DESCRIPTION

Once at the sidewalk and trailhead at the end of the Campus/Harrison West Section, you go along the sidewalk on the north side over the bridge and under the twin overpasses of SR 315. When Third reaches Olentangy River Rd, you can go left and cross at street level, which most people seem to do, or go right and follow the bypass which loops back, down and under Third and up on the other side. It is not a difficult grade and the view of the river is nice. Once on the south side of Third, the asphalt trail goes straight south for a bit and then turns left and goes under the west (southbound) overpass of SR315. It uses the track of what appears to be a discontinued road bed. For the east (northbound) road, the trail passes through a tunnel of, perhaps, twenty or thirty feet. I should point out that it appears that this tunnel is used, on occasion, by homeless people for shelter.

Once on the other side, you are on a really nice park-like path with the river, back to a deeper regular flow, on the east side and the freeway on the left. Ahead, after passing MP 2.0, you see the flyovers for Goodale and some freeway ramps. Once past these, the trail widens out to road width and dips down and then back up. It seems like part of another abandoned road surface was pressed into service as part of the trail. The cars rush by on the freeway on the one side. At the top of the hill, there is a concrete blockhouse on the river side. The trail narrows again and wends down from here and away from the freeway and towards the river. It snakes around the river side of a couple of railway bridges, protected from the river by some long wooden slat fences. Then it rises back up a bit and runs in the curve of SR 315. There is a high retaining wall on the freeway side and you pass under the enormous flyover of the newly constructed I-670. Just past these overpasses, the trail widens again to road width and flattens out. It passes another concrete blockhouse and comes to Spring Street (SR 33). You pass MP 1.0 just before that.

Spring Street traffic varies and there is a pedestrian crossing button. Most weekdays, it is pretty busy and you will likely have to wait for the signal. Weekends, particularly Sundays, it is somewhat lighter. Once across Spring Street, to continue with the Lower Scioto Trail, you turn left and pass to the side and behind the Confluence Inn. Your other options are: continue forward (straight) to either the completed sections of the Upper Scioto Trail or, via Souder Ave, to the West Bank Trail. Currently, the trail marker system does not include either of these.

IMPRESSIONS

If you like concrete and cars, this is the section for you. About a mile and a half of basically weaving in and through the interchanges of SR 315 and I-670. Goodale St and the various ramps and railroad bridges. Much of it is actually the old roadway of the SR 315N exit ramp to Third Avenue which was abandoned with the Spring-Sandusky Interchange project--the tunnel under SR315N and the underpass of SR315S are part of this--and is considerably wider than the average trail. The river along here is fairly picturesque as are the sweeping roadways overhead. The whitish concrete does reflect the heat in summer.

A word of caution: I've been on this section about every day of the week and three seasons out of the year. I've never felt threatened and I've never avoided it out of concern for my personal safety. Still, It is not a well-traveled section at "off" times. Perhaps the proximity of the new park will change that. Regardless, you will encounter homeless--they often use the tunnel or some of the underpasses for shelter and the section is used, as are many other parts of the trails, for non-recreational pedestrian travel between downtown and Third Ave. Add to that the fact that the trail is virtually inaccessible, because of the bordering river and roadways, except at the ends, and I think a modicum of caution and awareness are advisable.

ADDENDUM: 7/07 - Increased use of this section coupled with the NORTH BANK PARK has meant that you will encounter other users more often during the weekends and summer months. While there are still some remote parts along this section and while I always caution awareness, I think the issues mentioned above have eased somewhat. Additionally, the parks department has plans to add access from Goodale in the future.

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06/02/2008