My Backyard: Destinations
Urban Escapes: Cincinnati
By Shannon Davis
Sep 22, 2004, 14:12

Ohio is known more for its industry, farming and love of football than for its backwoods adventures. But don’t be so quick to lump “Cincy” with the rest of the Buckeye state. Adventure waits in its rolling green hills, no matter how much (or little) time you have.

Half Day: Play Frisbee Golf at Mount Airy Forest
The sun gleaming into your office window can be mind-altering. The computer screen blurs. Work becomes impossible. Take the afternoon off and head out to Mt. Airy Forest (513-352-4080; www.cincinnati-oh.gov), just 10 minutes from downtown, and engage in one of the chillest leisure pursuits known to man: frisbee golf. Mt. Airy Forest was Cincinnati’s first municipal forest and host to the 1998 Pro Disc Golf World Championships. Huck your discs over the 6,435-foot, 18-hole course while the chaps from the office are ripping their hair out and make it back to town in time for happy hour. Check www.cincinnatidiscgolf.com for more info.

Cincinnati Skyline

Full Day: Ride Caesar Creek
You and your wheels both deserve wilder and hairier than the city bike paths. Just under an hour’s drive north in Caesar Creek State Park (513-897-3055; www.dnr.state.oh.us/parks), a network of intense, winding singletrack lined with small trees waits for you to leave tracks over its varied terrain. There are 8.5 miles of trails that most locals work into a loop and ride in both directions, creating a good ride of up to 20 miles. Go to www.spokejunkies.com/caesars.htm for trail descriptions and directions.

Overnight: Backpack and climb at the Red River Gorge
Pack up the rattletrap for a multi-sport jaunt to Daniel Boone National Forest (859-745-3100; www.southernregion.fs.fed.us/boone), a three-hour drive south of Cincinnati near Stanton, Kentucky. There’s a network of 520 miles of trails (300 miles of them National Recreation Trails) with endless weekend backpacking loop options. Canoe or kayak the Red River–the upper section of the gorge is class II/III and the lower is an easier float. The 19.4-mile section from Route 746 to the ford below Schoolhouse Branch is a designated National Wild and Scenic River. Plus, there’s a lifetime’s worth of climbing.

don’t miss:
>>The best view of the Cincy skyline and Ohio River are from the Donald Spencer Overlook at Eden Park (513-352-4080), home to the Cincinnati Art Museum. Eden Park is known as the jewel of the Cincinnati park system.

>>The best place in town to hear underground music is Bogart’s on Vine Street (513-872-8801; www.bogarts.com). You won’t find pop idols Nick n’ Jess anywhere near here, but rather The Stills, My Morning Jacket and Danger Mouse, among others.