“It’s been talked about around the campfire for decades,” said Buckeye Trail Association Executive Director Andrew Bashaw, adding that the effort didn’t get off the ground until 2021.
The designation would make the Buckeye Trail the fifth largest in the nation, as well as the only circumferential trail, or a trail that loops an entire state.
“We’re the longest loop trail in the country,” Bashaw said. “You’re never further than 90 minutes away in the state of Ohio from the Buckeye Trail.”
There are 11 National Scenic Trails in the U.S. to date, including the Appalachian Trail and the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. The most recent trail designation is the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail in 2009.
“What’s special about the Buckeye Trail is all the local, regional and nationally significant things that you get to experience by going that route ... from the the black and sandstone cliffs of Hocking Hills to the beaches of Lake Erie to the Great Black Swamp in northwest Ohio, there’s all those natural gems that we get to experience,” Bashaw said.
The National Park Service is conducting a feasibility study, approved by Congress in 2022. The meetings all across the state this week are part of that.
The recognition would unlock increased federal support, enhanced visibility, and expanded opportunities for economic development across Ohio.
“The point of getting any dollar, though, is really in support of the mission,” Bashaw said. “So the end goal, or the end tangible result, is the Buckeye Trail will be more invested in for improved maintenance, construction, preservation and promotion.”
“The indirect (result) that relates to that is just the designation is a recognition that the Buckeye Trail itself is a nationally significant asset to not only the people of Ohio, but all that come to visit.”
The full list of meetings on the topic is as follows:
- Monday, Jan. 13, from 4-7 p.m. at Cuyahoga Valley National Park – Hines Hill Conference Center, Peninsula;
- Tuesday, Jan. 14, from 4-7 p.m. at Henry County Hospital Heller Community Room, Napoleon;
- Wednesday, Jan. 15, from 4-7 p.m. at Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, Dayton;
- Thursday, Jan. 16, from 4-7 p.m. at Digital Futures Building, Cincinnati;
- Friday, Jan. 17, from 3-6 p.m. Athens Community Center, Athens;
- Thursday, Jan. 23, from 5:30-6:30 p.m., virtual meeting; to participate, visit the National Park Service meeting notice page: https://bit.ly/3DQYIE8.
If interested parties are unable to attend a public meeting, they can leave comments at the National Park Service’s project page: https://bit.ly/3WfGPFg.
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