Trails: Great Miami River Recreational Trail and Mad River Trail
Start: Taylorsville Metro Park Trailhead in Vandalia Ohio
Route: Ride south thru Dayton to West Carrollton. Back to Dayton and then east on the Mad River Trail to Huffman Dam and then back to Dayton to return to the Taylorsville trailhead.
Distance 58 miles round trip.
Weather: Sunny to Overcast. Temp: 50-70 degrees.
Low Elev 710, Hi Elev 840. Feet Ascended: 1030
Trail Material: Asphalt.
Rating: TWO Thumbs Up.
I liked the trail because of the wide variety of things to see. From the dense woods along the flood plain to the wide open river levee to downtown Dayton and more. Plenty of historical things to see on and off the trail.
Highlights of this trip: Running into trail volunteer Christopher Brown who saw I was lost due to Stillwater trail closure signs. Chris proceeded to guide me through a maze of park trails and a construction area and downtown Dayton to see historical sites during about a 3-4 hour tour. Chris talked a lot of history and took me to see off trail places like the Wright Bicycle Shop which I had no idea existed. I have ridden a lot of bicycle trails and this is the first time encountering a volunteer trail guide.
A big Double Thumbs UP rating up to Ohio for its over the top hospitality to visiting bicyclists and for building and maintaining the best network of bicycle trails in the country. A big thanks to Five Rivers MetroParks, Dayton Cycling Club and Metroparks Volunteer Patrol Chris.
Since I never got around to riding the Wolf Creek trail, the south end of the Great Miami Trail, the Dayton Kettering Trail, the Iron Horse Trail, the Creekside Trail, Xenia-Jamestown Trail, the Ohio-Erie Trail, Wright Brothers Huffman Prairie Trail, the Ohio to Indiana Trail, the Stillwater Trail, and the Buck Creek Trail, it looks like I have reason to take another bicycle vacation in the Dayton area.