Walking From Mt. Adams to OTR and Downtown (Cincinnati, Riverside: 2015, hotel)

[SteelCityRising]

Hello!

We just booked an AirBNB in Mt. Adams. We will only be spending one afternoon and evening in Cincinnati as we break up the drive between St. Louis and Pittsburgh.

Are the below suggested Google Maps walking directions the best way to get between Mt. Adams and OTR and Downtown on foot?

To OTR:

Hatch to Wareham to Van Meter
I-71/I-471 pedestrian overpass to East Court Street
East Court Street to Eggleston Avenue
Eggleston Avenue to East Central Parkway
East Central Parkway to Vine Street

To Downtown:

Down St. Gregory Street to Hill Street
Down Celestial Street Steps
Sidewalk in the Median (?!) of Columbia Parkway
Columbia Parkway to East 5th Street

It seems like most routes I’m visualizing involve a lot of unpleasant walking along highways. Is this correct? Are there any better routes you’d suggest? I currently walk 2.5 miles each way to work, so walking is no big deal. Thanks so much!

[cincydave8]

The OTR one makes sense. Lots of downtown workers park on Van Meter and use that pedestrian bridge to cross over the highways. The bridge basically ends at the casino. Here's a nice view of it from where it ends.

The downtown route...you can either take the steps down to the exit ramp from Columbia Pkwy to 3rd street, get off in the middle of Columbia Pkwy OR you can completely cross over Columbia Parkway which will drop you on Riverside Drive through a mini-park area, that would be a long walk though. You can see all 3 options right here.

You can also just walk down Monastry Street to 3rd street for downtown or turn and take the 6th street bridge from Montastery. Also a popular path for downtown workers. Here's the access point to the 6th street bridge from Monastery. I'd probably do that for downtown. You will be walking along a highway exit ramp though. If you absolutely want to avoid that then just stay on Monastery all the way down.

[Cincygrad2015]

I would do the downtown route. At the end of the steps there is a pedestrian bridge that takes you over Columbia parkway. After you cross I would walk down sawyer point park and Smale Park (the crown jewel of Cincinnati parks). Then you can walk around the banks and downtown,then make your walk up to otr. If you don’t want to walk from downtown to otr then you can take the streetcar or there is also a free ride service called Oggo (there’s an app you have to download). Need any recommendations on what to visit?

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by cincydave8

The OTR one makes sense. Lots of downtown workers park on Van Meter and use that pedestrian bridge to cross over the highways. The bridge basically ends at the casino. Here's a nice view of it from where it ends.

The downtown route...you can either take the steps down to the exit ramp from Columbia Pkwy to 3rd street, get off in the middle of Columbia Pkwy OR you can completely cross over Columbia Parkway which will drop you on Riverside Drive through a mini-park area, that would be a long walk though. You can see all 3 options right here.

You can also just walk down Monastry Street to 3rd street for downtown or turn and take the 6th street bridge from Montastery. Also a popular path for downtown workers. Here's the access point to the 6th street bridge from Monastery. I'd probably do that for downtown. You will be walking along a highway exit ramp though. If you absolutely want to avoid that then just stay on Monastery all the way down.

Originally Posted by Cincygrad2015

I would do the downtown route. At the end of the steps there is a pedestrian bridge that takes you over Columbia parkway. After you cross I would walk down sawyer point park and Smale Park (the crown jewel of Cincinnati parks). Then you can walk around the banks and downtown,then make your walk up to otr. If you don’t want to walk from downtown to otr then you can take the streetcar or there is also a free ride service called Oggo (there’s an app you have to download). Need any recommendations on what to visit?

Thank you both. Incredibly helpful. Exactly the sort of local feedback/insight I was looking for.

If we walk from Downtown to OTR I'll just follow the above Google Maps directions. For Downtown we'll either do Monastery to the 6th Street Bridge or cross over Columbia Parkway and Riverside Drive and walk the park trails down to the stadium/arena area (The Banks?).

I've been to Cincinnati several times before but stayed with friends in Anderson Township most of the time. Once I stayed Downtown at the Garfield Suites Hotel (not in business anymore?). We snagged a somewhat pricey but cute AirBNB right near the Holy Cross Immaculata Church. I've always really loved Mt. Adams, so I'm glad we booked there.

We're pressed for time, so tentatively our plans as of right now are:

Arrive in Cincinnati around 2 PM.
Check-in
Coffee (The Bow Tie Cafe maybe?)
Walk to Downtown
Walk from Downtown to OTR
Get Dinner in OTR (recommendations? My friends say "THE EAGLE!!!", but apparently it's a chain because they're about to open one in Pittsburgh, too).
Walk Back to Mt. Adams for a nightcap
Sleep
Grab breakfast somewhere in the morning before departing for Pittsburgh (any recommendations?)

In the future we'll come back for a long weekend and do much, much more.

[Cincygrad2015]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Thank you both. Incredibly helpful. Exactly the sort of local feedback/insight I was looking for.

If we walk from Downtown to OTR I'll just follow the above Google Maps directions. For Downtown we'll either do Monastery to the 6th Street Bridge or cross over Columbia Parkway and Riverside Drive and walk the park trails down to the stadium/arena area (The Banks?).

I've been to Cincinnati several times before but stayed with friends in Anderson Township most of the time. Once I stayed Downtown at the Garfield Suites Hotel (not in business anymore?). We snagged a somewhat pricey but cute AirBNB right near the Holy Cross Immaculata Church. I've always really loved Mt. Adams, so I'm glad we booked there.

We're pressed for time, so tentatively our plans as of right now are:

Arrive in Cincinnati around 2 PM.
Check-in
Coffee (The Bow Tie Cafe maybe?)
Walk to Downtown
Walk from Downtown to OTR
Get Dinner in OTR (recommendations? My friends say "THE EAGLE!!!", but apparently it's a chain because they're about to open one in Pittsburgh, too).
Walk Back to Mt. Adams for a nightcap
Sleep
Grab breakfast somewhere in the morning before departing for Pittsburgh (any recommendations?)

In the future we'll come back for a long weekend and do much, much more.

You could also do coffee emporium or collective espresso (both in otr). I love the Eagle, I wouldn’t call it a chain yet ( it was founded in Cincinnati), I would also check out Pontiac bbq, Taste of Belgium,Senate,Goodfellas,Sacred Beast,Gomez tacos, there are many more but cannot think of them all right now. Depending on what time you are leaving, I would do Sleepy Bee downtown. There’s a handful or breakfast/brunch places in downtown and OTR but they will get pretty packed after 10am.

[cincydave8]

Be warned The Eagle on weeknights will often have a 2 hour wait, but with just 2 of you you might be able to snag a spot at the bar. The Eagle is amazing though. If you're at the Banks and then want to go up to OTR it would be easier to take the Streetcar than walking. You can download the Cincy EZRide app to quickly and easily purchase tickets.

Since you're in Mt Adams you should check out City View Tavern on Oregon. It's a no frills bar with great burgers and even better view of the city (hence the name). One of my favorite hole-in-the-wall places in the city.

[cincydave8]

I meant week end nights for the eagle have a 2 hour wait.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Cincygrad2015

You could also do coffee emporium or collective espresso (both in otr). I love the Eagle, I wouldn’t call it a chain yet ( it was founded in Cincinnati), I would also check out Pontiac bbq, Taste of Belgium,Senate,Goodfellas,Sacred Beast,Gomez tacos, there are many more but cannot think of them all right now. Depending on what time you are leaving, I would do Sleepy Bee downtown. There’s a handful or breakfast/brunch places in downtown and OTR but they will get pretty packed after 10am.

Thank you. Yeah, I should have phrased my opinion of The Eagle better. I really want to try it; however, if one is about to open in Pittsburgh I'm better off waiting until the one here opens to enjoy it and instead eat somewhere that's more unique to Cincinnati while in town. That's what I meant.

I'm overwhelmed by the sheer array of dining options Downtown and in OTR that I'm finding online. You're most certainly a "foodie city", but you certainly fly under the radar for that as most I know here in Pittsburgh never uptalk the dining options in Cincinnati.

Originally Posted by cincydave8

Be warned The Eagle on weeknights will often have a 2 hour wait, but with just 2 of you you might be able to snag a spot at the bar. The Eagle is amazing though. If you're at the Banks and then want to go up to OTR it would be easier to take the Streetcar than walking. You can download the Cincy EZRide app to quickly and easily purchase tickets.

Since you're in Mt Adams you should check out City View Tavern on Oregon. It's a no frills bar with great burgers and even better view of the city (hence the name). One of my favorite hole-in-the-wall places in the city.

Originally Posted by cincydave8

I meant week end nights for the eagle have a 2 hour wait.

Thank you. We'll consider the streetcar, especially if it's very hot or very wet when we're in town. The last time I was in Cincinnati long enough for pleasure it poured the entire weekend as tropical storm/depression remnants parked themselves over SW Ohio for a bit. I think that was Labor Day Weekend 2012. It was a miserable experience. I'm hoping for better weather this time around. We'll also be in Louisville briefly on this trip. We'll likely return to either Louisville or Cincinnati this Labor Day Weekend (maybe both since they're day-trippable apart----about 90 minutes it looks like?).

I'm not sure if we want to endure the business/hype of The Eagle with our limited time. We'll just wait for the Pittsburgh one to open. As an aside Pittsburgh now has Graeter's AND The Eagle (soon). If you can also ship us a Jungle Jim's and a Skyline Chili I'd really appreciate it!

Thank you SO MUCH for that tip about City View Tavern. Sounds like the type of place for us to each have a cocktail while looking at the nighttime skyline view.

[SenseofPlace]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I'm overwhelmed by the sheer array of dining options Downtown and in OTR that I'm finding online. You're most certainly a "foodie city", but you certainly fly under the radar for that as most I know here in Pittsburgh never uptalk the dining options in Cincinnati.

As someone who grew up in the Pittsburgh area, the same can be said for Cincinnati. No one uptalks Pittsburgh dining options.

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Thank you SO MUCH for that tip about City View Tavern. Sounds like the type of place for us to each have a cocktail while looking at the nighttime skyline view.

The City View has been my favorite place for decades. Gotta have the barbecue, with coleslaw, washed down with a Hudy on tap.

When I first moved to Cincinnati, the City View had a convenience store in the front, and the bar was in the back down a long, dark hall. The graffiti in the rest rooms was legendary. Mt. Adams was just beginning to become "hip" back then. Geez, that was a long time ago! LOL