Best Hometowns 2026: Loveland

It’s not yet noon on a summer Wednesday, and Loveland’s Nisbet Park already teems with residents enjoying the day. Parents and their kids in bathing suits set up with water bottles and picnic food spread out on colorful blankets along the riverbank. Other kids float by hugging inner tubes and kayakers leisurely paddle downstream. 

A short walk away from the river’s edge, an early lunch already fills the tables at Ramsey’s Trailside, a cozy, two-story restaurant that sits alongside the Little Miami Scenic Trail. Cyclists walk their bicycles, planting them on the periphery of Ramsey’s or next to Narrow Path Brewing Co., which should open any minute.

The scene is not exclusive to summertime in Loveland, says Ginger Clark, executive director of the Little Miami Conservancy. This section of the 111-mile river corridor and adjacent 78-mile Little Miami Scenic Trail is frequently teeming with kayakers, fishermen, bird-watchers, bicyclists and stroller-rolling parents throughout the year. Loveland, after all, is often cited as the busiest stretch of what was one of the nation’s first rail-to-trail projects. 

Bikes off the Little Miami Scenic Trail in Loveland (photo by Rachael Jirousek)

The Little Miami Conservancy, whose mission is to preserve, protect and restore the river and its watershed, celebrates its 60th birthday in 2027. The organization’s founder and conservationist Glenn Thompson envisioned “a corridor of green lining the river to inspire us and restore our spirit.”

“For a lot of people, Loveland is like their front door to the Little Miami,” Clark says. “I think that’s why we chose to have our headquarters there.”

That headquarters, located on the periphery of Nisbet Park & Amphitheater, is a charming, 180-year-old cottage. Clark is happy to help Loveland’s locals embrace the outdoors, whether they are viewers to the conservancy’s eagle cam, anglers on the lookout for smallmouth bass or ornithologists eager to track fall and spring migration. The conservancy conducts environmental DNA monitoring, testing at various river sites for fish species populations and how varying river activities are affecting them. Budding conservationists can enjoy public education on the building’s deck; the conservancy often contracts with organizations like the local Raptor Inc. and The Roaming Naturalist, which offer interpretive programming. 

“The fishing, the paddling, the bird-watching, the hiking — all of that ties into a healthy river and river corridor,” Clark says. “My job is to make sure that the river is still special 60 years from now and beyond.”

Loveland sits approximately 20 miles northeast of Cincinnati and bears the nickname the “Sweetheart of Ohio,” thanks to its popular Valentine-remailing program. The largely residential community has three dozen neighborhoods, including White Pillars, where the area’s first settler, Col. Thomas Paxton, is buried. 

Little Miami Conservancy headquarters in Loveland (photo by Rachael Jirousek)

Although Paxton settled what is today known as Loveland in 1795, it took 53 years before his son-in-law, William Ramsey, bought 189 acres from Warren and Clermont counties to formally establish the community. In 1853, the Little Miami Railroad, which took passengers from Cincinnati to Xenia, was built, contributing to a boom in awareness about the area as commuters passed through. The town was named in honor of James Loveland, a resident who operated a post office and general store near the railroad. 

When Loveland was finally incorporated as a village in 1876, it still had a population of fewer than 800 residents. Following World War II, the village saw an uptick in population during the 1950s, leading it to reach city status in 1961. 

An estimated 13,288 people call Loveland home as of 2025, and the relatively small city covers approximately 5 square miles. Its largest employers include McCluskey Buick Chevrolet GMC, Oasis Turf & Tree lawn-care service company and the Loveland City School District, which staffs six buildings in the community and serves approximately 4,000 students.

Loveland also has a small-but-mighty downtown district that spans about seven blocks. Mayor Kathy Bailey has had a front-row seat to its evolution since she moved to the city with her husband and then-1-year-old son in 1995. She began serving on city council in 2015 and was appointed as mayor two years later. 

Earlier that same year, on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, the downtown block that held Ramsey’s Trailside, a lawyer’s office and a local boutique caught fire. Each business suffered varying degrees of damage. Ramsey’s Trailside was primarily water damaged, but the other establishments were badly burned. By Sunday, an engineer had surveyed the buildings and advised them where to place structural supports. All three owners invested in a total of approximately $8 million in repairs.

People hanging out at the Little Miami Scenic River in Loveland (photo by Rachael Jirousek)

Today, those buildings house Ramsey’s Trailside, Tano Bistro, a contemporary American restaurant with a rooftop bar, and Bishop’s Quarter, a New-Orleans inspired spot with a Southern-inspired menu. 

“It was terrible at the time,” Bailey says. “[But] there are a whole lot of positives that came from it.”

Like most cities, the mayor’s office is involved in the more unglamorous work of maintaining road and sewers, but Bailey has also made it a focus to upgrade streetscapes and create walkable connections in the city. 

That work has made downtown a focal point of community events such as Loveland Oktoberfest, Christmas in Loveland and Hearts Afire Weekend. For the latter, approximately 4,000 people flood the intersection of Loveland Avenue and Broadway Street each Valentine’s Day weekend for a heart-eyed party. The Loveland Stage Co. plays romantic comedies on its big screen, and a speed-dating event takes place at city hall. (One year, an ax-throwing company set up a station where attendees could bring a picture of their ex to place on the target.) 

“Every year, I dress like Elvis and I renew vows,” Bailey says. “One year, it was on the bike trail. I [officiated] for probably about 80 couples.”

Love is in the air year-round for the Loveland Valentine Ladies, an organization started by Doris Pfiester, resident and Little Miami River Chamber Alliance member, in 1971. Pfiester postmarked over 1,000 Valentine’s Day cards with a special slogan: “There is nothing in the world so sweet as love.” The phrase came from Roland Boike, former president of the Little Miami River Chamber Alliance in a push to showcase Loveland — at the time, a small, rural town — as a sort of Valentine’s Day capital. 

Interior of Simply Zero boutique in downtown Loveland (photo by Rachael Jirousek)

In 1989, the organization selected its first annual Valentine Lady, Pat Randolph, who was chosen as an ambassador for the city thanks to her passion for Loveland and devoted community service volunteering. Right along the Little Miami Bike Trail sits a large plaque describing the group’s origins and displaying their portraits, creating a permanent place of recognition for these locals who work to support their town.

Cynthia Tait, a Loveland resident since 1982, holds the 2026 honor. She was nominated by two friends and recognized during the Little Miami River Chamber Alliance’s annual Valentine’s Day breakfast. Firefighters escorted her into the center where the event was held, and she was serenaded — a barbershop group sang Bing Crosby’s “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” — and gifted a bouquet as an induction of sorts. 

Tait was recognized for assisting with the Loveland Shorts Film Festival and helping children in the elementary school with their coursework. This year, Tait has given speeches in nursing homes and done crafts with children at Bike Trail Books. Even after their tenure, the approximately dozen former honorees are committed to showing up, be it grabbing a cone on opening day of the Loveland Dairy Whip or riding in a car during the Independence Day parade. 

“Every time they open a business,” Tait says. “As many of us that can put on red and go.”

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