It's Open!

After almost two years of closure, the trail is now open at Grandin Rd. (mm 35.3, Cartridge Factory)! The $22 million King Ave. Bridge replacement project brings many improvements to the trail and surrounding area.

The most exciting change for trail users is removal of the dangerous intersection by construction of a tunnel for the trail to pass under the road. The tunnel is ample in width, allowing good visibility and a wide berm. There is also a new paved parking area that is much larger than the previous gravel lot. A paved path leads from the lot to the trail itself.

The new, higher bridge over the river provides two wider lanes for traffic and a generous, divided lane for cyclists and pedestrians. There’s even room to hop off your bike and enjoy the river view!

The new bridge and roadway is now open to traffic, but flagging operations are expected during the daytime hours of 9 am to 3 pm, as needed, over the winter and into the spring to complete punch-list items.

More photos

by Bill Brown, FLMSP Board member

The Little Miami Scenic Trail undergoes a lot of changes during the year, both manmade and natural—from construction projects that maintain the trail’s functionality to the natural seasonal changes along the river that make the trail so beautiful.

With the recent installation of trail-user-driven, time lapse photo stations, now you can begin to follow these transitions over the year. The Friends of the Little Miami State Park have installed these Chronolog stations at two sites on the trail with a third one coming soon.Chronologis a system that invites trail users to stop and take a picture from a pre-located station and email it to a site that creates a sequential time lapse of the scene. The crowd-sourced time lapse can be accessed online. . .Read More

This yearTrail Mailwill feature your favorite stops along the trail!

Tell us about a beautiful view, a favorite eatery or rest stop, and send along a photo totrailmail@flmsp.orgWe'll include it in a future issue.

Over ten years ago, this riverside property along the northern section of the Little Miami Trail was covered with garbage and junk. An old shack there was threatening to collapse and fall into the river, causing pollution and even more ruination. What should have been one of the most beautiful areas along our trail was both an eyesore and a threat to the scenic river.

Today this property isthe Mel Hensey Nature Preserve, a restful trailside stop for hikers, bikers, and other trail users. It features a beautiful view of the river, a pollinator garden, interpretative signage, and a park bench for relaxation. See the remarkable story of this property's transformation, along with before-and-after photos,here.

The FLMSP Thursday crew worked hard over several weeks to remove invasive honeysuckle along the trail in the Stubbs Mill Road area.

The Fence Repair crew handled a repair on the trail bridge at Miamiville . . .

. . . and recovered lumber from a fence no longer needed to be used on future repair jobs.

by Erick Wikum

During her November 28 memorial service, Rosalynn Carter’s grandson, Jason Carter, shared some humorous anecdotes. She remembered his every birthday with a card and a $20 bill—even when Jason turned 45. She traveled the world, visiting 122 countries, and even climbed to the Mount Kilmanjaro base camp. In that spirit, she told him that what might appear to be her cane was in fact a trekking pole.

Like a cane, trekking poles provide stability when walking, hiking, or climbing. Nordic walking (sauvakävely in Finnish) is a form of fitness walking aided by specially designed poles. Nordic poles include wrist straps and either sharp tips (suitable for use on the Little Miami Scenic Trail) or rubber nubs (suitable for use on concrete surfaces). Some poles are adjustable in length, which is handy for providing the proper fit. The technique is just an extension of walking with arms alternatively swinging forward and pushing off towards the rear using the poles. A short video illustrating the basic technique is availablehere. Nordic walking not only can be safer than conventional walking (due to use of stabilizing poles), but also provides proven health benefits, burning more calories and engaging more muscle groups than regular walking, as explained in thisHarvard Medical School article.

Is Nordic walking for you? The real test is not whether you are in your 90s and in need of a cane, like Rosalynn was, but whether you want to take walking to the next level of safety and health. I invite you to submit any questions you have about Nordic walking poles, technique, etc. to theTrail Mail editorthrough whom I will provide a response.

Thepedestrian bridge on the trail over O’Bannon Creek in Loveland remains closed through May 2024.This bridge, just north of Nisbet Park, will be replaced by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources with an improved bridge. There is no designated detour, but the trail will remain open both south and north of the closing. The photo shows the construction site following a heavy rain.