Twin Valley Trail - Germantown, OH

“Here's the location on Mapquest for anybody interested, who doesn't know where this park is at.

Germantown Metropark”

“Dude, I'd be down but I'm in Maine right now. Let me know if it's a good trail.”

“J,
Can ya camp on this trial?
See ya later.
Randall”

“when has that ever stoped you randal? ;)”

“I just checked the link for the map again, and it's finally online.

Twin Valley Trail

Randall, it looks like there are 3 designated backcountry campsites. 2 of them are located inside Germantown Metropark, and the other is located inside Twin Valley Metropark.

The map doesn't show much promise for this trail, but I'm holding out. Germantown is small and out of the way, so it may still be a worthwhile hike. At a minimum I'm sure it will prove worthwhile for any locals looking for a quick getaway.

With the map in hand I'm definetely hiking the connector and checking out the backcountry campsites, and crossing my fingers the entire way.”

“Thanks,
That trail is close to the Adena Trace, about 40 miles or so east. I used to live in Monroe, Oh. I will have to go hike it and check it out this summer!
See ya later.
Randall”

“I hiked the germantown loop sun 6.8 mi and it was very very soupy, mud. Only to your ankles. Yo bear!”

“Sounds like East Fork down near Cinci. I can't complain about a trail that's close to home, but I'd give it time to dry out. Of course, there's more rain in the forecast!”

“Ok, so I was speaking to some of the Metroparks people on Sat. and these were the rules for the backcountry campsites.

1. There are 3 backcountry camping areas, each with 3 seperate sites (A,B,C). Permits are required, and all sites are by reservation only.

2. Each site is only allowed up to 6 campers, and 2 small tents.

3. Each backcountry area has a "common area" that the 3 sites share. All cooking is supposed to take place in the common area.

4. No fires.

I have no idea how well patrolled the sites are, or if they will hammer anybody for violating these rules. However, I drove past one of the group camps and noticed that they had metal fire rings readily available in them. The downside to the group camps is they're almost all right off a road.

Anyway, I didn't get much hiking done as I had worked a little later than I had planned on Sat. and didn't get to the park until 3pm. I went on a small hike and then had a cook-out in the rain. What I did experience led me to believe that this might be a decent hike. There was plenty of mud, but it was pretty dried out by the time I got there and I was off the trail before the rain began.

The terrain is not to challenging, but not to tame either. Enough to get your heart going without killing you. Perfect for somebody just looking for a weekend away, or an intro to the backcountry. I was surprised not to pass anybody while on the trail as well. I'm interested to see if the backcountry campsites remain pretty empty once the initial buzz around this trail dies down.”