September 9th dawned beautiful, rain-free and crisp in Oxford, Ohio. Almost as though the the City of Oxford, Miami University Natural Areas and Miami University Sustainability had specifically requested it for their annual event, Hike-A-Thon.
Hike-A-Thon is a celebration of the Oxford Area Trail System (OATS) and this year there was something pretty big to celebrate. The portion from DeWitt Homestead Trailhead to the Leonard Howell Park which was made up of a coal ash, was just paved over the summer.
Several community partners were set up along the path to the DeWitt Homestead providing visitors with all sorts of experiences. Hueston Woods brought two birds from their Nature Center for viewing, the Miami Equestrian team introduced us to their horses, Coalition for Healthy Community was giving away fun prizes as incentives for staying healthy. The Oxford Museum Association had the DeWitt Homestead open for touring and was showing insight into how its late occupants might have prepared apples long ago - and so much more.
It was a mile-and-a-half hike through the gorgeous woods along the creek and across Bonham road to get to Leonard Howell Park where Deez Tacos was set up selling lunch to quell the hungry bellies that a morning of hiking inspired. Hikers invested in longer routes could choose to cross the creek and see the new boardwalk platform that Three Valley Conservation Trust recently finished or some might have gone the opposite direction to check out the swinging bridge. No matter which path our Hike-A-Thon attendees took, the consensus was clear - here in Oxford, we are lucky to live in a town with so many beautiful trails.
Keep scrolling for photos from this fun day and if you wish, submit your own photos taken at Hike-A-Thon to akeeton@cityofoxford.org.
If you wish to provide feedback for the event, we are collecting surveys to help us plan next year's event!
