At almost 1,500 acres, Mount Airy Forest is Cincinnati’s largest park. It was established in 1911 out of several unproductive farms and was the first municipal reforestation in America. A crew of young African Americans was employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (a federal jobs program during the Great Depression) to build service roads, the large check dams in West Fork Creek and, along with more skilled laborers working for the Works Progress Administration, most of the shelter, service and restroom buildings. They also planted more than one million trees! Each recreational area typically included a shelter, comfort station, picnic tables, and a water source, either a fountain or a pump.

Mount Airy Forest Trails
Hiking trails at Mount Airy Forest include:
Colerain Trail – 1 mile
Ponderosa Trail – 3 miles
Red Oak Trail – 1 mile
Quarry Trail – 0.75 miles
Furnas Trail – 1.5 miles
Twin Bridges Trail – 0.3 miles
Beechwood Trail – 1.3 miles
Blue Spruce Trail – 0.75 miles
Lingo Trail – 0.75 miles
Cedar Trail – 0.5 miles
McFarlan Trail – 1 mile
Maple Ridge Trail – 1 mile

Descriptions with maps of hikes on trails at Mount Airy Forest are on the AllTrails website.