Little Miami Scenic Trail
Railroad grades carry cyclists, runners, and walkers beside the Little Miami through forest, river towns, bridges, parks, and the Xenia trail hub with unusually gentle elevation.
Artwork inspired by Robert S. Duncanson
The Little Miami is best understood as a mobility corridor rebuilt twice: Indigenous and river routes, then railroad, now a paved multiuse trail. It follows one of the country’s first National Wild and Scenic Rivers and connects with a dense southwest-Ohio network at Xenia. Historic towns, canoe accesses, floodplain forest, bridges, and occasional industrial remnants keep a long ride from becoming visually uniform.
Choose a turnaround landmark before setting out because the easy grade encourages riders to overextend. Weekends bring fast bicycles, children, runners, and road crossings into the same narrow space; keep right and signal passes. Amenities are uneven outside towns, and flood damage or bridge work can close short sections. For a representative outing, begin at Xenia Station or a river-town trailhead rather than an arbitrary midpoint.
- Core state segment
- About 50 miles
- Surface
- Mostly paved
- Major hub
- Xenia Station
Quick guide
- Set the turnaround
- Flat miles accumulate quickly and the return is not downhill.
- Signal every pass
- Mixed speeds require audible warning and predictable movement.
How to share a fast, popular rail-trail
- Set the turnaround
- Flat miles accumulate quickly and the return is not downhill.
- Signal every pass
- Mixed speeds require audible warning and predictable movement.
- Read railroad geometry
- Cuts, bridges, and town alignments reveal the former line.
- Check river conditions
- Flooding can affect access even after rain has stopped.
Good to know
Published mileage varies because sources count different connected segments. Treat the official state trail and its extensions as a network, and verify closures before a long ride.
Notice these
- Little Miami River corridor
- Xenia trail hub
- Historic rail bridges