Dayton’s Wolf Creek Trail is part of the nation’s largest paved trail network, spanning 375 miles throughout southwest Ohio’s Miami Valley. Totaling just over 16 miles, the rail-trail runs northwest from the city’s downtown to nearly the Indiana border. Named for the numerous wolves spotted around the creek in pioneer days, Wolf Creek is still home to foraging herons and industrious beavers.
“The trail is very well used by the communities it runs through,” said Carrie Scarff, chief of planning and projects for Dayton’s Five Rivers MetroParks. “It’s an easy trail, slides right by Sycamore State Park and it connects those communities to lots of assets. It gives people a great opportunity to exercise, get outside, get out of their cities and get into nature. It’s a separated path so that whole family can use it, from age 8 to 80.”
