Welcome to Sayler Park, CityBeat readers. I’m Katherine Barrier, CityBeat‘s digital editor, lifelong West Sider and your tour guide today through this small riverside community, which is also the city of Cincinnati’s westernmost neighborhood. And while it is a city neighborhood, when you visit, you’ll notice it also has the charm of a small town, with deep community and family ties, the characteristic West Side friendliness and a rich history.

Before being annexed by the city in 1911, Sayler Park was originally four villages: Home City, Fern Bank, Delhi and Industry, which later became part of the Delhi section after the match company there burned down, according to the historical society. Nowadays, it’s home to a number of small businesses, parks and recreation spaces, all of which we’re going to enjoy on this tour. Buckle up; we’re heading to an adorable coffee shop, doing some hiking, drinking beer and more in this guide on how to spend a day in Sayler Park.

Ride the Historic Anderson Ferry 4030 River Road, Constance & 1 Anderson Ferry Road, Riverside You can feel free to skip this part of the Sayler Park journey, but I wanted to include it for the sake of the experience. We’re starting this day trip off on the other side of the Ohio River in Constance, Kentucky, where you’re going to get on the historic Anderson Ferry. The ferry has been transporting folks across the river from Ohio to Kentucky and vice versa since 1817 and has rightly earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. While the first ferry was wooden and the paddlewheels turned as horses walked along a treadmill, your journey across nowadays will be a much smoother ride. Just follow the line of other cars to board the ferry, pay your toll and let the captain do the rest while you sit back and enjoy the scenes of the beautiful Ohio River as the West Side of Cincinnati comes into view. Photo: facebook.com/anderson.ferry.photos
Grab a Pastry and Coffee for Breakfast at Sayler Park Coffee 6557 Gracely Drive, Sayler Park Now that you’ve disembarked from the ferry (or once you’ve navigated your way to Sayler Park), we’re going to start the day out at Sayler Park Coffee for some pastries and coffee. You’ll find this cute coffee shop in the heart of the neighborhood, where community is everything. Community is an important part of Sayler Park Coffee’s ethos, and 100% of their profits go toward supporting projects and organizations that benefit Sayler Park and its neighbors. Locally roasted Deeper Roots coffee is on the menu, along with tea, smoothies, Italian sodas and sweet treats like cookies and croissants. The baristas are friendly, so don’t be afraid to ask for their recommendations or strike up a conversation. When the weather’s nice, sit outside at one of the sidewalk tables, or enjoy the coziness of the shop, which has comfortable seating and plenty of natural light. Photo: Megan Northrup/facebook.com/SaylerParkCoffee
Lace Up Your Boots and Hike at the Buckeye Trace Nature Preserve Trailhead is located at Hillside Avenue near Rockaway Avenue, Sayler Park After you’ve fueled up for the day, it’s time to get outside and explore Sayler Park. A good place to start is Buckeye Trace, a nature preserve owned by Western Wildlife Corridor. This 20-acre forested space offers three trails — Meadow Trail, Box Turtle Trail and Incline Trail — for about three-quarters of a mile of easy to strenuous hiking. While the preserve used to be a sand mining operation, ongoing woodland restoration and trail improvements have turned this into a beautiful place to go bird-watching, enjoy native wildflowers and spot creatures like box turtles and tree frogs. Photo: google.com/maps/Buckeye Trace Nature Preserve
Hit the Links at the Fernbank Golf Course 7036 Fernbank Ave., Sayler Park If you’re not much of a hiker, or if you want to continue your outdoor adventure, our next stop is the Fernbank Golf Course. We’re hitting the links at this executive, nine-hole course that’s been described as “brilliantly quirky.” The first hole is 254 yards and a par 4, which stretches almost entirely across the property, including five of the eight other holes. The property features plenty of trees, crossing fairways and even an Indian mound, making for a challenging, but fun, golf outing. There are no designated tee times; patrons are just asked not to come during league times. The course also serves food, including burgers, hot dogs, wings, and all-day, everyday breakfast sandwiches, and there’s an outdoor courtyard with plenty of picnic tables for relaxing and socializing. Photo: facebook.com/Fernbank Golf Course
Visit the A Day in the Life of Sayler Park Mural and Get Some Snacks at the Riverview Drive-Thru 6356 Gracely Drive, Sayler Park After all that activity, it’s time to slow down a little. We’re heading to the Riverview Drive-Thru on Gracely Dr. to grab some snacks of choice. They also have an extensive collection of alcoholic beverages, including local craft beers, if you want to stock up and bring these home with you (or to our dinner stop). After your quick snack stop, be sure to take the time to admire the beautiful mural across the street from the drive-thru. A Day in the Life of Sayler Park depicts the history, culture and small-town feel of the community and was painted by ArtWorks Cincinnati in partnership with the Sayler Park Village Council. The mural was designed to be like a scrapbook that honors both the past and present of Sayler Park, as well as the deep family and community ties within the neighborhood. Photo: artworkscincinnati.org
Relax in Nelson Sayler Memorial Park 6600 Gracely Drive, Sayler Park We’re going to take our snacks and visit the community park in the heart of the neighborhood, Nelson Sayler Memorial Park. This little square park is situated between Gracely, Monitor, Parkland and Thelma and is named after one of the area’s earliest settlers and the first mayor of Sayler Park, Nelson Sayler. There’s plenty of benches, picnic tables and green space for you to sit and relax with a book or podcast and just enjoy the day. The park is also the site for a lot of community events, including Sayler Park’s Oktoberfest, environmental festival Sayler Park Sustains and the Tuesday farmers market from June to September. Photo: cincinnati-oh.gov
Have Lunch and a Beer at 13 Below Brewery and Incline Smoke Shack 7391 Forbes Road, Sayler Park If you’re visiting on the weekend and now ready for lunch, it’s time to head to our next stop, 13 Below Brewery. The micro craft brewery and its on-site BBQ food truck, Incline Smoke Shack, open in the late afternoon during the week, but at noon on the weekends, making it a great lunch spot. Incline Smoke Shack has a variety of sandwiches (the brisket grilled cheese and turkey club are amazing), bar fare appetizers (I recommend the sauerkraut balls or tater kegs), salads and sides, including mac and cheese, Mexican street corn and onion petals. Once you’ve ordered, head inside the brewery for one of their brews — popular choices include the Belgian tripel Wedding Day, witbier Submerged and Czech lager Fernbank. 13 Below also offers delicious beertails and a handcrafted seltzer that comes in over a dozen flavors. The brewery is family-friendly, as well as dog-friendly both outside and inside. Come back on a Thursday for trivia night and some friendly competition. Photo: Facebook.com/13belobrewery
Take a Walk at Fernbank Park 50 Thornton Ave., Sayler Park Once you’re done with your meal and ready to move some more, you can walk from 13 Below to one of the West Side’s best gems: Fernbank Park. This peaceful park offers a 1.2-mile paved walking loop that has gorgeous river views and shaded benches that are perfect for a break to rest or people-watch. Fernbank also has the 1-mile Sycamore Trail that takes you through the woods, a playground for the kids and plenty of green space for relaxing or tossing a ball around with your family. Photo: facebook.com/GreatParksHC
19. Buddha Barn 6625 Gracely Drive, Sayler Park “I’m embarrassed it’s taken us so long to finally get food from Buddha Barn given how close we live to this restaurant and how often I’ve heard such wonderful reviews. I’ll chalk it up to always wanting it on Mondays when they are closed… lol! Wow, words really can’t describe how mouth-wateringly delectable our food was… and I don’t think it’s just because we were hungry! We got the eggplant ginger, crispy chicken, chicken pad Thai and chicken fried rice and every single item really hit the spot! Portions are huge, prices are reasonable for Thai food takeout. The only downside was they didn’t have any appetizers left when we ordered, but next time I’ll just make sure to order earlier! They are definitely doing some amazing business and are super busy which I think speaks to the yumminess and authenticity of the food here! What an unexpected gem in Sayler park – glad we finally came and will definitely return soon!” — Erin M. Photo: buddhabarnthai.com Photo: buddhabarnthai.com
See a Movie at Parkland Theater 6550 Parkland Ave., Sayler Park Our final stop in Sayler Park is the historic Parkland Theater where we’re going to catch a flick. First opened in 1881 as a vaudeville house, Parkland Theater turned into a movie house during the silent film era of the ‘20s and still maintains some of its vaudevillian history: the theater had a stage with trap doors that are still used for the occasional live performance. Parkland Theater offers 7 p.m. showings of their family-friendly movie of the week on Fridays and Saturdays and is the cheapest first-run (the first release of films) movie theater in the city at only $8 a ticket. The theater also offers comfortable seating, a concession stand with snacks and hot food and alcoholic beverages. Photo: parklandtheater.com
No. 2 Outdoor/Patio Dining: Cabana on the River 7445 Forbes Road, Addyston Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Katherine Barrier is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s journalism program and has nearly 10 years of experience reporting local and national news as a digital journalist. At CityBeat, she...