60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Cincinnati: Including Southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Southeast Indiana
344
60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Cincinnati: Including Southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Southeast Indiana
344Paperback(3rd Revised ed.)
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Overview
The best way to experience Cincinnati is by hiking it. Get outdoors with local author and hiking expert Tamara York, with the full-color edition of 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Cincinnati. A perfect blend of popular trails and hidden gems, the selected trails transport you to scenic overlooks, wildlife hot spots, and historical settings that renew your spirit and recharge your body.
Go bird-watching at the California Woods Nature Preserve. Hike along the edge of Richart Lake at the Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge in Indiana. Get a workout on the hilly terrain of Kentucky’s Kincaid Lake State Park. Trails in this guide span Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. They offer incredible views, abundant wildlife and wildflowers, and a chance to enjoy the great outdoors. With Tamara as your guide, you’ll learn about the area and experience nature through 60 hikes within 60 miles of the greater Cincinnati area!
Each hike description features key at-a-glance information on distance, difficulty, scenery, traffic, hiking time, and more, so you can quickly and easily learn about each trail. Detailed directions, GPS-based trail maps, and elevation profiles help to ensure that you know where you are and where you’re going. Tips on nearby activities further enhance your enjoyment of every outing. Whether you’re a local looking for new places to explore or a visitor to the area, 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Cincinnati provides plenty of options for a couple hours or a full day of adventure, all within about an hour from Cincinnati and the surrounding communities.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781634042369 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Menasha Ridge Press |
| Publication date: | 08/10/2021 |
| Series: | 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles |
| Edition description: | 3rd Revised ed. |
| Pages: | 344 |
| Sales rank: | 374,797 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Caldwell Preserve
- DISTANCE & CONFIGURATION: 2.4-mile series of loops
- DIFFICULTY: Moderate
- SCENERY: Woods, valleys, and streams
- EXPOSURE: Shaded
- TRAIL TRAFFIC: Moderate–heavy
- TRAIL SURFACE: Soil
- HIKING TIME: 1–1.5 hours
- DRIVING DISTANCE: 20 minutes from downtown Cincinnati
- ELEVATION GAIN: 618' at trailhead; 647.8' at highest
- ACCESS: Year-round; 6 a.m.–10 p.m.; free
- WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: No
- MAPS: USGS Cincinnati East; Caldwell Preserve map
- FACILITIES: Nature center when open
- CONTACT: Caldwell Preserve Nature Center, 513-761-4313; cincinnatiparks.com/central/caldwell-preserve
- LOCATION: 430 West North Bend Road, Cincinnati, OH 45216
- COMMENTS: You’ll find beautiful views and well-kept trails at Caldwell Preserve. Although there is a fair amount of traffic, expect some solitude while you hike.
In Brief
Caldwell Preserve is a great place to take your family hiking. Several beautiful valley overlooks are peppered throughout the preserve. The Ray Abercrombie and Ravine Creek Trails are very scenic, and the Paw Paw Ridge Trail provides some solitude. Be sure to venture behind the nature center on the paved trail to the platform overlooking the valley.
Description
Caldwell Preserve began in 1915, when J. Nelson Caldwell donated 89.3 acres to Cincinnati Parks as a memorial to his father, Major James Nelson Caldwell, who was one of this valley’s early pioneers.
Caldwell’s trail system is designated by the U.S. Department of the Interior as a National Recreation Trail. Hartwell Boy Scout Troop 14 constructed the earliest path, Ray Abercrombie Trail, in 1976.
After parking in the lot, look along the tree line to the left (northeast) for the entrance to Ray Abercrombie Trail. It is just beyond the yellow gate and across from the garden area in the traffic circle.
Once you step into the woods you are greeted with a cacophony of birdsongs. You’ll see strikingly white sycamore trees in the valley to the northeast on the right side of the trail.
The trail proceeds through a forest of black locusts, tulip poplars, and flowering dogwoods undergoing succession. This path sees heavy traffic, including dog walkers and people out for a day hike with their kids.
The older forest is composed of red oaks and sugar maples. Look into the valley and waterway below. The water’s ambient sounds do an excellent job of blocking most of the noise from the surrounding metro area.
A little more than 300 feet into the hike is an intersection. Follow the A/red/Abercrombie Trail and head down a series of railroad-tie steps. The steps have fairly high rises, so be sure of your foot placement.
At 0.1 mile, the trail intersects with Meadow Trail, which leads back uphill and to the far side of the parking lot. Stay on the A/red/Abercrombie Trail and cross the footbridge.
After you pass through a nice grove of black cherry trees near 0.3 mile, the trail leads downhill along a series of steps. If the trains are moving, you’ll be able to hear train whistles echoing through this low area. Ambient sounds, such as train whistles and waterways, mask any noise you make while hiking. This makes it easier to move “invisibly” through the woods and spot a variety of wildlife.
Cross the bridge at 0.4 mile, passing by C/blue/Ravine Creek Trail to the right (east) and continuing on A/red/Abercrombie Trail heading northeast. In 0.1 mile take the A/red/Abercrombie Loop to the right heading east. At the next trail intersection 260 feet ahead, take the trail to the east by staying on the left side of the A/red/Abercrombie Loop. The forest is American beech and red and white oak trees. If you’re lucky, you might see woodpeckers, nuthatches, and tufted titmice.
Take four steps down to the bridge at 0.7 mile and four steps back up to continue on the trail. Pass a connector trail to the right at 0.8 mile. This is fairly open woods with black cherry and shagbark hickory trees. Take a few moments to enjoy the view from the bench at 0.9 mile.
Pass by all the connector trails by staying on the main A/red/Abercrombie Loop, but do check out the overlook. Pass the earlier A/red/Abercrombie Trail split and at 1.1 miles turn right at the intersection with the connector trail and head northeast to B/green/Paw Paw Ridge Trail over the old access road.
Shortly after, cross a series of footbridges and head slightly uphill over the top of several erosion-control steps. The trail connects to the B/green/Paw Paw Ridge Trail, which leads back to an old service road and then downhill. The B/green/Paw Paw Ridge Loop winds through the park’s oldest section of forest, a mix of American beech, tulip poplar, sugar maple, and pawpaw trees.
Cross the bridge over a creek ravine at 1.42 miles. The area suffers from a significant amount of erosion. Cross another footbridge at 1.48 miles and take a close look at the massive beech trees to either side of the trail. The path leads up a few steps into an open, flat-top area with lots of beech trees. The ravine to the right (south) is filled with black cherry trees and red and white oaks.
Follow the B/green/Paw Paw Ridge Loop to the right heading southeast at 1.6 miles through the white oaks, shagbark hickories, and sugar maples. Just 250 feet ahead are massive trees and a beautiful view of the creek ravine.
You’ll be treated to another view of Mill Creek and the valley at 1.89 miles. After you’ve had your fill, return to the main trail and head uphill to yet another overlook at 1.96 miles. This overlook highlights a perfect example of drainage patterns in the southern Ohio area.
When you reach where the B/green/Paw Paw Ridge Loop split earlier, follow the trail to the right heading northwest. Follow this trail back through the woods and downhill to the C/blue/Ravine Creek Trail you passed earlier. This is the intersection of the A/red/Abercrombie Trail and C/blue/Ravine Creek Trail near the bridge at 2.47 miles. Turn left on C/blue/Ravine Creek Trail heading southeast and follow the creek. Several blue clay deposits are visible along the creek.
Take a break on the benches. Pass the connector trails to your left by following the C/blue/Ravine Creek Trail. If you are there in spring, look for wood poppies and bloodroot near the bridge. Cross the bridge and head uphill. The trail leads the back of the nature center. Walk around the nature center and return to your car in the parking lot.
Nearby Activities
The Cincinnati Museum Center and Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden are located in downtown Cincinnati. A favorite with children of all ages is the Trading Post at the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History at the Cincinnati Museum Center. Bring in seashells, rocks, or fossils to trade for other specimens.
GPS Trailhead Coordinates and Directions
N39° 12.094' W84° 29.543'
In Cincinnati, take I-75 North to Exit 9/OH-4/Paddock Road. Turn left to head north on Paddock Road. Then turn left to head northwest onto West North Bend Road. The entrance to the preserve is on the north side on the right.
Table of Contents
Cincinnati- Ault Park
- Buttercup Valley and Parker’s Woods
- Caldwell Nature Preserve
- California Woods Nature Preserve
- Cincinnati Nature Center
- Eden Park
- Fernbank Park
- Mount Airy Forest: Furnas, Quarry, and Red Oak
- Sharon Woods
- Shawnee Lookout
- Spring Grove Cemetery
- Winton Woods
Ohio
- Adams Lake State Park and State Nature Preserve
- Beaver Creek Wildlife Area
- Bender Mountain
- Buzzardroost Rock Preserve
- Caesar Creek Gorge State Nature Preserve
- Caesar Creek State Park Fifty Springs
- Chaparral Prairie State Nature Preserve
- Chilo Lock 34 Park and Crooked Run Nature Preserve
- Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve
- Cox Arboretum
- East Fork State Park
- Fernald Preserve
- Germantown MetroPark
- Gilmore MetroPark
- Governor Bebb Preserve
- Hueston Woods State Park and Nature Preserve
- John Bryan State Park
- Miami of Ohio: Natural Areas
- Miami Whitewater Forest: Outer Loop
- Miami Whitewater: Badlands, Timberlakes, and Oakleaf
- Pyramid Hill
- Redbird Hollow
- Spring Valley Wildlife Area
- Stonelick State Park
- Sugarcreek MetroPark
- Wilderness Trail
- Withrow Nature Preserve
Indiana
- Clifty Falls State Park and Clifty Canyon Nature Preserve
- Hardy Lake State Recreation Area
- Hayes Arboretum
- Mary Gray Bird Sanctuary
- Mounds State Recreation Area
- Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge: Nature Center
- Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge: Richart
- Muscatatuck Park
- Selmier State Forest
- Shrader-Weaver State Nature Preserve
- Versailles State Park
- Whitewater Gorge Cardinal Trail
- Whitewater Memorial State Park
Kentucky
- Big Bone Lick State Park
- Blue Lick State Resort Park
- Boone County Cliffs State Nature Preserve
- Curtis Gates Lloyd Wildlife Management Area
- Dinsmore Homestead and State Nature Preserve
- Fort Thomas Landmark Tree Trail
- General Butler State Resort Park
- Kincaid State Resort Park
What People are Saying About This
"This book is a great resource for a family that likes to explore the outdoors. It’s an easy to read guide, and the author has the book laid out in such a way that makes it easy to find whatever hike will suit your family the best." —FamilyFriendlyCincinnati.com
“Tammy York teamed up with the series 60 Hike in 60 Miles to produce one of the area's most long awaited reads… a great buy for any local hiker.” – Rachel, Cincinnati Hiker blog