By Gregory Flannery


Thrills and adventure can be found in the great outdoors, but that takes time. When you have only a day or a weekend to play, the lesser outdoors offer pleasures of their own.

The camping season opened March 1 at Miami Whitewater Forest on the western edge of Hamilton County, a 30-minute drive from downtown. At that distance, you can’t expect mountains or beaches, but the magic of a campfire is just as strong when the night descends on a small patch of woods.

On a whim I went with two companions last week on the first day of spring. Pitching the tent, we heard a woodpecker nearby. After a rose-colored sunset over the adjacent Interstate 74, the night featured a crescent moon and a handful of stars — which is a handful more than can be seen most nights in the sky over Cincinnati.

In the morning we awoke to the sight of cardinals chasing each other from tree to tree in the thicket behind our tent. One of my companions explained that the male of the species is the more brightly feathered. I marveled that one of the playful red birds later came so close to the large tree stump we were using as a target while we practiced our hatchet-hurling technique.

The campground has 46 shaded lots, but we virtually had the place to ourselves. Only two other lots were occupied. The outhouse in our section of the campground was a three-seater, but we didn’t have to share even once. A shower house is nearby but, as ours was a one-day jaunt, we opted to carry the scent of the woods home with us.

We called in advance but learned reservations weren’t necessary so early in the season. Told the camping fee is $20 a night, we were nonetheless charged only $15.

Check-in at the boathouse at Miami Whitewater is frighteningly casual. To my surprise, the clerk didn’t ask for identification or our car’s license plate number. Realizing the campground would make an informal and inexpensive layover for persons with terrorist intentions, we made a mental note to alert the Department of Homeland Security.

We saw no persons with actual terrorist intentions anywhere in the 4,279-acre park. But we had a hatchet if the homeland needed defending, and we practiced using it.

Miami Whitewater Forest has an 85-acre lake for fishing and boating. Some of the pedal boats are now equipped with water cannons. Nature trails, a bike rental service, a nature center, a Frisbee golf course, an impressive children’s playground and an 18-hole golf course give Miami Whitewater a wide range of recreational opportunities for all ages.

We took advantage of none of them. For us the pleasure lay in grilling cheeseburgers and veggie burgers, taking in large volumes of beverages, playing chess by lantern until 3 a.m. and then crawling into the tent to pass out.

Having won five out of six chess matches, I fell asleep with a real feeling of superiority enhanced by my communion with nature.

One of the few unpleasant moments on our trip came when we realized we’d left a pipe on the picnic table overnight, which is something of a breach of security — it was still packed with evidence. But while we were awake, a ranger had driven by just once, so the risk was less than might be imagined.

Having discovered our error, we quickly made sure that the evidence was disposed of in a way that elevated our morning reverie and didn’t mar the landscape.

The boathouse sells a wide selection of camping gear, with tents as low as $24.95. I asked if that price was for rental or purchase. My query was greeted with a hearty laugh and no further elucidation.

My tent has gone to Daniel Boone National Forest, a state park near Akron and once sheltered me on a porch behind a basement full of protesters crashing in a house in Brooklyn during the Republican National Convention. I’d gladly pitch it again at Miami Whitewater Forest.

A half-hour drive and $15 is as easy a getaway as they come. The company was pleasant, the food satisfying and the setting — while lacking grand vistas or deep-woods solitude — at least had more trees than my backyard. Sometimes that’s all you really need.

Acquired in 1949, Miami Whitewater Forest is part of the Hamilton County Park District. Cars entering the park must have a permit; the fee is $2 for a day or $5 for the year. Pets are permitted only if kept on a leash; barking dogs can lead to eviction from the campground.

Each campsite is equipped with 30-amp electric hookups. But electric bug zappers are not permitted; this is, after all, a forest.

Reservations require a credit card and can be made by calling 513-367-9632. ©