46. Grailville
City: Cincinnati, OH
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (513) 683-2340
Address: 932 O’Bannonville Road
Description: Owned and operated by the Grail, a private nonprofit organization with its origins in the Grail women’s movement, which started in the Netherlands in 1921, Grailville is open to anyone. However, its literature specifically notes that “nature lovers” will appreciate the 300 acres of organic gardens and fields, the pond and pine grove, creeks, and the nature trail for hiking. Grailville has also built a labyrinth, a spiritual path that leads you to the center of a spiraling or regularly swirling pattern.Overnight accommodations and meals can also be arranged for groups of up to 71 people. Reservations are required.
47. Milford Spiritual Center
City: Cincinnati, OH
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (513) 248-3500
Address: 5361 South Milford Road
Description: The center offers individual and group retreats at its 37-acre complex on the banks of the Little Miami River. Opened by the Society of Jesus in 1927, it promotes quiet solitude via nature walks and other programs. Call for information on the different types of retreats.
48. California Junction Trail
City: Cincinnati, OH
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (513) 231-8678
Address: 5400 Kellogg Avenue
Description: This pleasant bike trail runs through California Woods Nature Preserve for about 1 mile. Mountain bikers and in-line skaters use the trail as well. The nature preserve has naturalists on hand to tell you what flora and fauna are in season at the time you’re choosing to bike the trail.
City: Cincinnati, OH
Category: Parks & Recreation
Address: 22 miles through numerous counties
50. Shaker Trace Trail
City: Cincinnati, OH
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (513) 367-4774
Description: You can rent bicycles as well as tandems and in-line skates at the visitor center. One particularly nifty feature for cyclists on the 7.8-mile trail is the “courtesy cart” that patrols the trail and is outfitted with emergency patch kits for flat tires and offers first aid and cool drinking water. There is a shorter 1.2-mile loop near the visitor center.
51. Caesar Creek State Park
City: Cincinnati, OH
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (513) 897-1050
Address: 4020 North Clarksville Road
Description: A large man-made lake offers a scenic day of boating or fishing. Water-skiers and powerboat enthusiasts, in particular, flock to this 2,800-acre lake designed for unlimited-horsepower watercraft (there are no no-wake zones). There are five launch ramps around the shoreline, the two largest just near the park office near the entrance. The park has limited boat rentals.
52. Cincinnati Kayaks Downtown
City: Cincinnati, OH
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (513) 582-4031
Address: 255 McCormick Place
Description: This outfitter offers Ohio River kayak cruises and adventures on the serene Licking River ($20 and up). Boat rental includes an experienced guide and safety instructions. Special rates are available for Riverfest and Tall Stacks.
53. East Fork State Park
City: Cincinnati, OH
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (513) 734-4323
Description: East Fork’s lake offers bountiful bass fishing and boating opportunities. The 2,100-acre man-made reservoir has five launch ramps, with the largest near the park office. There are no boat rentals.
54. Kincaid Lake
City: Cincinnati, OH
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (859) 654-3531
Description: The Kentucky State Park system manages this 183-acre lake, which features a dock with 38 slips, launching ramps, and rental fishing boats and pontoons ($7 a day and up).
55. Lake Isabella
City: Cincinnati, OH
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (513) 791-1663
Description: This 28-acre lake features a full-service boathouse with rowboat rentals ($8.45 and up), a fishing pier, and canoe access to the Little Miami River.
56. Miami Whitewater Forest Lake
City: Cincinnati, OH
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (513) 367-4774
Description: Miami Whitewater Forest Lake is an 85-acre man-made body of water, built in 1971 by damming a woodland creek. A boathouse rents rowboats, pedal boats, and canoes for fishing and other recreational activities. The cost is $8.45 for an hour.
57. Morgan’s Ft. Ancient Canoe Livery
City: Cincinnati, OH
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (513) 932-7658
Address: 5701 Ohio Highway 350
Description: You’ll find canoes, kayaks, and rafts for rent here for use on the Little Miami River. Prices vary seasonally and are quoted on request.
58. Rivers Edge
City: Cincinnati, OH
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (937) 862-4540, (800) 628-2319
Address: 3928 U.S. Highway 42
Description: Rivers Edge rents both canoes and kayaks for journeys on the Little Miami River. The kayaks are of the touring variety (as opposed to the more familiar white-water version), and are perfectly suited to the easier-going Little Miami (easier going, that is, compared to the Colorado rapids). Experts provide instruction at the shore before departure, and there’s also a video to watch about safe kayaking. Rivers Edge does not, however, provide guides for your river trip. Rental fee is $21 per kayak for up to six hours. Canoe rental varies on how long you have it out, but for a four-hour trip, for instance, the cost would be $36.
59. Sharon Woods Lake
City: Cincinnati, OH
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (513) 521-7275
Address: 11450 U.S. Highway 42
Description: Sharon Woods Lake was constructed in 1936 by damming Sharon Creek. A boathouse rents rowboats, canoes, pedal boats, and hydrobikes for recreational activities. The cost is $8.45 for an hour.
60. Stonelick State Park
City: Cincinnati, OH
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (513) 625-7544
Address: 2895 Lake Drive
Description: Stonelick Lake—a long and smooth 181-acre body of water—offers boating and fishing, with extensive stocks of bass, bluegill, and crappie. It’s one of the area’s quietest lakes, thanks to a policy of no gas motorboats (small sailboats and electric motors are allowed, as are canoes or rowboats). It has one small launch ramp. The camp office rents pedal boats and canoes for $5 an hour.