The more I do outdoors things the more I recognize the outdoor rec opportunities here could be a way to brand differentiation, making Dayton, which is pretty average in many ways, a bit more special. 

 

This city has the peculiarity of having three rivers come together in the heart of the city, but beyond that, the river valleys upstream are held free from development via a mix of parkland, flood control easments, well field protection zones and a military reservation. 

 

So the effect are wedges of open country extending pracitically to the heart of downtown.

 

Through these flow the three rivers, the Mad, Great Miami, and Stillwater.  And in two of the three cases they are parallelled by bike paths that in one case connects to a rail-trail to yet another river valley system (the Little Miami). 

 

On top of that there are various nature preserves for mostly day hiking, though one is being developed for backpacking. 

 

So there is a wealth of opportunities for some low-intensity outdoor recreation:

 

1.  Cycling

2.  Canoing

3.  Kayaking

4.  Hiking.

 

I'd add sailing and power boating due to Ceasars Creek Resevoir being nearby but thats not so uniquel, and Great Lakes or Ohio River cities are obviously the choice for people into serious boating. 

 

Now the above four are maybe not so special, but what is special is that they can be accessed from the heart of the city, that you dont need to drive to do these things (well, maybe kayaking if you are not renting, unless a livery is set up downtown).

 

You can live in a downtown loft or restored old inner city house in the Oregon, and be cycling through cornfields and forests within an hour, or be hiking in the same...this is almost like Europe with nature close at hand.

 

One can cycle out to places to go hiiking, or even take the bus with bike to go cycling, or just take your walking stick on the bus and go hiking.  One do all this outdoor recr back-to-natur stuff without a car, particulary if one lives in the center city (but also in the suburbs, like were Im at in Centerville).

 

And if one wants it can be even MORE like Europe, in that one can cycle to nearby villages and have a lite dinner, drink, etc, the way the Germans would use a gasthaus or cafe as a stopping point to relax and partake, before the return trip.  So civilized!. 

 

There's been some recoginition of this, yet I think it could be maybe a better marketing pitch, in terms of quality-of-life  or active lifestyles as a selling point.... 

 

Some links on aspects of this, more on the paddle-sports side.  I personally focus on the hiking and now the cycling possibilities.

 

Water Trails Designation May Boost Paddle Sports

 

The popularity of canoeing and kayaking is growing rapidly in Ohio, and Thursday’s designation of three regional rivers as state water trails will help the Miami Valley capitalize on the trend, officials say.....

 

Kayaking in SW Ohio Growing in Popularity

 

Kayak country!

 

While you have to travel to kayak in whitewater rapids or the ocean, the good news — the great news, really — is that you live in a terrific place for recreational kayaking....

 

....According to the Miami Conservancy District’s website, the Great Miami, Stillwater and Mad rivers were named as Water Trails by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources in the summer of 2010. These three rivers make up the new Great Miami River Watershed Water Trail, the largest water trail system in Ohio, offering 265 miles of waterway accessible to recreational boaters, fishermen and wildlife watchers

 

River improvements to facilitate paddling:

 

$1 million grant spurs Great Miami River project

 

"DAYTON — Imagine the scene a year after the hazardous Monument Avenue low dam is removed and replaced with two dam-like structures that offer safe passageways for recreational paddlers on the Great Miami River.

 

Downtown, many more people will be in the river piloting canoes and kayak play boats that dart and dance on engineered whitewater. Some will be pros executing elaborate moves and others will be newbies gliding down some fast water. "

 

The concept of outdoor recreation as a positive selling point is a regional one...

 

Recreational corridor envisioned

 

WEST CARROLLTON — Miami Bend is, or would be, an entertainment district centered on a $10 million whitewater park planned along the Great Miami River here.

 

It’s also another stop envisioned along “Ohio’s Great Corridor,” a series of recreational destinations to stretch from Troy and Sidney in Miami County south through Montgomery County to Hamilton in Butler County.

 

“We can become sort of the Boulder, Colo., of the Midwest,” said Dusty Hall, the Miami Conservancy District’s staff representative with the Ohio’s Great Corridor Association, an organization formed in October 2010 to promote the Great Miami’s regional recreational potential.

 

...and a list of things done by the local regional park district:

 

MetroParks Has Achieved Much...

 

Since 2000, the parks agency has:

 

• Built out downtown Dayton’s RiverScape.

 

• Opened a Children’s Discovery Garden.

 

• Started an Outdoor Recreation Department,

 

• Added 3,700 conservation acres.

 

• Overhauled the neglected Hills and Dales park to the tune of $4 million.

 

• Built a backpacking trail in Germantown.

 

• And added bike trail miles that will eventually connect Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to the system.

 

Listing the frequently over-subscribed fall activities at MetroParks locations requires a 51-page booklet.

 

...and this is supplemented by local park districts & preserves, and the state with its local state parks (like Sycamore, which is under-appreicated)

 

All this isn't really "urban", but Dayton isn't going to compete well for "urban"....it doesn't have quite the population or the built environment for that. 

 

Outdoors/Active Lifestyle IS one thing the region does do well and has a good chance of being distinctive in, especially since it's not in an area know for scenery or terraine (no sailing on Lake Michigan or skiing the Wasatches, but a lot of lower key stuff).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I tend to be really cynical about much of the boosterish stuff said about Dayton by the locals, but this area really does rock when it comes to this outdoor rec stuff....

 

 

 

This would be good in many areas of the state...even better if there was a way to connect some of the major metro areas. At this point three metro areas (Cleveland, Akron and Canton) and one micropolitan area (New Philadelphia) are connected by the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail. I'm sure Cincinnati and Dayton could be connected somehow as well. Rowing and kayaking/canoeing have picked up in Cleveland and I only expect that to grow with all of the new ameneties. Ohio on the whole needs to do better marketing what it already has!

I think this would be a very smart move. one of my laments at moving east from Bloomington Indiana to NW Ohio is the lack of natural recreation available in this area. While we can't import hills, the industrial agricultural landscape across much of Northern and Western Ohio cannot compete with the forests of the Rockies and Appalachians. The only city I can think of that has generally drawn young, college-educated people without natural areas close at hand is Chicago. This should definitely be a part of Dayton's identity.

Wow, I'm just surprised to see a positive post on Dayton from Jeffrey!

 

Oh, and I totally agree.  The outdoor rec thing is big here and it should be promoted more to outsiders.  Hell, they are building a whitewater rafting course downtown for Christ sakes!

Paddlefest on the Ohio River is said to be the largest paddling event in the Midwest. It attracts over 1000 paddlers. Getting all of those boats into the water within a few hours is a challenge that the organizers have learned to overcome.

 

People are starting to ask, "Ok, Paddlefest is the largest in the Midwest, but where in the WORLD is there a larger event?"

It'd be great to see Dayton, Warren County ("Ohio's Largest Playground") and Cincinnati really push this regional narrative.

 

Speaking of Caesar Creek Lake, they're putting in a marina which might make it a more popular staycation-style getaway with locals.

 

http://www.ohiodnr.com/BoatingAreas/tabid/2700/Default.aspx

 

http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/news/local/10m-marina-plan-revealed-at-caesar-creek-lake-1/nPShC/

 

Visit America’s newest adventure capital

 

Quote

 

 On a per-capita basis, this makes Dayton’s parks more popular than New York’s Central Park, the United States’ most-visited.

 

Dayton’s urban renewal blossomed in the mid-2000s, when new leadership at Five Rivers MetroParks—the organization which oversees the city’s parks—sought to provide more active outdoor amenities. Since then, the city’s 16,000 acres of parkland have made Dayton the Midwest’s newest outdoor adventure capital.

 

 

Full article below:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/destinations/north-america/united-states/ohio/dayton-rust-belt-revitalization-new-mecca-urban-parks/