As a newbie to Greater Cincinnati, I’ve enlisted my significant other to explore our city – one hike at a time. For our first trip, we visited Mt. Airy Forest, and this weekend we stopped by Withrow Nature Preserve.
Short and cool trip for a hot, humid day
According to our faithful guide – 60 Hikes within 60 Miles of Cincinnati – the hike along the Trout Lily Trail is considered “moderate.” The entire trip is 1.7 miles, and it took us about an hour with a water break at the overlook near the Ohio River. This overlook was our favorite part of the hike.
Overall, the trail was relatively easy for us, two athletic people in our early 20s. It has a wide gravel path for most of the trip and mowed grass throughout the open fields. It winds a bit and there are some hills, but most hills have wooden planks that act as stairs to make the climb a bit easier.
When we arrived, we saw several other cars in the parking lot, but only ran into a few other people out on the trail.
We loved the shade and the wide path – it made it a very pleasant, easy walk and would be great for kids or dogs. With beautiful views of the river, the overlook alone would have made the whole hike worthwhile. We did spot poison ivy, so if you decide to try it or take kids, keep everyone on the path and wear long pants or tall socks.
If you visit Withrow Nature Preserve for a hike, let us know how it goes and snap some of your own photos to share on Facebook or Twitter.
Before we began this adventure, we equipped ourselves with 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Cincinnati by Tamara York. All of the hikes we’ve done and are planning are included in this book, along with other valuable resources for first-time and advanced hikers alike. I would recommend it to anyone planning to do some serious hiking this summer around Cincinnati ““ it includes Southeastern Indiana and Northern Kentucky.
