Ohio River – Meldahl Pool, or more accurately, Captain Anthony Meldahl Locks and Dam is located on Mile Marker 436, on the Ohio River. This Locks and Dam is one of the major links in the Ohio River navigation system that allows for recreational activities, as well as the passing of commercial boat traffic.
The Ohio River – Meldahl Dam isn’t just for navigation purposes. The site also offers excellent angling opportunities to the public along with picnic facilities. There are also restrooms located on the site for a comfortable stay during your fishing or picnicking experience. The site has an observation tower and offers many wildlife viewing opportunities.
While there aren’t any recreation areas available right next to the Meldahl Locks and Dam, the pool between Meldahl Locks and Dam and the Greenups Locks and Dam offers plenty of camping and recreational activities for outdoor enthusiasts. These lands are privately operated and are leased from the US Army Corps of Engineers.
Visitors can bring their furry friends along and enjoy the great outdoors with their favorite people alongside them. The recreation areas offer various opportunities, including boating thanks to several boat ramps, a store, picnic facilities, and most important of all, camping sites for RV, motorhomes, and tents. These recreation areas include White Oak, Eagle Creek, Ohio Brush Creek, Augusta, Manchester, and Kentucky.
About a 30-40 min drive east from Cincinnati, OH lies Capt. Anthony Meldahl Locks and Dam. This vast reservoir lies between Neville and Chilo, Ohio. You can get to the lock and dam by taking the New Richmond Exit from I-275 onto East US 52.
From Falmouth, it takes about an hour and ten minutes to reach Meldahl Dam. If you are approaching from Kincaid Lake State Park, take the State Highway 609 to US-27 north in Butler. Follow the US-27 North until you get to the US-52 East at the Ohio River Scenic Byway to Washington Township. After about an hour and some 46.7 miles of driving, you’ll find yourself at your destination.
You can also arrive at Meldahl Pool from Portsmouth, OH. It is about a two-hour drive on the US 52 with gorgeous views all along the way.
Eagle Creek Recreational Area is one of the closest RV campgrounds to Ohio River - Meldahl Pool. The Army Corps of Engineers manages this Recreation Area. Eagle Creek campground boasts 75 RV sites for visitors to have fun in comfort. The campground hosts eight pull-through sites, with 25 suitable for an extended stay. All 75 campsites come with a fire pit and picnic tables. All the campsites are quite primitive, with no hookups.
Amenities at the campground include restrooms, pit toilets, hot showers, dump station, fishing dock, playground, sports field, and a boat launch. Gasoline can also be found in the park. Eagle Creek also has a marina.
Boating is always one of the more popular activities at the Ohio River – Meldahl Pool. The Meldahl Locks and Dam is open to all kinds of boats and watercraft. Boat ramps with access to the site can be found at Augusta, Eagle Creek, Garrison, Manchester, Ohio Brush Creek, Vanceburg, and White Oak Creek. Many of these recreation areas allow boating for angling purposes.
Fishing is one of the most popular activities at Meldahl Pool. In fact, it is one of the best fishing spots on the entire Ohio River, with a healthy population of bass, hybrids, and stripers. It is also one of the few places where anglers can catch trophy-sized flatheads. Other species include white bass, sauger, channel cats, and blue catfish.
Many anglers have won bass tournaments from this very area for the past couple of years. The Pool also offers opportunities to bank anglers. As long as you are careful of the barges and heavy boat traffic, you couldn’t have chosen a better place for tossing in a line.
Ohio River Trail refers to the series of multi-use trails running alongside the Ohio River. This trail system also includes the famous Lunken Trail and Armleder Park Trail. The trail spans for more than 23 miles, and bikers, runners, hikers, and walkers can all access this gorgeous trail. The Trail runs all along the north bank of the Ohio River from Coney Island through Downtown and into Sayler Park. The trail extends all the way to Lake Erie after connecting to the Little Miami Scenic Trail.
One of the many highlights of the trail is crossing the Newport Southbank Bridge, which is also endearingly called the Purple People Bridge. It is a converted railroad trestle that currently carries all the trail users across the Ohio River to Kentucky.
If you are craving for a good picnic that will refresh your mind and body like nothing else, then you are in luck. There are various picnic areas and group picnic shelters all along the Ohio River – Meldahl Pool. An overlook and picnic facilities are also provided at the site of the locks on the Ohio side of the river.
If your sole purpose is to unwind and relax by the Ohio River at Meldahl Pool, then you can head towards Augusta, Captain Anthony Meldahl Lock and Dam, Manchester, and Vanceburg. All four recreation areas offer group picnicking facilities and parking facilities.
Brush Creek Recreation Area is most popularly known for its wildlife viewing opportunities. Ohio Brush Creek is one of the premier tributaries in the Meldahl Pool. Here you can find cottontail rabbit, gray squirrel, ruffed grouse, and fox squirrel for hunting as well as for viewing. Other wildlife common to the region are groundhogs and white-tailed deer along with beavers and wild turkeys.
Readers and book lovers must plan on stopping at the Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County Main Library to get some reading done or simply to admire these beautifully constructed buildings.
The Main Library has one of the finest collections of books and materials amongst all the public libraries in the U.S.
