Construction has begun north from Hartford Road seemingly to connect to the southern most part of the Meredith State Road trail. The gaps are being filled in and this will be an awesome trail connecting Westerville and Columbus to Mt. Vernon and beyond when completed.

I roller skated from Nelsonville to Athens on a hot and muggy August Saturday morning. The tree canopy kept me cooler for the majority of the ride. However, it also provided many obstacles on the path. Twigs, branches, leaves, wet leaves, and wet moss made for a tricky skate at some points. If this path is dry and clear, it’s is a perfect long quad skate. Bridges are concrete so no issues with them. Glad I found it on my trip to Hocking Hills.

The Old Town Creek Trail is one of those trails where you question why it was included on the TrailLink.com website. It is a short, 1 mile long unimproved trail that doesn’t really go anywhere.

The trail consists of three different connected sections that run from the Hocking County Fairgrounds to Aqueduct Park. Aqueduct Park is a small park that commemorates a stone arch that used to support an Ohio-Erie Canal aqueduct over Old Town Creek. The arch is not marked and you have to go down a residential driveway next to the park’s parking lot to view it. As to the three sections each has its own type of surface. First up is the fairground section. I call it that because it appears to have been an old access road to the Hocking County Fairgrounds that is no longer useful in that capacity. The road surface consists mostly of gravel that is starting to be covered by grass. To reach this section of the trail from the fairgrounds you have to cross an old railroad (?) bridge over Old Town Creek. Once over the bridge you enter Old Town Creek Nature Preserve that apparently was created when the trail was created. The trail here has a few short hills that shouldn’t give any adult difficulties but young biking children might find it a bit challenging. This fairground section ends when you reach Front Street.

The Front Street section of the trail is an asphalt bike path that starts on the other side of Front Street and runs parallel and separate from the road. This .2 mile path takes you to the parking lot for Aqueduct Park. To actually view the remnants of the aqueduct you have to travel down a residential driveway that is adjacent to the park’s parking lot. However, the land around the aqueduct’s remaining stone arch has been graded in such a way that you really don’t know that it is anything other than a culvert that allows Old Town Creek to flow under Front Street. There is no marker right at the arch to indicate its historical significance. A sign is found by the park’s parking lot.

The final section of trail lies within Aqueduct Park and is a grassy ballast surface as it picks up an old railroad grade which heads south through the park and ends abruptly along the creek at an active railroad line.

At present, this trail appears to be primarily a hiking trail that connects Aqueduct Park with the Old Town Nature Preserve. This short trail is not one to go out of your way to visit unless you live near the city of Logan.

Have traveled Danville to Glenmont multiple times. The trail is mostly covered with shade from the trees and that is the reason I like riding it. I don't mind the horse poo on the trail just go around. What I do mind is the buggies not giving any room to pass. This weekend had two buggies not giving but a foot or two to pass around. Guess I'll need a rather loud horn rather than a bell from now on!

Last month, during my 3 day trip to explore a number of southern Ohio TrailLink.com-listed trails I had the pleasure of riding the Hockhocking Adena Bikeway. This 20.8 mile rail trail runs from the eastside of Athens to the center of Nelsonville, Ohio. I can easily say that this trail is the crown jewel of the bike trails in southeast Ohio. It is understandable that those people and entities working to complete the Moonville and Athens-Belpre Rail Trails are anxious to have their trails connected to the Hockhocking Adena Bikeway. The Hockhocking Adena Bikeway runs from County Road 24A east of Athens to the parking lot of the Rocky Outdoor Gear Store off of Myers Street in Nelsonville. During your ride you will pass through the Ohio University campus, and pass by the Ohio Health O’Bleness Hospital, the Eclipse Company Store Restaurant, the Bluebell Nature Preserve, the Tri-County Career Center, and ride through the Hocking College campus. When you arrive in Nelsonville make sure you check out the Hocking Valley Scenic Railroad Depot and the town’s historic district as well.

The trail generally follows the course of the Hocking River between Athens and Nelsonville. It is a mixture of shaded river woodlands and sun-drenched farmlands and college campuses. On this particular 90 degree day, when I was in the sun it was quite hot, but when riding in the shade of the woods it was fairly comfortable. There are a few trailheads along the route where water and bathrooms are available, but they are spaced out quite a bit so I suggest having plenty of water on hot days.
North of the Eclipse Company Store in The Plains there is not much in the way of amenities until you reach Hocking College outside of Nelsonville. You ride along mostly shaded nature preserves and more open farmland. There are three craft breweries in Athens: Jackie O’s Taproom, Devil’s Kettle Brewing and Little Fish Brewing Co. all which are adjacent to the bikeway. The Eclipse Company Store Craft Beer Hall in The Plains has local brews and great barbeque. If you are so inclined, seek out Multiple Brewing while in Nelsonville.

The bikeway is paved, and other than a mile of tree root uplift just north of the Eclipse Company Store in The Plains, is in very good condition. There were quite a few people out either walking, jogging, or riding the trail throughout its entire length, but the trail never seemed crowded. However, I can’t say how busy the Ohio University section of the bikeway would be when the Fall and Spring semesters are in session. Though I rode this trail in July heat, I’m certain that this trail would be absolutely spectacular during the Fall with the trees in their autumn colors. This trail is definitely one to seek out.

There is no parking at the north trailhead itself, but there are parking lots for some businesses very close.

The Athens-Belpre Rail Trail (ABRT) is an ambitious project that would connect the cities of Athens and Belpre, Ohio. Athens is home of Ohio University and the county seat of Athens County. Belpre is a city located on the Ohio River across from Parkersburg, West Virginia. If the Athens-Belpre Rail Trail is completed into Belpre, then a bridge connection over the Ohio River into Parkersburg could connect with the 72 mile long North Bend Trail which is planned to eventually connect with the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) somewhere near Pittsburgh. The ABRT would end up being somewhere around 40 miles in length when completed and would connect to the Hockhocking-Adena Bikeway in Athens.

Currently, there are three unconnected segments of trail located somewhat in the middle of what would be the completed trail. Together they total around 9.3 miles of trail. Since the trail is currently in the land acquisition phase, little has been done in terms of improving the current conditions of the acquired railroad right-of-way. This former B & O rail corridor also is the same right-of-way that the Moonville Rail Trail is based on.

When I checked out these 3 trail segments I started with the easternmost segment that the Athens-Belpre Rail Trail Steering Committee lists on their website. This is called the Ellis Road segment. It runs 1.7 miles from Ellis Road in the village of Torch, Ohio to the Athens-Washington County line on Township Road 297 near the Little Hocking Church of Christ. I started at Ellis Road but unfortunately was only able to complete .35 miles on an out-and-back ride on this grass-covered segment. When I reached the culvert “tunnel” that the trail uses to pass under the US-50/OH-32/OH-7 freeway, it was so full of soft mud it was literally impassable. So much for reaching the county line.

The second trail segment is named Torch West on the Athens-Belpre Rail Trail website. It starts on North Torch Road and heads west from there. There is a gap of about .4 miles between the Ellis Road trailhead and the start of the Torch West segment which is currently held in private hands. Of the three ABRT trail segments I rode, this one was the most scenic. The trail surface here was also grass-covered and soft in a number of spots but passable. As you ride this 1.6 mile segment you are quickly surrounded by trees and feel as though you are the only one around for miles and miles. You pass through a couple of hillside cuts until you reach a missing bridge over Skunk Run and must stop.

The westernmost of the three current ABRT segments is named the Frost Road segment as it parallels Frost Road (Athens County Rd 58) for most of its length. The trail surface of this segment was the best of the three as it consisted of 2 wheel tracks from cars using this segment as a Flood Emergency Route when the nearby Hocking River floods and closes Frost Road. This does not mean that this segment was a smooth ride. There were quite a few puddles in potholes and the trees and brush narrowed the trail significantly in spots. I traveled about 2.1 miles on this 6 mile segment before turning around. The trail surface was beginning to get pretty soft and I didn’t want to work harder to complete the last 2.5 miles (and back to my turn around point) after having spent all day in mid-90 degree heat.

The Athens-Belpre Rail Trail will be an achievement when it is completed. There is regional interest in creating this trail with several groups such as the Athens Conservancy 501(c)(3) land trust, The Belpre Multi-Use Trail Committee, and private and corporate donors working to acquire more of this 40 mile rail corridor. From what I can see, little will be done to improve the condition of the acquired trail segments until most of the route has been acquired. Therefore, I would suggest that this trail should be viewed as a hiking trail for the foreseeable future. If you are interested in biking what presently exists of this trail, wide-tired bikes are a must. Even when the entire right-of-way is purchased much work will need to be done to make this trail bikeable. The trail surface will need to be regraded and improved, drainage problem spots addressed, and numerous bridges repaired, replaced, or created. In fact, there are at least 6 crossings of the Hocking River where currently no bridge exists and each would be a major construction project. Perhaps if the Biden Administration can pass an infrastructure bill then funds might be available to speed up the development of this trail. At its current pace of development, however, it will be quite some time before anyone is riding a bike on a trail between Athens and Belpre, Ohio.

Last month I rode 10.2 miles on an out-and-back ride on the Moonville Trail starting in the Athens County hamlet of Mineral and riding west toward the town of Zaleski, Ohio. I made it about 2/3rds of the way to Zaleski, but once the trail surface changed to grass covered railway ballast I decided to turn around because I don’t think I could have withstood riding an additional four teeth-rattling miles.

The trail is currently being upgraded due to the federal government wanting to seal a bunch of old abandoned mines in the hills surrounding this old railway. According to workers I met repairing a pair of trail bridges, funds were granted to Vinton County to create the needed infrastructure to enable the equipment needed to seal these old mines to safely reach them. This means that all the bridges along the trail are being upgraded or replaced in order to carry trucks, other power equipment, and supplies needed to seal those old mines. The surface of the trail has had a crushed stone/dirt mix spread over the old railroad ballast surface up to the point where I turned around.

The trail is quite isolated so make sure you have plenty of water, a spare inner tube, and some repair tools. Most of the trail is shaded as it passes through Ohio's Zaleski State Forest. You will also pass by quite a few lakes and marshes as well as cross over the meandering, deep, and slow-moving Raccoon Creek numerous times. Bug repellant would be a good addition to have with you at certain times of the day and year. There certainly seems to be plenty of opportunity to see lots of wildlife, though current construction on the trail may have animals avoiding the trail during typical working hours.

Like several of the other TrailLink.com-listed trails in southern Ohio, the Moonville Rail Trail has tremendous potential, but is not yet ready to shine. I’ll have to come back in a few years when the work is done to give an updated review.

We rode this trail on a hot and humid day and enjoyed the shady tree canopy. The surface is currently crushed gravel not asphalt. We began at the surprisingly nice trailhead on the east end of Danville and continued over the covered bridge and through the short tunnel onto the southern section of the Holmes County Trail. At this point the trail was very nice asphalt and definitely a steady uphill!