Trail Conditions
Want to know if sections of the Great Miami River Bike Trail are under water? Here’s the place to find out. We’ve listed several sites below to help you know whether the trail is dry for your next ride on MCD-maintained trail sections in downtown Dayton, West Carrollton, Miamisburg and Franklin.
- Scroll down to the city where you plan to visit the trail.
- Find the observed value (number in the upper left corner on the line graph except West Carrollton where you’ll need to look for the gage height).
- Compare that number to the table just below the graph to see if any areas you want to visit are under water.
For example, if the observed value in Franklin is 7 feet, you know the trail is clear. But if it’s 8 feet, the trail is about 6 inches under water just below Crains Run Nature Park.
Notice that for most areas you can also estimate if the trail will go under water in the next couple of days by looking at the purple dotted line. If the trail is dry but was recently under water, it may take our maintenance staff a few days to clear away mud and debris.
Why does the trail flood?
Low-lying parts of the Great Miami River Bike Trail can become submerged by rising river levels following heavy rains. Trail is built on or along MCD levees that keep the Great Miami River from flooding riverfront cities from Piqua to Hamilton.
Without this long stretch of contiguous flood protection land, the trail—and the numerous public river access points—likely wouldn’t exist. MCD maintains about 30 miles of the more than 70 miles of trail along the Great Miami River.
TRAIL LOCATION |
TRAIL GOES UNDER WATER AT: |
| River Run Structure 2 near the Dayton Art Institute | 26.45 feet |
| South Side of RiverScape MetroPark | 26.55 feet |
| Under the south side of the I-75 Bridge at Monument Avenue | 27.74 feet |
| Rivers Edge behind the YMCA | 27.87 feet |
| Downstream of the Webster Street Bridge | 27.91 feet |
| Under the north side of the Main Street Bridge | 28.29 feet |
| Downstream of Carillon Historical Park | 30.10 feet |
Great Miami River at West Carrollton
TRAIL LOCATION |
TRAIL GOES UNDER WATER AT: |
| Miami Bend Park (at the South Montgomery County Low Dam) | 11.5 feet |
Great Miami River at Miamisburg
TRAIL LOCATION |
TRAIL GOES UNDER WATER AT: |
| Upstream of the Norfolk Southern Railroad Bridge, north of Rice Field | 9.5 feet |
| Under the Chautauqua Bridge | 12.5 feet |
| Under the State Route 725 Bridge | 12.5 feet |
Great Miami River at Franklin
TRAIL LOCATION |
TRAIL GOES UNDER WATER AT: |
| Below Crains Run Nature Park | 7.5 feet |