The pavement south of Center Street still looks like it goes all the way to Loveland. It runs for about two miles, though. At Stubbs Mill Road, mile marker 30.6, the barriers go up. From there to the Lebanon Countryside Trail connection at mile marker 34.1, the Little Miami Scenic Trail has been closed since June 1, 2026, for the second phase of South Lebanon's sewer project. Construction could last through July 2027, and no reopening date has been posted.
So for this fall and probably next summer too, the trail through Morrow mostly heads one way. North of the village it's open, recently repaired and well looked after. Morrow's own Main Street is now the natural starting point for those rides, not just a stop along the way.
Where the trail stops south of the village
The mile markers tell the story. Center Street in Morrow is mile marker 28.4. Stubbs Mill Road is 30.6, so you get a bit more than two miles of trail south of downtown before the closure. Little Miami State Park announced in June that not every part of the 3.5-mile stretch would be closed every day. The park still posts the whole area as closed because construction schedules shift daily and the section can't be passed. The park's message was blunt: "Do not pass the barriers."
The Friends of the Little Miami State Park last updated the closure on August 27, 2026. At that point the main trail was closed from the Lebanon spur to Stubbs Mill Road, and the Lebanon spur was still open as far as Mason-Morrow-Millgrove Road. The park plans to close the spur bridge toward Lebanon last and will announce it separately.
A road detour exists, but the Friends group doesn't recommend it for most riders:
"For the typical trail user, there is no appropriate detour around the construction area."
The posted route leaves the trail at Stubbs Mill Road, crosses the bridge and runs about two miles west on Mason-Morrow-Millgrove Road. From there it uses Columbia Road and the Carter Park multi-use connection to get back to the trail. According to the Friends, Mason-Morrow-Millgrove is a busy truck route with no shoulder for much of its length, and only experienced road cyclists use it.
The long closure does come with a payoff. When the sewer work wraps up and the Friends' 2025 Repaving Campaign finishes, the oldest section of the trail will have renovated pavement from Morrow to Foster. The Friends' alerts page still lists an earlier plan to repave from Center Street in Morrow to Grandin Road, but it hasn't confirmed whether that work was finished, postponed or rolled into the sewer schedule. Until a newer update comes out, call the Little Miami State Park office at 513-897-3055 for the current status.
North of Morrow, the trail is in better shape than it was this spring
Going north works out well this year because a lot of repair work wrapped up over the summer.
The biggest fix was under the I-71 Jeremiah Morrow Bridge. Water in a stream about 15 feet below the trail had slowly eaten away the bank until the fence, the berm and part of the trail surface slid toward the creek. In June, ODNR installed an engineered concrete wall built to look like a traditional stone wall. It reaches about eight feet into the hillside. Crews also rebuilt the bank, replaced the fencing and repaved the trail, and the section is open again, the Warren County Post reported on September 21.
Volunteers have handled smaller jobs farther up. The Friends' North Trail Maintenance Team, formed in summer 2025, helps ODNR maintain the trail from Hedges Road south of Xenia down to Morrow. The team has used a specialized grinder to smooth root bumps, with much of the work between Corwin and Oregonia.
Miami Valley Bike Trails updated its closure list on September 30, 2026. It shows Little Miami Scenic Trail alerts near South Lebanon, from the Lebanon spur to Fosters, and between Xenia and Yellow Springs. It shows nothing between Morrow and Waynesville. That leaves a long, open run north from downtown:
- Center Street, Morrow, MM 28.4. Start on Main Street.
- I-71 Jeremiah Morrow Bridge, around MM 22. This is the newly rebuilt section, about six miles north of Center Street.
- Oregonia to Corwin. This stretch got the volunteer root-grinding work.
- Waynesville. No closures were posted for this stretch as of September 30.
There's one more thing to know if you're headed south by car. Warren County's Old 3C Highway sewer project is underway near the Foster trail access. The Old 3C Highway bridge is closed, so you can reach Fosters Landing Park, the Monkey Bar and trail parking only from the Fosters-Maineville Road side.
Main Street became the trailhead the same year
The timing works in Morrow's favor. In January 2026, the Buckeye Trail Association named Morrow its 23rd Buckeye Trail Town. The Buckeye Trail shares the route with the Little Miami Scenic Trail through the center of the village. The formal celebration took place at Miranda's Ice Cream Shop on Saturday, May 16, 2026. Presenters included Mayor Mitchell Fisher, Tiffany DeChant-Hunt, Becky Retzer, Tracy Sterling, Mark Middleton and Carol Whitacre. The association pointed to a surge of small businesses in recent years as part of the reason. With most riding headed north now, these Main Street businesses sit right where rides begin and end.
Morrow Bike Shop, 130 Main St. Isaac Shelton opened the shop in August 2025. It handles repairs and tune-ups and rents bikes to trail users. Hours are Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It's closed Sunday through Tuesday, so get Saturday tune-ups in early.
Sweet Joy Bakery & Coffee, inside the Morrow Arts Center at 10 Miranda St. This is the early-morning stop. The Arts Center's directory lists weekday hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The county tourism listing shows Sunday hours, but the Arts Center lists Sunday as closed, so check before a Sunday ride.
Fresh to Morrow Café and Market, 121 Main St. The café calls itself farm-to-table, and its menu changes with the seasons. The current menu includes Hillbilly Hibachi and a chicken burrito. Its online listing shows Friday and Saturday hours of 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday hours of 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with Monday through Thursday closed.
Miranda's Ice Cream Shoppe, 205 Main St. Miranda's hosted the Trail Town celebration in May. It serves food as well as ice cream, has a back patio and offers e-bike charging outside. The website says the shop is open for the season with daily hours of noon to 9 p.m. The Warren County tourism directory lists shorter Thursday-through-Sunday hours, and no closing date for the season has been posted. Call ahead as October goes on.
Depot Brewing Company, 240 Main St. Depot works with Barking Burger for food. The brewery's site lists hours of 5 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, noon to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday. Those hours appear in the food-partner section, so confirm them for the taproom.
The river still runs south
The paved trail stops at Stubbs Mill Road, but the Little Miami River doesn't. Warren County Parks keeps a public canoe and kayak launch at Morrow Veterans North, 200 Hamlin St., between the river and the trail. If you've paddled out of Morrow for years, you may remember Morgan's Canoe and Outdoor Adventures. It ended its Little Miami River operations in January 2025 after six decades. The Warren County tourism directory still lists Little Miami Canoe Rental and Campground at 219 Mill St. on State Route 123, with April-through-October hours. That listing is undated, so call before you plan a late-season float.
One Saturday that ties it together
The last Morrow Market of 2026 is on Saturday, October 17, at the Morrow Arts Center, one block off the trail.
- Time: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Where: 10 Miranda St.
- What's there: Local makers, food trucks and the Center's shops and studios, which number 36 or more.
Morrow Bike Shop is open until 3 p.m. that Saturday. That gives you time to ride out toward the rebuilt I-71 section in the morning and be back on Miranda Street before the market wraps up. If your fall plans include a ride to Loveland, you'll have to drive to a trailhead south of South Lebanon or wait for the paved run from Morrow to Foster, which may not reopen until July 2027.
If those fall rides out of Morrow have you thinking about land of your own, like a few acres near the river or a mini-farm with room for bikes, horses or a big garden, I'd love to help. I grew up here and have spent more than a decade helping people find properties like that, including some that never hit the listings. Jenny England can help you sort out what's realistic. Let's Connect.
