The Ohio Erie to Trail: Building the Spine Across the Buckeye By Lee Chilcote State Photos by Leonardo Carrizo The Ohio to Erie Trail travels 300 miles from the Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati to the rolling hills of rural Amish country and on to the sandy shores of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland. When the trail is fi nally complete— more than 70 percent of it is open for use—it will be the longest paved off-road trail in the country. Along the way, it showcases the best of Ohio. >> Known as “Howard Tunnel,” the stone archway carrying U.S. Route 36 over the Kokosing Gap Trail in Knox County provides a perfect frame for Ohio’s scenic charm. railstotrails N fall.13 9 At left, a runner and her faithful companion stride out on Scioto Trail at North Bank Park, Columbus. !e trail navigates through charm- ing, historic towns such as London and captions Trails radiate from Xenia like sunbeams, Mount Vernon, and traverses pictur- including the Little Miami Scenic Trail, esque areas where Amish buggies can be Creekside Trail and the Prairie Grass Trail. seen rolling alongside bikers and hikers. Surfn Cycle and, above, Xenia Station, are Linking the “3C” cities—Cleveland, well-known stopping points in this hub for Columbus and Cincinnati—the Ohio to trail users. Below, participants in the Earth Day Challenge walk on the Kokosing Gap Trail Erie also allows users to travel between outside Mount Vernon. Ohio’s rural areas and the state’s major metros, which are now undergoing a For instance, on a short, 0.6-mile time from Columbus to scenic villages remarkable revitalization. stretch of trail now under construction farther south, creating more opportuni- Built on hundreds of miles of in Cleveland’s Flats—the historic birth- ties for tourism in Ohio’s small towns as reclaimed rail-trails and canal towpaths, place of the city—the once-decimated well as the state capital. the Ohio to Erie Trail was conceived Cuyahoga River is slowly coming back !e value of rail-trails in the heart of more than two decades ago as a focal to life, with blue herons roosting on the Columbus is already well established. point for recreation opportunities. Yet riverbanks where new fish habitat is being !e Olentangy Trail north of downtown the benefits have proved much broader. created. Nearby, $275 million is being draws thousands of joggers, walkers and Today, the trail is known for spurring invested in redeveloping the Flats East bike commuters each workday, foster- economic development, attracting tour- Bank commercial district to incorporate ing a morning and evening “rush hour.” ists and providing a valuable amenity to offices, housing, parkland and entertain- Increasingly, communities along the trail locals. ment venues. are considered desirable locations, a trend !e late Ed Honton, an avid In Columbus, the Camp Chase rail- that has encouraged fresh investment in Columbus cyclist considered the trail’s with-trail is taking shape along a historic the core city. visionary, would no doubt be delighted. railroad line. Once the trail bridges the !e Ohio to Erie Trail’s big impact From Cincinnati to Cleveland, the grad- formidable Interstate Highway 270, users has impressed Jerry Rampelt, executive ual, mile-by-mile progress of the Ohio to will be able to travel off-road for the first director of the Ohio to Erie Trail Fund, Erie Trail is building a statewide network that is revitalizing communities big and small. Wealth of Connections “What was once a nice city or local project now becomes a project of much broader importance, because of the wealth of connections and the potential of these connections,” says Eric Oberg, manager of trail development with the Midwest office of Rails to Trails Conservancy, which has helped local communities complete the trail. 10 railstotrails N fall.13 90 e CONNECTING THE r i L a k e E OHIO TO ERIE 80 90 cuyahoga Cleveland Ohio to Erie Trail Recent major construction highlights (From south to north) Total trail length: 320 miles 80 Map Illustration summit • Four-mile extension of the Little Miami Trail surface: Asphalt or 76 by Danielle Marks crushed limestone Akron Scenic Trail, south from Milford to Newtown. 71 wayne stark Danielle Marks Design • Creation of the 6.5-mile Roberts Pass 364 Lakeview Drive Trail in Madison County, from London Hartfield, VA 23071-3110 holmes northeast to the county line. OHMt. Vernon IO • Completion of Phases 1 and 2 of the Camp 804 238-1539 Centerburg knox coshocton Chase Rail-Trail, from the eastern end [email protected] delaware of the Roberts Pass Trail to Georgesville, 75 licking 270 west of Columbus. www.daniellemarks.com 70 clark London Columbus • Construction of a 9.4-mile paved franklin 70 connection between Centerburg in Knox All artwork © 2013 madison Xenia 77 County, to the western terminus of the Danielle Marks 71 greene Kokosing Gap Trail in Mount Vernon. • A 6.4-mile extension of the Holmes warren County Trail, from Millersburg to Killbuck. 275 Loveland hamilton • Completion of the Ohio & Erie Canalway 01020304050 map illustration Cincinnati by daniellemarks.com Towpath Trail (Summit section) through clermont MILES downtown Akron. O • A 1-mile extension of the Ohio & Erie h i o R i v e r N Canalway Towpath Trail (Cuyahoga section) through the Steelyard Commons in Cleveland. On the horizon a nonprofi t organization that coordinates, Adding Value manages and raises funds for trail devel- When Don Mills became involved in (From south to north) opment across the state. pushing for completion of the Little • The Ohio River Way project to connect “I often joke that trails are like potato Miami Scenic Trail, a rail-trail that runs the southern terminus of the Little chips—I’ve never eaten just one,” he says. through fi ve counties in southwest Ohio, Miami Scenic Trail and the Ohio River in “Once a trail has gone in, people want to some of his neighbors in the Cincinnati downtown Cincinnati. know, ‘How come we don’t have more? suburb of Terrace Park stopped speaking • Completion of the fi nal 4 miles of the Why isn’t it fi nished yet?’ We’ve had all to him. ! ey feared a trail through their Camp Chase Rail-Trail through Columbus’ kinds of development activity going on community would cause home values to west side. along the trail.” Rampelt cites a major decline. A decade later, however, they’re • Closing the gap between northern housing project under way along the humming a new tune. Franklin County and the southern end trail in Akron and the redevelopment “People have taken me out to dinner of the Heart of the Ohio Trail in Knox of downtown Loveland, about 20 miles and apologized,” he says. “! ey’ve real- County. northeast of Cincinnati, with bike shops, ized I’ve not devalued their house but • Completion of the Ohio & Erie Canalway restaurants and new stores. actually increased the value of their prop- Towpath Trail through Scranton Peninsula “We’re moving from ideas and long- erty.” Indeed, a 2011 study completed by term projections to actual mileage on the researchers at the University of Cincinnati in downtown Cleveland. ground, and that’s exciting,” adds Oberg. showed that for every foot closer a house • Completion of the Ohio & Erie Canalway “! ere’s knowledge in cities now—they is to a trail, its value goes up by $9. In Towpath Trail through the Cuyahoga understand the trail’s signifi cance and other words, owners are willing to pay a River Valley to Lake Erie. how it relates to the kind of communities $9,000 premium to be 1,000 feet nearer they want to build.” a trail. railstotrails N fall.13 11 Below, the Holmes County Trail has made buggy travel much safer for the local Amish communities; at right, cyclists and runners share the Ohio & Erie Canalway Towpath Trail in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. captions Ryan McKenzie, a bike mechanic at Century Cycles in Peninsula, makes repairs for a visiting customer. The towpath trail runs through this picturesque village, and trail tourism supports a number of local businesses. It took much of the last decade for the work. When it’s done, cyclists will Mills and others to succeed in getting be able to commute into downtown on the trail built through Terrace Park. an off-road, paved trail—enhancing the Now trail advocates are pushing to bike-friendliness of a city that is in the continue it into downtown Cincinnati, throes of revitalization. a planning challenge that is among the Twenty-three miles north of thorniest in all Ohio. Cincinnati, the Ohio to Erie Trail has “!is is the southern completion made the small town of Loveland a of the Ohio to Erie Trail—the last recreation destination and attracted more 3.7 miles,” says Mills. “!e City of economic activity to its center. Loveland Cincinnati wanted it next to the Ohio is now seen as an outdoor activity hub River, but the riverbank was giving way, that connects visitors to recreation oppor- and industries wouldn’t let it go behind tunities throughout the region—from their facilities for security reasons.” !e Xenia to Cincinnati, Columbus and solution, he believes, is to build the trail beyond. alongside the dormant Oasis railroad “With its amazing setting right on the line. Hopeful that the line could soon be Little Miami River, Loveland was primed reactivated for light rail service, officials for this renaissance,” says Oberg. “What initially resisted the idea. Now they have the trail did was turn many of the busi- embraced the idea of a “rail-with-trail” nesses’ back doors into their front doors, into downtown.