Caesar’s Creek State Park, OH

The hottest off-road riding that southwest Ohio has to offer definitely lies in the 12 or so miles of single-track that belonging to Caesar’s Creek State Park. Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus area riders have made the sub-one hour drive looking to polish their moves through a variety of terrains. The Park is located near Waynesville, Ohio surrounding the flooded valley of Caesar Creek, now a serene lake.

Matt J. and I took a Sunday off from racing to photo-document some great sections of trail. After 4+ hours of fantastic riding, we left totally beaming. These trails have something to offer every rider.

To get to the most popular trailhead at the park (the old Julie’s Mountain Bike Rental), take I-71 north to exit 45 - Wilmington/Waynesville. Go right at the light and make your first left onto State Route 73. Follow that for a few miles ’til you come to Center Road - turn left. Follow that a few miles until it dead ends. Park in the gravel lot on the right (by the shed). Trailhead is on the left by the big warning sign.

You will find miles upon miles of winding single-track, short drops followed by challenging ascents, and a dozen wet creek crossings. Everything you could ask for.

There are many trails that wind near and around the lake. If you take a wrong turn, it will just take you to a road. If you are lost, turn-around (duh). Or hey, you can always leave breadcrumbs.

This article is not to be used as a navigational tool. We simply wanted to show you some (very old) pictures of this rockin’ wondertrack…

Cave Run Lake, KY taught us what’s what.

Editor’s note: Directions to this and hundreds of other trails will be available on our site through the Access button by late-May of ‘98.

Three of us decided to take a trip to Cave Run Lake, near Morehead, KY. It is one of the more popular areas to ride in our region. The picture of Keith, Kris and I on the picnic table shows that the Lake was up over 10 feet.

FUN, FUN, FUN!!!: Just south of the Cave Run Dam, the Sheltowee Trace Trail opens provides some of the most thrilling trail riding in the state. Super-fast banked corners, quick creek crossings and little rollers enable the intermediate and advanced rider to cover the first five miles in the blink of an eye. Beginners will learn a lot here. About 5 miles in, the trail starts to climb away from the lake onto a ridge that eventually drops you to Clear Creek Campground 14-miles later.

MUD?: When most of trails in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana are saturated with water, Cave Run is always ridable. A beautiful thing about this area is that is a giant sandstone deposit. The trails do not ever get sticky-muddy. However, the sandy soil will rip your drivetrain to pieces. If you can get around all of the ATV-induced mudholes, you can keep your chain in decent shape. The more puddles you hit, the sooner you begin to squeak. Circumnavigating the mudholes is a skill in-and-of-itself (speed is key). After a few hours of riding, even the best of lubes will be defeated. -mj

check out these old pics