Stillwater River on Seibenthaler Road

  Exploring Nature through Stillwater River!

Trip Overview

After we biked to the river we got were split into two groups and one group at a time learned a little bit about the different kinds of fish and animals we might catch in the sane. The Stillwater River is a tributary to the Great Miami River and is abaout 69.3 miles long. Then we practiced using the sane on land before we got into the river. Lastly we caught fish, crawdads, and snakes in the sane and identified what each animal was with our teacher.

Trip Directions:

The bike ride to Stillwater River was partial bike path and partial road(due to a bike detour downtown). To get to our destination, we took Woodman out of our school and took a left on the Iron Horse Trail(Bike route #9) which lined a railroad and continued on that route for 1.5 miles, passing Linden Avenue. We then continued onto Creekside Trail(Bike route #2) for 2.8 miles. This trail was very beautiful with the many trees shading the trial. The trial ends at Eastwood Metro Park, where we took a short refill break. Next, we took a left on the Mad River Recreational Trail (Bike route #8) which overlooks the mad river and continued for 1.3 miles. After we passed under the N Fidley Street we took the bike detour due to construction by turning right on Monument Avenue and continuing for 1.4 miles. We then made it to Riverscape Metro Park where we took a break to fill up water bottles. The park was very beautiful, over looking the Mad River and also the fountains. After our break we took the Great Miami Trail (Bike route #25) for 0.6 miles, crossing the Mad River. Next, keep straight to the Stillwater Trial (1 mile), passing Island Metro Park and also many historical bridges. When you reach the overpass, and find a good place to lock up your bike! To get back to STEM we took the same route, with the exception of going around the block at RiverScape downtown to get back on Monument Avenue (since it was a one way)

Dayton Skyline

Riverscape fountain

Bridge crossing the Mad River

Most memorable experience

While at the Still Water River we were all anxious to get into the river because we didn’t know what to expect. Once we got into the River the most memorable experience was catching a snake. It was also exciting to catch decent size bluegills and crawdads. 

Quote: "Saning is like a box of chocolates, you never know whatcha gonna get." 

-Cara Lloyd & Kenzie Lawson

Snake caught in Stillwater

Hog Sucker

Longear Sunfish

Safety tip

While at Still Water we noticed that the River had many large rocks, and those rocks had sharp edges. We also noticed that some rocks had allege on them and that became slippery and hard for us to make our way through he River. If visiting Still Water River I would advise you to watch out for large rocks when you’re in the water. I would also advise you to be careful when standing on the rocks because of the slippery allege. Another important tip is to wear water shoes with full coverage, because of the sharp objects in the River.

http://watercraft.ohiodnr.gov/stillwatersr

Activities 

There are lots of things to do at Still Water River, you can go sane fishing like we did, or go fishing with poles. The bike path runs right along the river so you can ride there and go wading in the river. Some points of the river are deep enough for rafting and kayaking. Another fun activity at the river is water hiking, we did a little bit of this during the time that we were there in order to get where we needed to be for fishing. Another activity that goes along with sane fishing is identifying the different types of fish, here is a link that lists different kinds of fish and animals you may find in Ohio and how to identify them. http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/species-and-habitats/species-guide-index/fish

Aside from the river there are also many grassy areas to set up outdoor activities such as corn hole and soccer. 

Citations:

"Stillwater River (Ohio)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 02 June 2016. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stillwater_River_%28Ohio%29>.