Great Miami Riverway Impact Report | 99 Miles of Ohio Riverfront Growth
If you've paddled the Great Miami River, biked its trails, or stopped at a riverside brewery in Southwest Ohio over the past few years, you've likely benefited from a quiet but ambitious regional effort: the Great Miami Riverway. A newly released activities report, covering July 2021 through April 2024, lays out just how much ground this coalition has covered — literally and figuratively.
The Great Miami Riverway is a coalition led by the Miami Conservancy District, bringing together cities, counties, and park districts along the Great Miami River corridor. The idea is simple but powerful: instead of each town treating its riverfront as an isolated asset, why not connect them into one unified, regional destination? Eleven cities — from Sidney and Piqua in the north down to Hamilton in the south — along with Miami and Montgomery counties and four park districts, have signed on to make that vision real.
The goals are focused on four things: getting more people out onto recreational, historical, and cultural assets; drawing in visitors; fueling economic development; and strengthening the neighborhoods that line the river.
A lot of the last three years has been about groundwork most visitors will never see. The coalition brought on a full-time Riverway Director, built out a website and mobile app, and partnered with the University of Dayton's Innovation Center on some genuinely useful tools — including a real-time water-quality map that pulls bacteria level data every 15 minutes so paddlers can check conditions before heading out.
Wayfinding got a major upgrade too. Kiosks now dot the Great Miami River trail system from Sidney to Middletown, bike trail signage carries the Riverway brand at key junctions, and — in a first for any river in Ohio — the Ohio Department of Transportation began installing location signs on bridges from Sidney to Hamilton, so paddlers in distress can tell first responders exactly where they are.
Marketing efforts leaned into video, social media, and print, with seven professional videos produced in 2020 and nine more the following year, alongside placements in regional visitor guides and magazines. The monthly e-newsletter has grown to more than 3,500 subscribers, and the Riverway's "99 Things to Do" campaign gave the brand a catchy hook tied to the 99 miles of river the coalition spans.
Perhaps the most compelling part of the report is the economic development story. Several major riverfront projects are underway or completed across the region:
● A former Dayton Power and Light coal plant in Miamisburg is being redeveloped into a mixed-use site valued around $200 million.
● Hamilton's old Champion Paper Mill site has drawn roughly $140 million in investment, becoming a catalyst for downtown revitalization.
● West Carrollton is turning a low dam into a whitewater river surfing facility — a true river surf park — as the anchor of a new mixed-use river district.
● Franklin kicked off a $13 million first phase of its downtown and riverfront improvement project.
● New park additions are landing in Miamisburg and Piqua, each in the multimillion-dollar range.
Trail connectivity has also seen real momentum, with funding secured to close long-standing gaps between Sidney and Piqua, and between Middletown and Hamilton. The West Carrollton river surfing project, in particular, has become a signature example of how a single amenity — surfing on the Great Miami River itself — can anchor an entire riverfront district of housing, retail, and office space.
Beyond infrastructure and marketing, the Riverway has built a calendar of signature events: annual Riverway Summits drawing around 250 attendees, a Smallmouth Bass Fishing Challenge, "The Great Float" paddling events, and a half marathon along the trail between Troy and Piqua. These events do double duty — they're fun for residents, and they're a low-cost way to showcase the corridor to potential visitors and investors alike.
With a new five-year agreement running through 2027 and two new member communities (Trenton and Monroe) having joined the coalition, the Riverway seems to be growing rather than coasting. The next chapter, per the report's strategic priorities, is about deepening those regional connections, expanding awareness, and keeping the investment dollars flowing toward the riverfront.
For a region once defined by its industrial past, the Great Miami River is increasingly becoming what its name suggests: a shared asset worth 99 miles of collective effort — one where you can now bike, paddle, and even surf, all in the same afternoon.
Want the full picture? Read the complete Great Miami Riverway Activities Report, July 2021–April 2024 in a flip book style. or a PDF version https://www.mcdwater.org/uploads/2026-07-03/6a47aa8e9643a190135/Riverway Report July 2021-April 2024.pdf