St Marys Section

Trail Alerts

• (11/5/15)Once again, it has been called to our attention that it is unwise to park along Stoker Road anywhere near Point 7. Point 7 is where the Miami & Erie Towpath Trail intersects Stoker Road. The local land owner who lives on the north side of Stoker Road firmly believes that the canal right-of-way that continues northwest across his property also belongs to him. Any possible infringement of his supposed property rights results in a call to the Shelby County Sheriff's Office. Avoid this inconvenience by parking elsewhere.

Map Updates

• (11/9/2024)A hiker has brought to our attention that the information on the St Marys map dated March 2014 for the campsites noted at Point 2 and on the Spring 2024 FarOut app version is incorrect. Two sites are managed by the BTA and located in the Miami Conservancy District's Lockington Reservation. A one-night permit is required for use of the designated Buckeye Trail campsites. Be aware that these campsites are located within the floodplain of the Lockington Reservation and may be closed due to flooding. These campsites are for backpackers only, no vehicle parking is available. Each adult over 18 years of age must fill out an individual permit form. The form is online at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeR1RUq1eOTYAt25K4kRHC4CRYVp70JSdr34z69nftlA_JjGw/viewform
• (6/29/24) St Marys Section - Correction for map update below dated March 28, 2023.
  This update corrects the text of Point 16 and Point 17. The title for Point 17 was correct, but the text did not reflect the new location for Point 17. The trail no longer passes through the entrance into Lake Loramie State Park.

  CW	CCW	Pt
  22.35 E	25.92 SW	16	SR 66 (Main St) and SR 362 (Elm St) in Fort Loramie Facilities: G, L, P, PO: 45845, R, T, W, WC, Wilderness Trail Museum. Go E on SR 362 past historic St Michaels Catholic Church. In 1.1 mi reach Fort Loramie-Swanders Rd (C27).
  23.45 NW	24.82 SE	17	SR 362 at Junction with Fort Loramie-Swanders Rd (C27) The Lake Loramie State Park Office is on the Northeast corner of this junction. Turn with and cross SR 362 and then follow it N 0.36 mi to a spur driveway (W) just after SR 362 reduces back to an undivided road. The entrance to Lake Loramie State Park and park facilities (C, E, P, PS, S, T, W, WC) lies 375 ft ahead on SR 362. Turn NW onto spur driveway past Morrie’s Landing. BT leaves driveway on walkway that crosses over spillway. NE of spillway, BT joins a second drive on dike. At the end of the drive, BT joins SR 362 and continues N on fill berm. In 750’, at a small parking area, BT descends from road on footpath and continues NW. After 0.28 mi, go west on towpath from the site of the gates that controlled the flow of water from Lake Loramie to the summit level of the Miami and Erie Canal. Cross a waste weir (0.5 mi). Continue W to the junction of the feeder with the main canal (0.1 mi). From here, water flowed both towards Lockington on S and New Bremen on N. A short side-trail (700', white blazes) goes S to remnants of former canal aqueduct across Loramie Creek. Go NW on towpath. After 0.35 mi, jog W 20' on Canal Rd 1 crossing canal prism. Leave road. Go NW on rough grass.

• (3/28/23) St Marys Section - Map Edition of March 2014
  This map update makes a major change to the St Mary's Section. The Troy Section has moved the location of Point 18 to SR 66 at Hardin Rd and this has now become Point 1 of St Mary's. All of Points 19, 20, and 21 of the Troy Section moved into the St Mary's Section to become Points 2,3, and 4 of St Mary's. All the old Point numbers in St Mary's have increased their numbering by 3 making a total of 29 Points. This also adds 3.2 mi to the St Mary's Section making it 48.27 mi. See the Log of Trail Change below:
  
  Log of Trail Change:
  

  CW	CCW	Pt
  0.0 E	48.27 SW	1	SR 66 at Hardin Rd (C110) (P) The ST MARYS SECTION begins here. Cross SR 66 and continue N on Hardin Rd. Pass Picawillany Historical Markers on right. In 0.34 mi, pass the main gate to Johnston Farm and Indian Agency.
  0.45 E	47.82 SW	2	Hardin Rd (C110) at Cabled Service Rd Turn right (E) onto cabled service road. After 0.13 mi, leave service road N into hedgerow. Very soon, turn back E on trail that parallels the service road. There will be another brief encounter with a service road where trail follows service road across a culverted seasonal stream before returning to footpath once again. After 0.6 mi, turn NE across simple bridge and follow heel path of the canal. You may be lucky enough to see a mule drawn replica of a canal boat on the canal. After 0.35 mi, pass abutments on both sides of canal. These structures originally supported a bridge across the canal to a dam across the Great Miami R. See info below. After 0.12 mi, reach the remains of Lock 8. Notice the shape of the pool at the outlet end of the lock. That odd shape reflects pool’s original purpose. The canal coming NE continued to the Great Miami R through a guard lock, from which artifacts remain on other side of earthen embankment. Dam just downstream across river raised its level sufficiently to feed water to the canal. Cross dry canal prism to towpath and continue N along Loramie Creek. After 0.26 mi near breech in canal at creek, leave towpath across dry canal bed first to heel path and then State Dam Rd (400').
  1.91 E	46.36 S	3	State Dam Rd at Landman Mill Rd (C111) Note well-preserved remains of Lock 7 in canal. Head E across Loramie Creek on Landman Mill Rd to its end (0.4 mi). Join Piqua-Lockington Rd. Head N into Shelby Cty from Miami Cty (0.35 mi). Road name changes to Miami Conservancy Rd (C176). Continue N past E Lockington Rd (0.5 mi, C132, exits E). After 150', turn left (W) onto Seminole Trail. After 1 block, turn right (N) onto Cross Trail.
  3.2 W	45.07 SW	4	Head of Locks at Cross Trail and Museum Trail in Lockington Note well-preserved remains of Lock 7 in canal. Managed by OHS, this site is at southern end of the 21-mile Loramie Summit, the highest level of the former Miami & Erie Canal. The famed staircase of 6 locks stretching out before you dropped the canal 67' over a distance only 0.5 mi long! You may follow the towpath S to Loramie Creek past recently restored Lock 1, the remains of 4 more locks and other artifacts. Lock 6 is across Loramie Creek. The summit level ends at Lock 1N in New Bremen (Pt 22). The canal continued on across Museum Rd, through the playground and then ran parallel to Miami Conservancy Rd. A feeder canal brought water from Port Jefferson diverted from the Great Miami R and stored in Indian Lake. Go W on Museum Trail that becomes Fessler-Buxton Rd (C111) at Lockington Village Limits. Pass Kaser Rd (0.5 mi, C177, exits E). After 150', turn N through gate onto grassy service road that reduces to a footpath along E bank of Loramie Creek. Subsequently, climb along railing on wingwall of spillway over 100' to top of Lockington Dam. Completed in 1921, this dam is one of five Miami Conservancy District flood control dams. At top of dam (0.24 mi), turn E onto service road with good views both up and down Loramie Creek.
  4.3 E	43.97 SW	5	Pipe Gate across Trail from Parking Lot Facilities: C, P, Pr, PS, PT. Continue E across lawn past shelter house. At SE corner of lawn, join footpath. After 0.11 mi, join Miami and Erie Canal Towpath, heading N. Pass abutments for former RR overpass (0.14 mi). Cross footbridge (0.22 mi) built by BTA Trail Crew with funds donated by Friends of Lockington Reserve. After 0.22 mi, drop into the canal prism above a culvert that conducts Fox Creek below. The culvert is slowly caving in. It is worth leaving the trail to view the remains of this culvert (side trail nearby). On the W, the facing has all washed away exposing the arch itself. No concrete was used to construct the culvert. Supported by rough hewn logs that are visible, relatively small, nearly flat, ‘nothing special’ stones were laid together with the thinner edges facing in to form the arch of the culvert. After 75', return to the towpath. Cross Fair Rd (0.17 mi, closed). Continue N past stone milepost (0.12 mi) on E side of trail. This milepost reads 101 meaning 101 miles by canal from Cincinnati. After 0.6 mi, turn W onto Stangel Rd as remains of canal continue N.
  6.2 N	42.07 E	6	Stangel Rd (T24) at Hardin-Wapak Rd (C20)
  7.7 W	40.57 S	7	Hardin-Wapak Rd (C20) at Houston Rd (C25)
  11.5 N	36.77 NE	8	Houston Rd (C25) at Pampel Rd (C128)
  12.2 W	36.07 E	9	Miami and Erie Towpath Trail at W E Dawson Rd (C24)
  13.6 W	34.67 S	10	Miami and Erie Towpath Trail at W S Stoker Rd (T120)
  14.6 NW	33.67 E	11	Stoker Rd (T120) at SR 48 and SR 66
  15.36 N	32.91 SE	12	SR 66 at Range Line Rd (C14)
  16.61 NW	31.66 SE	13	Towpath at SR 66 in Newport (C, P, R)
  18.75 W	29.52 SW	14	Towpath at Loy Rd (T92)
  21.25 N	27.02 W	15	Schlater Rd (C102) at Residential Driveway on Towpath
  22.35 E	25.92 SW	16	SR 66 (Main St) and SR 362 (Elm St) in Fort Loramie
  23.45 NW	24.82 SE	17	SR 362 at Junction with Fort Loramie-Swanders Rd (C27) The Lake Loramie State Park Office is on the Northeast corner of this junction. Follow SR 362 N 0.36 mi to a spur driveway (W) just after SR 362 reduces back to an undivided road. The entrance to Lake Loramie State Park and park facilities (C, E, P, PS, S, T, W, WC) lies 375 ft ahead on SR 362. Turn NW onto spur driveway past Morrie’s Landing. BT leaves driveway on walkway that crosses over spillway. NE of spillway, BT joins a second drive on dike. At the end of the drive, BT joins SR 362 and continues N on fill berm. In 750’, at a small parking area, BT descends from road on footpath and continues NW. After 0.28 mi, go west on towpath from the site of the gates that controlled the flow of water from Lake Loramie to the summit level of the Miami and Erie Canal. Cross a waste weir (0.5 mi). Continue W to the junction of the feeder with the main canal (0.1 mi). From here, water flowed both towards Lockington on S and New Bremen on N. A short side-trail (700', white blazes) goes S to remnants of former canal aqueduct across Loramie Creek. Go NW on towpath. After 0.35 mi, jog W 20' on Canal Rd 1 crossing canal prism. Leave road. Go NW on rough grass.
  25.56 NW	22.71 SE	18	Towpath at SR 66 North of Fort Loramie
  26.46 N	21.81 S	19	Towpath at Dirksen Rd (C98)
  27.17 N	21.1 S	20	Canal Rd (C45) at First St in Minster
  28.37 N	19.9 S	21	Trail Bridge across Miami and Erie Canal
  30.77 N	17.5 S	22	Monroe St (SR 274 ) and Washington St (SR 66) in New Bremen
  31.97 N	16.3 SW	23	Towpath at Lock Two Rd (C70)
  34.97 N	13.3 S	24	Towpath at SR 219
  37.87 N	10.4 S	25	Towpath at Greenville Rd
  38.77 N	9.5 S	26	Lock 13 Parking w/Shelter House in St Marys
  41.97 NW	6.3 SE	27	Towpath at Glynwood Rd (T160)
  44.67 NE	3.6 SW	28	Towpath at Glynwood Rd (T160)
  48.27 N	0.0 S	29	Methodist Church on SR 197 in Kossuth The St Mary's Section ends here.



• (6/2/22) St Marys Section - Map Edition of March 2014
  This map update slightly changes the BT route in Fort Loramie State Park at and within the description for Points 13 and 14. The location of Point 14 has changed. The State Park replaced the walkway over the spillway which allows the BT to regain off-road trail used prior to the repair of the spillway walkway. As a result, the off-road mileage of this section is now 0.3 mi greater. The total mileage of the section does not change. See the Log of Trail Change below:
  
  Log of Trail Change
  

  CW	CCW	Pt
  19.4 E	26.1 SW	13	SR 66 (Main St) and SRÂ 362 (Elm St) in Fort Loramie Facilities: G, L, P, PO: 45845, R, T, W, WC, Wilderness Trail Museum. Continue E on SR 362 past historic St Michaels Catholic Church for 01.1 mi.
  20.5 SE	25.0 NW	14	SR 362 at Junction with Fort Loramie-Swanders Rd (C27) The Lake Loramie State Park Office is on the Northeast corner of this junction. Follow SR 362 N 0.36 mi to a spur driveway (W) just after SR 362 reduces back to an undivided road. The entrance to Lake Loramie State Park and park facilities (C, E, P, PS, S, T, W, WC) lies 375 ft ahead on SR 363. Turn NW onto spur driveway past Morrie’s Landing. BT leaves driveway on walkway that crosses over spillway. NE of spillway, BT joins a second drive on dike. At the end of the drive, BT joins SR 362 and continues N on fill berm. In 750’, at a small parking area, BT descends from road on footpath and continues NW. After 0.28 mi, go west on towpath from the site of the gates that controlled the flow of water from Lake Loramie to the summit level of the Miami and Erie Canal. Cross a waste weir (0.5 mi). Continue W to the junction of the feeder with the main canal (0.1 mi). From here, water flowed both towards Lockington on S and New Bremen on N. A short side-trail (700', white blazes) goes S to remnants of former canal aqueduct across Loramie Creek. Go NW on towpath. After 0.35 mi, jog W 20' on Canal Rd 1 crossing canal prism. Leave road. Go NW on rough grass.
  22.7	22.8	15	Towpath at SR 66 North of Fort Loramie

• (8/1/21) St Marys Section - Map Edition of March 2014
  This map update concerns the Camping Along the Trail section of the map. The third camping facility listed, Hickory Hills Lake Campground, no longer allows camping throughout the season. The only time it is open is during the week of their concert. Plan on staying elsewhere. The campground is also mentioned in the description of Point 10.
• (1/11/21) St Marys Section - Map Edition of March 2014
  This change is quite minor. In your St Mary’s map, Edition of Mar 2014, some of the details described in the text under Pt 10 have changed. Ream’s Pond is gone. The bridge built by Buckeye Trail volunteers is gone. The old marker, Milepost 112, has disappeared. There is no change in distance.
  
  The points affected are shown below.
  

  CW	CCW	Pt
  13.6 NW	31.9 SE	10	Towpath at SR 66 in Newport (C, P, R) Continue NW on towpath past occupied houses Stay close to canal!) and, later, the west boundary of Hickory Lakes Campground that has encroached into the prism of the former canal. After 1.3 mi, cross Cardo Rd (C91) and continue N on the former towpath beside the dry canal.
  15.8 N	29.7 S	11	Towpath at Loy Rd (T92) Continue with the text as written in your Edition of March 2014.



• (7/1/16) St Marys Section - Map Edition of March 2014

  This change does not affect the route of the trail. However, the method for obtaining the permit that is required to stay overnight at Lockington Reserve near Point 2 has changed. This location is listed on the map as Item 1 under "Camping Facilities." Rather than contact Barb Heilers as shown there, use the link below. To apply for the permit, complete this request form in advance of your stay.
  Permit request form .



• (11/5/15) St Marys Section - Map Edition of March 2014

  Please note that Point 6 on the St Marys Section Map Edition of March 2014 is incorrectly placed. The map shows the point located on Pampel Road at the towpath just north of Point 5. Point 6 should be located at Miami and Erie Towpath Trail at Dawson Road as its title line reads. The text reads correctly.

• (10/12/15) St Marys Section - Map Edition of March 2014

  During compilation of the St Marys Section Edition of March 2014, the accumulated distance to Point 18, Trail Bridge across Miami and Erie Canal, was calculated incorrectly. The clockwise distance should read 25.6 and the counterclockwise distance should read 19.9. We apologize for any inconvenience this error may have caused.

• (6/29/15) St Marys Section - Map Edition of March 2014

  This change does not affect the route of the trail.Under camping facilities, add a 7th location:
  
  7. At Lock Fourteen Park between Pt 24 and 25, you may camp on the lawn around the parking area east of the canal. Notify Heritage Trails Park District, at , 24 hours prior to camping so that they can notify the Sheriff's Office. This will avoid a possible rude awakening in the wee hours of the morning.
  
  NOTE: BTA recommends that you not leave your equipment at this location unattended. The location is both public and unguarded.

Trail Towns

St. Marys

On Sunday, October 17, 2021, the city of St Marys became the next Trail Town for the BTA.

Before the white men ever came to the area, Indians found the St. Marys River to be an important travel route. By portages of only six miles at high water and 26 at low water they could travel all the way from Lake Erie to the Gulf of Mexico. Before the construction of Grand Lake St. Marys, which drained about half of the river's watershed area, the river could handle the largest flat-bottom boats. St. Marys has a wonderful history and is happy to be a Trail Town.

Learn more and plan your visit to St. Marys here: St. Marys Ohio

Fort Loramie

The Buckeye Trail Association welcomes Fort Loramie as the 20th Trail Town on September 23, 2023. Fort Loramie is a village in Shelby County, along Loramie Creek, a tributary of the Great Miami River in southwestern Ohio, 42 miles north-northwest of Dayton.

The village of Fort Loramie is an original canal town along the Miami & Erie Canal. It was first established as a trading post by a French-Canadian fur trader Pierre-Louis de Lorimier (Peter Loramie). The indigenous Shawnee people used the post for attacks against the European settlers during the Revolutionary War. The post was burnt to the ground and abandoned in 1782, remaining vacant until 1795. After the victory of the Battle of Fallen Timbers, General “Mad” Anthony Wayne ordered a fort built at the site. The fort stood on the portage between St Mary’s River and Loramie Creek a half mile north of the present town. It was used as one of the demarcation points in the Treaty of Greenville in 1795.

When work started building the Miami-Erie Canal in 1836, German immigrants were the main labor pool building the canal. The immigrants then purchased land and became permanent settlers. The canal opened in 1841, bringing finished goods to the area, and taking farm and wood products back to the cities. The village was originally called Berlin. The town's name was officially changed to Fort Loramie in 1911. The canal system had diminished by this time, as a result of the railroad networks expanding in all directions. The canal, which ran through the center of town was cleaned up and turned into a community park.

An important feature remaining from the canal days is Lake Loramie, the feeder lake manually constructed to keep the canal filled with water. It is now a state park and a haven for fishing, boating, camping, and vacationers. In recent years, a self-funded research group conducting archaeological digs has rediscovered the site of both Pierre-Louis de Lorimier’s trading post in 2013 and the north wall of the original stockade in 2020.

Section Blogs

• (5/10/24) Troy Section Blog ‐ Provided by Victoria Livingston, BTA hiker. Whether you&rquo;re a seasoned hiker or just looking for a leisurely walk, the St. Marys Section of the Buckeye Trail is a journey through both nature and time. Follow Victoria, her husband Dave, and others along the Great Miami‐Erie Canal — History, Whimsy, and Graveyard

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