Shawnee Lookout Park has several miles of trails. The combination of trails through the forested hillsides and overlooks of the expansive views from the ridge top of the Ohio and Great Miami River Valleys make the Shawnee Lookout Park one of the most scenic park destinations in Ohio. The Miami Fort Trail is a 1.4 mile loop trails that winds through and around the earthworks along the ridge top.
The name Miami Fort may be a misrepresentation of why the ancient earthworks were constructed. At other mound-building locations, such as at Fort Ancient and Hopewell Culture NHP sites, the earthen border walls are interpreted as ceremonial sites (and not used as fortifications). However, the hilltop in the strategic location overlooking the confluence of the Ohio and Great Miami Rivers. Possibly in time of conflict, the site may have been used as fortification as well. This location was a place where tribes from different groups would have passed through in prehistoric times, likely sometimes in conflict with each other.
A park display sign states: "In the 1700’s, the Shawnee, Wyandot, Mingo, Miami, and other tribes hunted and fought battles in the region and beyond. The strategic location of the ridge top near major waterways, abundant wildlife and elevated positions provided an attractive place for prehistoric Indians to establish campsites and villages, and to construct burial mounds an earthworks."
