I last rode this trail previously back on June 14, 2019. At that time, Wasson Way was only 0.6 miles long running from Madison Road near the Rookwood Pavilion shopping plaza to Tamarack Avenue near the Withrow High School Athletic Fields. Back then, Phase 2 of Wasson Way was under construction. The second phase was to feature a bridge over I-71 and to continue the trail west, to its final western destination of Xavier University. Phase 2 had been completed and I wanted to go back and check out the added length, particularly since my oldest daughter, Amanda, is a graduate of Xavier University.

Wasson Way, currently is a paved rail trail that now runs from behind the Valvoline Instant Oil Change on Madison Road near Rookwood Pavilion Shopping Center to Montgomery Road across from the Xavier University campus. This is a distance of 1.25 miles. The trail’s course is generally flat, with a slight rolling hills feel to it. There is a slight but noticeable climb from Interstate 71 up to the trail’s western end. To reach the center of the Xavier University campus you would have to cross Montgomery Road and ride through the Queen City Physicians University Station Internal Medicine parking lot and an additional XU parking lot to reach the buildings on the Xavier campus. Since it was beginning to get dark, Amanda and I chose not to ride onto the Xavier Campus on this day.

Wasson Way is a nice little trail. As currently constructed, it gives the students of Xavier University a clear unobstructed path to the restaurants and retail shops of the Rookwood Pavilion area. The path pavement is new so it is in great shape. However, I think that additional lighting should be added to the trail in the vicinity of Xavier University for security purposes. In addition, this current iteration of Wasson Way is just the beginning of a much bigger project. According to the Wasson Way website, the former rail corridor that the trail is being built upon is “one of the country’s great undiscovered greenways — over 6 miles of mixed use trail that goes from Victory Parkway near Xavier University through twelve local neighborhoods. Wasson Way is a key east-west corridor in CROWN, the Cincinnati Riding Or Walking Network. CROWN will create a 34-mile trail loop connecting Wasson Way to the Murray Path, Little Miami Scenic Trail, Canal Bikeway, Ohio River Trail, Mill Creek Greenway Trail, and more…” I can't wait to come back and ride this trail whenever a new phase of the project is completed.

The Five Mile Trail is a paved greenway that runs from Newtown Road near Turpin High School in Turpin Hills to the Anderson Towne Center Mall in Anderson Township. The trail is named not because of its length but rather for the fact that it travels along Five Mile Road for most of the trail’s southern half. This 2.5 mile long path is paved and the northern half is quite scenic. I encountered a number of cyclists and pedestrians during my time on the trail and had I started earlier in the day and had the sky not been so cloudy I think I would have seen even more people out using the trail.

However, I would not recommend this trail to any novice cyclist or any family with young children looking for a bike outing. My reason for this warning is because there are a number of challenging climbs on this trail. The first one comes immediately if you decide to travel north to south on the trail. Beginning at the Newtown Road Trailhead in Turpin Hills you have to climb for the first .70 miles. You rise 115 feet in elevation over that span. It’s a tough way to start out without a warm up. (It was a great way to finish on the return trip, except for almost hitting a deer coming around a turn on this downhill just before arriving at the trailhead.) The second challenging climb is over a hill found between Clough Pike and State Road. It really doesn’t matter which direction you are traveling with this hill. You have to climb 60 feet of elevation over .30 of a mile heading south, and 40 feet of elevation over .20 of a mile heading north.

On the southern end of the trail you don’t so much find a trailhead as much as you find 2 venues where you can find parking. First is the Anderson Center, which is the conference, meeting, and events center. As the Center’s website points out it is a place for wedding ceremonies, wedding receptions, special occasions and meetings & conferences. The second venue is Anderson Towne Center Mall. Plenty of retail and plenty of parking.

Overall I enjoyed this trail, however, I didn’t expect it to be as hilly as it was. Again, probably not a trail for novice or young riders. Finally, in addition to the hills, there are two road crossings that require you to wait for crossing signals. Again, perhaps this makes this a trail for young cyclists to avoid. Perhaps if you are looking for a trail in which to do hill climbing training this may be one for you. Finally, I would like to suggest to the Anderson Township Trustees that they should consider trying to raise funds to connect this trail to the Little Miami Scenic Trail near Clear Creek Park. I suspect that my proposed extension would end up being as hilly as the current trail, but it would increase the utility of the trail by creating a safe cycling connection to downtown Cincinnati and to the nearby cities of Mariemont, Terrace Park, and Milford.