Lunken Airport – LUK

Nice park, nice bike trail, nice.

Small local airport with few options of private/​charter flights. What is most attractive for me is the flat paved 5-​mile loop around the green airfield, perfect for biking or jogging. In the evening there is a lot of cardinals and if you are lucky you may meet a deer! There is a bathroom and a restaurant at the small Airport Terminal. The Lunken loop is connected to Armleder park, which makes the ride/​run even nicer and longer. Very nice place :)

Excellent location to park and jump on the Ohio River Trail with your bike! Or even just take the loop around the airfield for a quick and pretty easy 5 miler.

I had the opportunity to do a training run here at the 2.5 mile (flat) loop recently. Great place with easy access parking but apparently no bathroom. Oh well. I think I eventually saw one on the golf course. I’ve been inside this place probably a decade and a half ago, so I can’t comment on the «airporty» aspect of it, but everything else is fine. If you are looking for a nice flat (but rather boring one apart from the occasional plane landing/​taking off) route to walk/​run/​cycle, check out Lunken.
Along the route is a memorial to the cyclist Andrew Gast that was killed earlier this year
Pay attention drivers, cyclists have a right to be on the road too.
*Cool trivia: look for the single black brick on the tower marking where the 1937 flood crested.
The Little Miami River snaked through the middle of the present Lunken airfield. It was rerouted.
The first settlers in 1788 settled pretty much smack dab where the airport is. Neat!

There was a time when air travel was romantic. A time when planes were beautiful (who wouldn’t want to fly in a DC-​3 or Lockheed Constellation) where stewardesses were attractive and pleasant, where fliers weren’t nickled and dimed and paid to be herded like cattle and where you didn’t have to forfeit your Constitutional rights to board a plane.
But also where airports were destinations in themselves.
Like most under 50 (or higher) I missed that and miss it.
I walked around Lunken on a sunny day admiring the architecture of the building (what can only be described as Cincinnati-​deco), listened to the heels of a few workers and possibly ghosts click against the tiled floor inside. It may need a bit of TLC but it’s a beautiful structure built by a proud and optimistic people who not 30 years before were shackled to the ground by gravity and learned to overcome it.
I sensed that in the air at Lunken.
I read recently that it takes longer now to fly to New York to L.A. than it did in the 1950s — when you factor in ticket purchasing time, baggage check and the post-​9/​11 security scan/​rights violations. I can’t confirm that fact but I sense it’s true.
As Americans we have a faith that things always improve and progress, but they don’t do they? Renaissance architects had to relearn how the Roman’s built domes 500 years before. Somewhere the knowledge was lost. Things can and do get worse. Air travel is one. Maybe we can get back to it but I doubt anytime soon. Maybe like the Italians in the 1400s, we have to wait for it to all fall apart and start over again.

The walking trail has too many black snakes. Therefore not a great place to take your dog.

Great place! I love to do my runs here, eat at the Sky Galley restaurants and watch the planes land. They also have shows every once and awhile on vintage planes which is a great experience and great opportunity for photo ops.
I love how old and vintage this place is.

This, my friends, is an airport. When we, as a people, first took flight and broke the bounds of gravity, this is the place we hung out at and made it happen.
Located within 5 miles of downtown Cincinnati, Lunken was Cincinnati’s main airport for many years providing the Queen City with a convenient and (at the time) modern airport. At the time the property was first donated to the city it was the largest airfield in the world. Over the years she has seen aviation go from it’s infancy, to it’s hey-​day, and she has the scars and stories to prove it. Her art-​deco walls are painted in beautiful art and drenched in history. From the 1937 flood that filled all the way up past the terminal’s ceilings to landings by past, current, and future presidents, to the hero’s welcome offered Lindbegh, The Beatles, and Ken Griffey Junior, Lunken has been and continues to be a place of celebration.
Today, the majority of traffic that Lunken sees is private pilots and executive travel, although charter flights are starting to become more popular as rates at the local international airport as well as security lines are moving people away. With easy parking located across the street, people are seeing the benefit of using smaller airports rather than their much larger cousins.
Lunken is also a great place to learn to fly. There are a couple schools on the premises (Lunken Flight Training Center, Flamingo) and both of these schools also offer scenic flights around Cincinnati.
With a shop in the terminal that sells general aviation necessities (maps, headsets), Lunken is a fantastic place to stop by for pilots.
Other than air traffic, Lunken is also a great place for exercise. A 5 mile loop around the airport offers great views of planes to those who wish to walk /​run /​bike /​rollerblade the loop. There is also a pretty decent 18 hole golf course adjacent to the airport that is run by Cincinnati Recreation (Which means cheap green fees).
Of course, as with any great airport, there is also great food. The Sky Galley offers fantastic food and drink at prices that aren’t sky high (pun intended). Check their Unilocal reviews.
One of Cincinnati’s finest gems, Lunken will continue to keep our eyes and minds towards the clouds for years to come.

There’s an airport here? Who knew with all of the great other things to do!
There’s a cute little terminal with a gift shop and a restaurant. Ballfields and Reeves Golf Course claim Lunken as their home. Aside from Reeves being a great golf course I also really enjoy the run/​bike trail.
The trail runs around the entire airport in a 5mile loop. It is clearly marked with bricks in the path every ½ mile and the zero mark is next to the ball fields and mile marker 1 is just short of the terminal building. It is very flat, and about half shaded. There are two short but very steep hills that are definitely hard but short lived. There is little lighting on the path for late running but there are usually a lot of people out here. If you like to walk, bike, run, or rollerblade this is a great place to exercise.

Lunken Airport is more than just an airport that caters to private plane owners and small commercial airlines. Sure it has all the amenities of a small airport. Small planes. Airfield. Control Tower. Hangers. But it also has so much more. Bike trail. Playground. Athletic fields. Golf course. Driving range. Lunken Airport was built not just for those in need of a plane, but as a gathering place for members of the community.
Lunken also enjoys some pretty impressive history. Charles Linbergh landed here. So did Howard Hughes. And Jimmy Doolittle. Presidents have landed here. And most impressively, in 1964, the Beatles landed at Lunken Aiport.
I’ve taken my kids here to enjoy the playground and run around the playing fields. I’ve also taken them to the annual «Open House» that Lunken offers. You can go inside and tour the airport’s facilities where you’ll be treated to a diner-​style restaurant that makes you feels as if you’ve been catapulted back into the 1960’s. And while you eat, you can enjoy some very impressive artwork. Oh, and if you have a hankerin’ to learn to fly, just stop by the Flight School. But the best part of that day is the opportunity to walk through a number of planes, specifically the luxurious private planes, and experience, just for a little bit, what the rich and powerful get to enjoy.
It’s more than just an airport. It’s an event.
Mahalo, and enjoy.

This place may be an airport, but it has so much more to offer. It’s a very small commercial and private airport. The majority of the planes that fly in and out are private and chartered flights. When political dignitaries such as the president fly into the area, they tend to land their planes here.
Lunken airport also offers a bike path, a giant playground, a half pipe, driving range, tennis courts, and a state of the art golf course. The bike path is really enjoyable. It goes back in the woods by the Little Miami River and is so peaceful for biking, roller blading, walking, or jogging. It circles the entirety of the airport at a total of around 6 miles. I had a lot of fun at the playground growing up. It’s got everything a playground should have, but also has trucks and planes that kids can climb on!
A few of the buildings feature some really beautiful art deco architecture and decorations. One such place is the building that holds the Sky Galley Restaurant.
Fancy a day outdoors with lots of different activities? This is the place to go!