Find the top rated running trails in Blue Ash, whether you're looking for an easy short running trail or a long running trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a running trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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This is a long post to give details for those who want to use the trail in Richmond. I live in Richmond and have walked this trail with my dog regularly for about five years. It’s very well maintained but there are some tricks to accessing and using it. I wish there were more bathroom and water fountains along the way, but otherwise it's a good trail. WHITEWATER GORGE TRAIL This is a paved trail that goes through a gorge that’s mostly wooded parkland along the river. This has a couple hills and some unpaved side trails that can be fun to explore if you’re into off-road biking, hiking, or fishing. I think of it as the southern end of the Cardinal Greenway but it is not counted as part of the Greenway on the TrailLinks map. It still has about 2 miles of nice trail with interesting views and even some wildlife occasionally. It’s not flat the whole way so if you want less challenging landscape, skip ahead to the D Street Trailhead and the Cardinal Greenway. That being said, it’s not real rugged either. TEST ROAD The best way to access this trailhead is from Abington Pike. From National Road/Route 40, go south on Southwest 2nd Street (this becomes Abington Pike). You’ll take this for about 2 miles, then turn left onto Test Road. In about a quarter mile, the trailhead parking will be on your left. They just added a gate here and the sign says it’s closed dusk to dawn, so if you park your car there be sure to be out of there by nightfall so you don’t get locked in. RICHMOND HIGH SCHOOL - HUB ETCHISON PARKWAY You can access the trail from a long staircase at the parking lot across the street from Richmond High School on Hub Etchison Parkway. Coming from the north, the school is on the right and the parking lot is on the left side of the street. It’s a school parking lot, but even if you go when school is in session you should be okay. I always park right next to the staircase and I’ve never had trouble. The staircase is in the tree line. There should be a big green sign at the top of the stairs. You could haul a bike down it if you wanted, but it’s probably not the best place. It’s fine if you’re on foot. At the bottom of the stairs, turn right to go south to Test Road and through the more natural (though still paved) part of the trail, or turn left to go north toward downtown Richmond. VETERANS MEMORIAL PARK From East Main Street, at the railroad bridge that has a big “RICHMOND” sign, turn north. You’ll drive down a hill and toward the memorials. You can park there and take the trail south. There is a building with bathrooms and water fountains, but they’re usually not open. They’re supposed to connect this to the rest of the Cardinal Greenway to the north with a staircase, but that’s not finished yet. (An unofficial trail tip: If you’re on foot, you can keep walking north of the parking lot through a grass field. To the right is a big hill. If you walk up that very steep hill where there’s a worn path, you can get to the D Street trailhead parking lot.) STAR-GENNETT BUILDING If you turn south on South 1st Street by the bridge that has the big “RICHMOND” sign, you’ll wind up at a parking lot for the Star-Gennett building where pianos were manufactured 100 years ago. There was also a music recording studio that made jazz and country records. You can’t go inside the building except for special events, but you can use the parking lot any time. Head south on the Greenway to go to Test Road. You can see nice markers commemorating musicians who recorded there, including Louis Armstrong. If you go north on the Greenway you’ll end up at the the Veterans Memorial Park. Along the way you’ll go under some large bridges and you can read some historical markers. It’s a pretty nice part of the trail. You definitely know you’re in a town, but you’re below it all in a partly wooded area. It’s great for a nice short walk with a good flavor of local history. If you’re looking for more quiet and solitude, you may want to go farther north or south. If you’re on foot, you can access the Star-Garnett building area via a stairwell on the bridge on the south side of South A Street/Route 40.
This is a long post to give details for those who want to use the trail in Richmond. I live in Richmond and have walked this trail with my dog regularly for about five years. It’s very well maintained but there are some tricks to accessing and using it. It’s not the trail terminus, but Union Pike is the simplest trailhead to get to if you’re driving in, especially from I-70. Directions there are at the bottom of the post. This is the only trailhead in Richmond that has water. There’s a water fountain that’s turned on except during the winter. This is also the only trailhead in Richmond where I remember seeing porta-potties. My biggest request would be for more bathrooms and water fountains along the way. These access points run south to north. NUMBER 1 TIP: The Whitewater River runs north to south and divides Richmond in half. The Cardinal Greenway follows the river the whole way through Richmond. Find the river on the map and you can find the Greenway right alongside. On the south end of town, the Greenway is on the west side of the river. It crosses the river at several points along the way. NUMBER 2 TIP: Make sure you double check the names of streets. There are N, S, NW, and SW (but not NE or SE). if you’re trying to navigate through town just make sure you’re where you need to be. WHITEWATER GORGE TRAIL This is the oldest and southern-most part of the Cardinal Greenway. It’s been around for a few decades, built by a local trail group. I’m not sure if the Cardinal Greenway oversees it, but I consider it part of the Greenway. It’s a paved trail that goes through a gorge that’s mostly wooded parkland along the river. This has a couple hills and some unpaved side trails that can be fun to explore if you’re into off-road biking, hiking, or fishing. This is not counted as part of the Greenway on the TrailLinks map, but still has about 2 miles of nice trail with interesting views and even some wildlife occasionally. It’s not flat the whole way so if you want less challenging landscape, skip ahead to the D Street Trailhead. That being said, it’s not real rugged either. TEST ROAD The best way to access this trailhead is from Abington Pike. From National Road/Route 40, go south on Southwest 2nd Street (this becomes Abington Pike). You’ll take this for about 2 miles, then turn left onto Test Road. In about a quarter mile, the trailhead parking will be on your left. They just added a gate here and the sign says it’s closed dusk to dawn, so if you park your car there be sure to be out of there by nightfall so you don’t get locked in. RICHMOND HIGH SCHOOL - HUB ETCHISON PARKWAY You can access the trail from a long staircase at the parking lot across the street from Richmond High School on Hub Etchison Parkway. Coming from the north, the school is on the right and the parking lot is on the left side of the street. It’s a school parking lot, but even if you go when school is in session you should be okay. I always park right next to the staircase and I’ve never had trouble. The staircase is in the tree line. There should be a big green sign at the top of the stairs. You could haul a bike down it if you wanted, but it’s probably not the best place. It’s fine if you’re on foot. At the bottom of the stairs, turn right to go south to Test Road and through the more natural (though still paved) part of the trail, or turn left to go north toward downtown Richmond. VETERANS MEMORIAL PARK From East Main Street, at the railroad bridge that has a big “RICHMOND” sign, turn north. You’ll drive down a hill and toward the memorials. You can park there and take the trail south. There is a building with bathrooms and water fountains, but they’re usually not open. They’re supposed to connect this to the rest of the Cardinal Greenway to the north with a staircase, but that’s not finished yet. (An unofficial trail tip: If you’re on foot, you can keep walking north of the parking lot through a grass field. To the right is a big hill. If you walk up that very steep hill where there’s a worn path, you can get to the D Street trailhead parking lot.) STAR-GENNETT BUILDING If you turn south on South 1st Street by the bridge that has the big “RICHMOND” sign, you’ll wind up at a parking lot for the Star-Gennett building where pianos were manufactured 100 years ago. There was also a music recording studio that made jazz and country records. You can’t go inside the building except for special events, but you can use the parking lot any time. Head south on the Greenway to go to Test Road. You can see nice markers commemorating musicians who recorded there, including Louis Armstrong. If you go north on the Greenway you’ll end up at the the Veterans Memorial Park. Along the way you’ll go under some large bridges and you can read some historical markers. It’s a pretty nice part of the trail. You definitely know you’re in a town, but you’re below it all in a partly wooded area. It’s great for a nice short walk with a good flavor of local history. If you’re looking for more quiet and solitude, you may want to go farther north or south. If you’re on foot, you can access the Star-Garnett building area via a stairwell on the bridge on the south side of South A Street/Route 40. D STREET TRAILHEAD This is considered downtown, but it’s on a small side street. The best way to get there is on North 5th Street. Near the intersection with Richmond Avenue, find North D Street, a little side street a block and a half long (NOT the big North D Street that exentends from Richmond Ave. I have no idea why there are two North D Streets a block apart!) The trailhead is straight ahead at the end of this short street. This is the easiest access point if you have a bike trailer. There’s a bike shop very close to the trail here as well. They have a cafe here, but I don’t use it enough to be able to review it. They may have water, I just don’t know for sure. You can access this trailhead by taking North A Street around the front of the post office then turning north on North 3rd Street, but this way can be more confusing. SPRINGWOOD PARK You can park your car here and go up a steep switchback to get to the Greenway. From Waterfall Road, enter the park and drive past the entire lake and to the large parking lot near the closed-in pavilion. The paved trail to the Greenway is on the south end of the parking lot. UNION PIKE From Industries Road (just south of I-70 Exits 151 and 149A), turn south on Union Pike. Drive until you come to a crosswalk with flashing yellow lights. This is the trailhead. You can park there and get right on the trail. INDUSTRIES ROAD This is an old trailhead and is closed off to traffic with barriers. DO NOT PARK HERE. There is some exercise equipment where the parking lot used to be.
Always bring my bicycle along on business trips, to ride at the end of the day. Found this trail on the trail link app. Beautiful trail, very pleasantly surprised. Stopped at the train station and had a nice chat with the folks who run the place. Plenty of places to stop for breaks, nice surface.
Very important trail to the different bikeways. It provides a connector between Great Miami Trail and Little Miami Trail. You can take this from downtown Dayton to Xenia to head north to Yellow Springs, south to Cincinnati, or east to Columbus.
I ride this from Beavercreek into Xenia or to Yellow Springs. The opposite direction leads through Eastwood Lake Metropark to Huffman Dam or Downtown Dayton.
It is a very wide trail, but is heavily traveled. Many other cyclists and walkers. Families and slow riders. Take it easy and expect some slow spots.
There are many parks with picnic benches and shelters along the way. Good water supply at Beavercreek Community Park (Factory Road) and Beavercreek Station (N Fairfield).
Not well known, but there is a bit of easy gravel in Creekside Reserve. Traveling from Beavercreek Station, take the side entrance on the right into the reserve. The gravel trail is approx 2 miles to Factory Road.
There are also several busy street crossings. Be careful!
I rode the section from Dayton to Troy and back on a 90+ degree day. It is a beautiful trail that is well signed, in a good condition, and has a fair amount of shade. There were some rough patches of asphalt near Troy but otherwise it was in excellent condition.
Lots of pedestrians walking across this bridge will slow a cyclist's progress. A must ride for southbound Ohio to Erie Trail riders to complete as part of their journey. Nice views of the Ohio River and the Cincinnati skyline. The few minutes it takes to cross and return are worth the effort.
Like most urban trails the two parts of the Mill Creek Greenway seemed to have started out well when new, but succumbed to neglect and lack of planning and resources. The northern section was the worse of the two. Signs have been tagged with graffiti and plants and shrubs along the trail need to be cut back in spots. The southern section was in better shape as the Salway Park was not as isolated as the Caldwell Playground Park in the northern section. Both sections suffered from a lack of directional signage as it was not clear that the path picked up on the other side of a bridge over Mill Creek in the north section and in the south the trail seems to dead end into a commercial building but continued on the other side of that building.
If you lived in these Cincinnati neighborhoods checking out and riding this trail may be worthwhile if you live nearby. Otherwise don't go out of your way. It is hard to see the gap between the two sections being bridged by additional trail considering that the trail runs along the creek and much of the break in between the two sections is filled with commercial and industrial properties that are unlikely to give an easement to connect both parts to each other.
I think that the citizens of Lebanon enjoy this trail as it is well maintained and connects the community to both the YMCA and the nearby destination trail on the Little Miami Scenic River. If you are connecting to this trail from the LMSRT then you will have a much longer ride as the closest trailheads in either direction are approximately 6 and 8 additional miles away. As mentioned by others there are a couple of challenging hills to climb on this trail. In addition, there is not much shade on this trail so riding in the middle of the day, during the middle of the summer means you're going to bake. Sunscreen a must on a sunny day.
I rode the trails in Wilmington, Ohio so I was curious about this one when I heard that it had opened last year. I started my ride at the trailhead parking lot at the corner of North College and Mound Streets in Sabina, OH. The town is essentially at the current center of the trail. The trail is very flat so it is easy in that respect. Through town the path is paved. the trail surface for last 2 or 3 miles at either end is currently railroad ballast. The limestone aggregate surface at either end of the trail is not crushed, so stones range in size from pea to half dollar-sized. This made for a slow go in the unpaved portions of the trail. I wouldn't ride a road bike at either end of the trail. Finally, despite being tree-lined for most of the trail, there wasn't as much shade on this trail as one might think.
The trail is arrow straight and apart from riding through Sabina you are surrounded by farmland the whole time. My recommendation is to wait to travel to ride this trail until it is either entirely paved or until it is connected to either Washington Courthouse or Wilmington or both.
I spent the week riding this trail. I think the best section was the 20 miles from Oregonia to Xenia. I parked at the diner in Oregonia. I only passed a few joggers and cyclists on the trail the Friday morning I rode. There were fewer street crossings compared with the more southern part of the trail. The trail itself temporarily disappears briefly in Xenia. However, it was fairly easy to navigate around Xenia to find a coffee shop on Main St. (and Detroit St.). The ride back (South) was definitely easier as I perceived a very slightly downward grade. Kenneth Haft, Glen Allen, VA
I started at the Hamilton Township Park ( old 3c highway adjacent to Monkey Bar and Grill ). There is parking and fairly decent bathroom facilities. On day one, I rode 18 miles to Oregonia. The trail is in excellent shape and going north, the Little Miami River was nearly always visible on my right. There were a few walkers/joggers that did hinder my 16 mph progress. There were a few rural but trafficked streets to cross over. There were several deer along the trail and many rabbits. The restaurant in Oregonia was not open Monday at 8:30am, but there were nice rocking chairs on the porch.
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