Written Directions
This describes the route westward from Oxford to Brookville. From the Miami University Art Museum on US-27 in Oxford, take Chestnut Street west, through the south part of town. As you exit the city, this becomes Brookville Road. Just past the Brookville Road Baptist Church, take the left turn onto Oxford Pike. Follow Oxford Pike through Mixerville and through a 90-degree right turn as you leave town. Oxford Pike winds through vast cornfields all the way to Brookville. Entering Brookville, turn right on Wildcat Lane for a short connector to Indiana route 101, where you can turn left (SW) to enter the town of Brookville or right (NE) to tour the several Brookville Lake access roads.
Scenery
This is a short, leisurely tour connecting destinations each worth its own tour, the scenic college town of Oxford, Ohio and the recreation mecca of Brookville Lake, Indiana. In between is a narrow, unpainted strip of asphalt that looks more like a bike path than a road, in good condition, winding through vast cornfields and occasional farmhouses. It gave me the same sensation of serene isolation, or insulation from the world, as from immersion in an Edward Hopper painting.
I took the route on a Saturday afternoon and encountered no traffic at all until, near the end, someone pulled in front of me with a giant boat headed for Brookville Lake. The narrow road made it unsafe to pass, so I toughed it out for the last couple of miles till he turned off.
Drive Enjoyment
The road has excellent pavement, is quite narrow and unmarked, just a strip through the cornfields. It has numerous curves punctuating long straightaways. To me, it was enough twisty to be fun for a leisurely cruise, taken as a package with the scenery and the isolation.
Tourism Opportunities
The "roadside amenities" are strictly at the two ends of the route. Thre is nothing but scenery in between.
At the east is Oxford Ohio, home to Miami University, "the Harvard of the Midwest" a campus celebrated for is Georgian architecture. Uptown Oxford is a thriving college nightlife spot with numerous and varied restaurants and bars. There is plenty of hotel capacity built for college parents and homecoming visitors, so rooms are easy to find if you don't pick the wrong weekend.
At the west end is the town of Brookville, Indiana, Brookville Lake, and the Mounds State Recreation Area. This is a favorite weekend destination for powerboat owners and motorcyclists, judging from the number of bikes I passed in just an hour cruise up and down the lake. The area is hilly and cut through with rivers and creeks, so I am guessing there are many good riding roads I have yet to discover.
