Sports And Recreation
Bicycling fans can rent a bike at Smale Riverfront Park's Cincinnati Bike Center (120 E. Mehring Way); phone (513) 282-4260. Red Bike has many bike rental locations throughout Cincy and northern Kentucky; phone (513) 621-2453.
Hiking trails are plentiful, especially at Mount Airy Forest. Eden Park, 186 acres off Gilbert Avenue between Elsinore and Morris, offers picnic facilities, lakes for ice-skating and an exercise course. An enjoyable activity is a stroll along the riverfront at Bicentennial Commons at Sawyer Point or Yeatman's Cove Park. For information about city park facilities phone (513) 352-4080.
There are many golf courses in the area, including seven city-owned and seven county-owned courses. The most well-known course is The Golf Center at Kings Island, (513) 398-7700, with two Jack Nicklaus-designed courses.
For those more interested in spectator sports, the city has much to offer. When in the Queen City, if your favorite baseball team is not the Cincinnati Reds, it is best to keep that fact under your hat. World Series winners in 1919, 1940, 1975, 1976 and 1990 and National League division champs in 2012, the Big Red Machine has a large following. The Reds play at Great American Ball Park; for ticket and schedule information phone (513) 765-7000.
When all eyes turn from the diamond to the gridiron, football's Cincinnati Bengals become the city's stars. The team plays at Paul Brown Stadium, which opened in 2000. They gained a lofty status when they captured the 1981 and 1988 American Football Conference championships. For ticket and schedule information phone (513) 621-8383 or (866) 621-8383.
Hockey fans can head to U.S. Bank Arena October through March to root for the ECHL's two-time Kelly Cup winner Cincinnati Cyclones; phone (513) 421-7825 for ticket information. Tennis fans won't want to miss the Western & Southern Open in August in nearby Mason; phone (513) 651-0303 or (800) 745-3000 for ticket information.
Perhaps because of Cincinnati's proximity to Kentucky, horse racing events are popular. Belterra Park, (513) 232-8000, at 6301 Kellogg Ave., offers Thoroughbred racing late April through Labor Day and simulcast racing daily year-round. Miami Valley Gaming, about 30 miles northeast in Lebanon at 6000 SR 63, features live harness racing early January to early May and simulcast racing daily year-round; phone (513) 934-7070 or (855) 946-6847. Turfway Park, about 10 miles south off I-75 exit 182 at 7500 Turfway Rd. in Florence, Ky., is the scene of Thoroughbred racing September to mid-October and December through March; phone (859) 371-0200 or (800) 733-0200 for dates. The Kentucky Speedway, in nearby Sparta, Ky., hosts automobile racing June through September; phone (859) 578-2300 or (888) 652-7223 for ticket information.
Note: Policies vary concerning admittance of children to pari-mutuel betting facilities. Phone for information.