds up to the city for lunch or overnight stay. There are several eating or stayover places in Brookville. This trail is never very crowded on the north end.
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