Taking the Tour de Way through Hamilton and Beyond
By Laura Leavitt
This year, as a way to emphasize the value of the Great Miami River, the Great Miami Riverway Coalition has organized a region-wide scavenger hunt.
The Tour de Way is a regional passport program that involves 100 locations: 10 shops, restaurants, outdoor activities, and other attractions in each of 10 member cities. By visiting a location, you get one “point” in the competition for prizes. You earn your points by making an account through the Great Miami Riverway website and using a QR Code scanner to access the site at each location.
“Visiting locations enters you for monthly prize drawings, and our two Grand prizes are a Shoal Tent by SmithFly, and a bicycle from Spoken Bicycles,” explains Elizabeth Connor, Great Miami Riverway Coordinator.
The best part of the Tour de Way is that visiting each location is its own reward: rather than visiting, say, Troy or Sidney without knowing what there is to do in town, you can use your information about the town’s 10 locations to chart a fun weekend getaway or day trip.
When you are looking around Hamilton for these QR codes, you’re likely to find them at places that characterize our town, whether that means checking out Park5 on the rooftop of McDulin parking garage or taking a walk up the bike path up to see our small hydroelectric dam.
“We always look at outdoor recreation, then we want to connect to the communities, so for each city we look at boutique shopping, restaurants, museums, public art, craft breweries. Anything that a tourist would be interested in,” says Connor.
Other great spots to visit in Hamilton include Marcum Park as well as arts destinations like Pyramid Hill and the Fitton Center for Creative Arts. A complete guide to the Hamilton locations is available on the Great Miami Riverway site.
The other options for places to visit for a weekend or a day include Middletown, Franklin, Miamisburg, West Carrolton, Dayton, Troy, Piqua, and Sidney, all communities situated on the Great Miami River.
In Hamilton and other cities, there are a variety of “pop-up” locations that are available only during special events including the Hamilton Flea. Many of these locations are announced on the Great Miami Riverway social media pages.
“Tour de Way is a great opportunity to explore your own and neighboring communities along the Great Miami Riverway, while getting a chance to win great prizes!” says Mallory Greenham, Small Business Development Specialist for the City of Hamilton & board member of the Great Miami Riverway.
Enjoying your own backyard can lead to a wonderful experience for you and your family, but the fun is expanded when you realize that you now have a wider range of options to show out-of-town visitors.
“We really wanted to attract our local residents to explore their own backyard, so that Hamilton residents know all the opportunities in both their area and other areas,” says Connor. “That creates a local powerhouse of brand ambassadors, so when we have visitors from out of town, locals can show them all we have to offer.”
Connor admits that having prizes doesn’t hurt the fun, but pushes people forward in pursuing exciting experiences.
“ I’m a rather competitive person, so I like getting all the checkmarks,” Connor says, laughing. “You sign up for an account, and in the account, you can actually see all the places you’ve been. I’ve also enjoyed seeing other residents go around and explore new places.”