Mitchell Memorial Forest Mountain Bike Trail 1/18/2009

End of the Trail


I walked the mountain bike trail, which is a 3.9 mile route. Although designed for mountain biking, hikers are permitted to use the trail. There were a couple of mountain bikers that passed me by, but with a temperature of around 25 degrees F, there were not many in the park today.

Mitchell Memorial Forest is part of the Hamilton County Park District, and is a beautiful 1,300 acre park. I think the mountain bike trail opened last summer. It was a cooperative effort between the Hamilton County Park District and the Cincinnati Off Road Alliance.

The trail has plenty of switchbacks and gentle climbs, and is not very strenuous as far as a hiking trail. The trail is in good shape, and there were no deep ruts. The ground was frozen, but I didn't notice any icy conditions anywhere. The footing was great.

With all of the switchbacks, and the way the trail loops back and forth, it is easy to see when mountain bikes are approaching. I had no trouble stepping off of the trail to let the bikes pass. The trail is very well marked, with mileage markers every 0.2 mile.

For a good walk in the woods of about 4 miles, this is a good choice. There are some rules posted at the trailhead, which is at the Tall Pines Picnic area.

For more info about this park, please visit the Hamilton County Park District website for info at: Mitchell Memorial Forest

For more info on the mountain bike trail at Mitchell Memorial Forest with a link to a detailed trail map, check out this link: Mitchell Memorial Forest Mountain Bike Trail

Shawnee Lookout Park 1/10/2008

Map of Blue Jacket Trail


One of the fields - Blue Jacket Trail


Where I was on the Blue Jacket Trail


Blue Jacket Trail


Little Turtle Trail


Little Turtle Trail


Indian Burial Mound on Little Turtle Trail


Little Turtle Trail


Map of Miami Fort Trail


Indian Mound on Miami Fort Trail


Overlook of the Ohio River. Note the I-275 Bridge in the Background


Power Plant Viewed from the Miami Fort Trail


Miami Fort Trail


Memorial on the Miami Fort Trail


Clearing on the Miami Fort Trail Near Daniel Beard Memorial


Miami Fort Trail Overlook

After a nice walk at Miami Whitewater again last weekend, it was time to try some trails I have never walked. I picked Shawnee Lookout, since there are three nature trails there. This park is part of the Hamilton County Park system and is near the Great Miami and Ohio Rivers. Cincinnati Gas and Electric made some large donations around 40 years ago that helped this park expand to over 1,400 acres today.

I walked the Blue Jacket Trail, Little Turtle Trail and the Miami Fort Trail.

The Blue Jacket Trail is 1.25 miles in length and named after the famous Shawnee chief. This area was a good hunting area for this Indians. This trail continues through a short field and passes under some large electrical lines. The trail then becomes a loop with an overlook of the Great Miami River. You can see into Indiana from this overlook on a normal day. As you can see from the pictures, the fog was very thick today. I started on the trail around 2:00 PM, and the fog seemed to be at its worst then.

After I completed the Blue Jacket Trail, I completed the Little Turtle Trail, which is around 2 miles in length. This trail has a nice view of the Ohio River, which was obscured by fog. There are some Indian mounds marked out along the way.

The last trail I walked was the Miami Fort Trail, which is about 1.4 miles in length.
There is the remains of an old Indian earthwork at the top of the overlook to the Ohio River. Some old Adena Indian campsites have been found in this area.

Here is a link to information about this interesting park:
Shawnee Lookout Park