Loveland, Ohio

Drawing By – The Loveland Frogman by Zach Taylor – https://zachtaylor.art/2016/08/08/loveland-frog-man/

Loveland is a charming small town in southwest Ohio, about 23 miles from Cincinnati. According to the city website, Loveland is known as the “Sweetheart of Ohio.”  But Loveland has another claim to fame as the home of the Loveland Frogman!

According to my trusty copy of Weird Ohio, the Frogman was first spotted by a police officer around 1:00 a.m. on a cold March night back in 1972. Another officer spotted the Frogman again later that same month. Both times the creature was on the road and when the officer stopped, it hopped over the guard rail and escaped. According to the first officer, the creature “weighed about sixty pounds and stood about three or four feet tall and had textured, leathery skin and a face like that of a frog or a lizard.”

So that is certainly exciting! So much so that this year the City of Loveland debuted their first Return of the Frogman Event!  I thought this was too good to pass up, so I began to plan my adventure. I had the creepy portion of the trip covered with the Frogman, but I needed a good hike to go with it.

I highly recommend using All Trails, both to find great trails in different areas and to use as a navigation tool on the trail.  The navigation feature is easy to use and gives you turn-by-turn directions as you go and shows you if you are getting off the trail. Hiking is fun, but getting lost in the woods is not! Please note, I am not receiving any compensation from these sources/apps. These are just tools that I find useful when planning and undertaking my trips.

So back to the story. I did a search in All Trails for hikes in the Loveland area and I picked the Symmes Township Park trail. It is a 4.2-mile paved/gravel loop that meanders through fields, wooded areas, and crosses streams. It seemed like a great place to go Frogman hunting! 

As any hiker knows, there are lots of different types of trails (e.g. scenic, wooded/forest, public parks, with elevation, flat, etc.). I was a little disheartened when I arrived at Symmes and found a busy public space.  But fortunately, that opinion changed as I undertook my hike. The first portion wound next to a pond and then across the street to a busy ball field (keep in mind, this was a Saturday morning, so kid’s sports was in full swing). But then it veered off into a quieter wooded area.

The trail alternated between paved and gravel/dirt and was well maintained. There are some step grades in one section of the trail to give a little spice of challenge to the hike. And in another segment, the park caretakers created a nice Halloween vibe with ghosts and bats in the trees and fun scarecrows.

If you are looking for a remote rugged hike, this is not the one for you. But all and all, Symmes Township Park gives a little bit of everything. It offers nice wooded quiet areas, but it is public enough so that you feel safe throughout. I enjoyed this hike, but unfortunately, I did not find the famous Frogman.

With my hike completed, it was time to investigate the Return of the Frogman Event! I traveled the 1.7 miles to the heart of Loveland (120 W. Loveland Ave., Loveland, Ohio 45140), and began to explore the town.

I am happy to report the Frogman was everyone where once I got to the town center! Or his likeness at least. I found a charming town with lots of fun shops and enticing places to eat.

Rather than a festival where all the attractions are centralized, The Return of the Frogman had events/attractions at various businesses/pubs/restaurants throughout the downtown area. So, it gave visitors an opportunity to explore more of the area.

So now you are probably thinking, “This sounds like fun! I’ll put this on my calendar for next year!”  Well, you can’t. According to the city website, Return of the Frogman “is a new event hosted by the City of Loveland to commemorate the mysterious sightings of the Loveland Frogman. It will be held on Leap Years (every four years).”  Sorry, you will have to wait until 2028 to partake in this adventure. But all hope is not lost! You can attend the annual Frogman Festival on March 1-2, 2025! I went to this one a couple of years ago and it is more of a convention setting with book authors, speakers, and vendors. It is a great deal of fun as well, but with more focus on cryptid sightings and hunting. 

After I completed my rounds of Loveland, I had time for another stop. So, I drove the 2.4 miles to The Loveland Castle (otherwise known as the Museum Château Laroche). The website gives a great overview of its history. But the highlight is that Harry Delos Andrews built the castle using rocks he quarried himself from The Little Miami River that runs near the castle. And when he ran out of rocks, he created his own stones out of cement. A true testament to resourcefulness and determination, and the outcome is stunning!

And like any good castle, this one is haunted! The website offers ghost hunts/paranormal investigations for the truly brave of heart. Or if you prefer, you can just do one of the wine tastings.

The castle was busy on a Saturday afternoon, especially with the Loveland Frogman Event going on.  I had visited the castle previously on a Thursday afternoon and my son and I had the place all to ourselves. So, I would recommend going during the week if possible if you do not like crowds.

Clearly Loveland has a lot to offer, and this was a day well spent. I stopped off at the Destination Outlet Mall in Jeffersonville, which is about halfway back to Columbus, to break up the drive.

Here is my itinerary for the day:

If you decide to take this trip for yourself, please share your experiences. I look forward to hearing from you!