American Discovery Trail- Eden to Devou

 Today, I did half of a little section of the American Discovery Trail that will get me a little bit of swag and just make a fun connection. The ADT is a coast-to-coast route that was created out of a walk done by a group of people in 1976 called Hike-a-Nation. My friend Lyle was on that walk as was another acquaintence, Susan "Butch" Henley.

This trail doesn't particularly call to me, but a large part of the Ohio section is concurrent with the Buckeye Trail, and so I've done a big piece of it in Ohio. I'm not taking time right now to figure out how much of Ohio I've done and/or how much I haven't done. Kentucky has 8 little miles. The ADT website doesn't even give Kentucky it's own link; it's just lumped with Ohio. But Pat Long, featured yesterday, has made a patch if you complete the ADT in Ohio. Tomorrow I'll finish that. Today I made the connection with the Buckeye Trail at Eden Park in Cincinnati and crossed into Kentucky. I took a LOT of pictures, but I've narrowed it down to a few to share.

The first picture is actually taken from the ending point of the hike at Devou Park, Covington, KY. But it has a great view of Cincinnati.

This is just to prove that I connected to the Buckeye Trail. Link at the end of this post is of that hike.

A lot of the walk down to the Ohio River level is on the steps of the Immaculata Church, sometimes called the "Church of the Steps." This is only part of them.

The entrance to Centennial Park has columns made to look like riverboat smokestacks with flying pigs on them. These were designed for the city's bicentennial by Andrew Leicester. They were meant to be a humorous nod to the pork industry, and all the pigs who gave their lives to make the city great, which built Cincinnati. At one time its nickname was Porkopolis. At first people didn't like the pigs, but soon they embraced the symbol and now there is flying pig art all over.

Here is a statue of Cincinnatus, the Roman soldier-farmer for whom the city is named. He lived about 450 BC. There was a society of Colonial officers named for him which celebrated the volunteer military model which was the backbone of the Revolutionary period. George Washington was a member (and its first president) and General Arthur St. Clair who became governor of Ohio named the city for him in 1790. (Its previous name was Losantiville).

Crossing the Ohio River was a lot of fun. There are a bunch of bridges, but the trail uses the John A. Roebling bridge built in 1867. If the name is familiar, he also designed the Brooklyn Bridge, and used this design as the prototype. It originally cost $1.8 million, and was the largest suspension bridge in the world when built.

I only went a short way into Kentucky today, and due to construction, there wasn't as much of interest as on the Ohio side. Best picture is the view shown in the first photo above.

I'm staying in luxury in a motel thanks to someone's generosity, so after the hike and a little nap, I went and swam a few laps in the pool!

Tomorrow, I'll finish this little quest.

Miles walked in 2026: 651.5

American Discovery Trail, Eden Park, Cincinnati, OH, to Dovou Park, Covington, KY. 5.7 miles

See Buckeye Trail Cincinatti Spur