Ohio River Way

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The Ohio River Way formally The Ohio River Recreation Trail has its own website now. For up-to-date information on the trail, check it out. The Trail also supports a Facebook page.

A collaborative group from several river communities seeks designation by the National Parks Service for a 250-mile stretch of the Ohio River and its banks as a National Water Trail, with support from the National Park Service and state-level regulatory entities in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana.

Phase I of the Ohio River Recreation Trail will be designated in two sections:
Section A: 115 miles from Portsmouth to Cincinnati.
Section B: 133 miles from Cincinnati to Louisville.

The Ohio River Recreation Trail – Portsmouth to Louisville, KY

The Ohio River Recreation Trail will…

  1. Promote tourism, safety, respect for private lands, and Leave No Trace (TM) ethics while facilitating both long distance and local paddling, sailing, power boating, fishing, and cycling along the Ohio River.
  2. Provide increased access to the Ohio River by collaborating with local governments, recreation organizations, and commercial user groups.
  3. Coordinate with county and municipal travel and tourism entities to ensure the largest possible impact on retail, lodging and food sales while providing a high-quality experience for paddlers, cyclists, anglers, and boaters.
  4. Work with the state wildlife and natural resources agencies in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio to promote Ohio River fishing, boating, hunting, cycling, bird watching, and nature appreciation.

Current initiatives

Currently, there are two initiatives underway to promote the Ohio River Recreation Trail:

  1. The development of a digital guide for the Ohio River, which you can view here: The digital guide to the Ohio River. The original digital guide was developed for the Ohio River Paddlefest and focuses on the 9 miles of the Ohio River near Cincinnati. It is our intent to expand and enhance the digital guide for 250 miles from Cincinnati to Louisville.
  2. Co-sponsoring the Ohio River Voyageur Canoe Trip, September 25th – 28th. We will go from Portsmouth, OH to Cincinnati, OH. From August 3rd – October 6th we will paddle from Cincinnati, OH to Louisville, KY. Planning is still underway as we are unsure what the virus conditions will be. For more information, contact David Wicks at dwicks1@gmail.com.
Our adventure takes place in 30-foot long voyageur canoes. There will be a bicycle component of the trip as well.

For more information, contact Dr. David Wicks at dwicks1@gmail.com, Brewster Rhoads at brewohio@gmail.com, or Owen Nyswonger at onyswon@rei.com.