Wabash Cannonball Trail
Wabash Cannonball Trail | |
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Westbound tandem with picnic basket at Rotary Park
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Rails to Trails | |
Established | 1995 |
Length | Williams County: 9 mi. Fulton County: 26 mi. Lucas County: 22 mi. Henry County: 6 mi. Total: 63 miles |
Location | ![]() ![]() |
Designation | North Country National Scenic Trail [1][2] |
Trailheads | ![]() |
Use | Hiking, Bicycling, Cross Country Skiing, Equestrian |
Highest point | 879 feet (268 m) |
Lowest point | 640 feet (200 m) |
Grade | flat to gentle railroad grades |
Trail difficulty | ![]() |
Months | 12 |
Waymark | |
Sights | Oak Openings Preserve Metropark Fraker Mill Covered Bridge Wabash Railroad caboose [4] |
Hazards | US and State Route crossings |
Surface | Lucas County: all paved[5] Fulton County: 2 miles paved[6] remainder: gravel[7] |
Right of way | Wabash Railroad |
Website | http://wabashcannonballtrail.org |
The Wabash Cannonball Trail is a rail to trail conversion in northwestern Ohio, U.S. It is 63 miles (101 km) long.[8] The North Fork of the Wabash Cannonball Trail is part of the North Coast Inland Trail, which plans to fully connect Indiana to Pennsylvania,[5][9] and portions of the trail are included in the North Country National Scenic Trail.[1][2]
Contents
History
The Wabash Railroad line used by the trail was first built in 1855, and service continued until 1969. The Norfolk Southern Railway then purchased it. The rails were finally abandoned in 1990. Local enthusiasts developed the idea of creating a public recreational trail and utility corridor. On March 24, 1994, the corridor was purchased from Norfolk Southern.[10]
The name Wabash Cannonball stems from an 1882 American folk song about an imaginary train.[11] No train actually had the name until 1949, when the Wabash Railroad actually named its Detroit-St. Louis day train as the Cannon Ball.[12]
Other rail-to-trail conversions of the Wabash Railroad in the Midwestern region include the Kiwanis Trail in Adrian, Michigan, the Wabash Heritage Trail in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the Wabash Trail in Sangamon County, Illinois.
Location
North Fork: The northern section of the trail roughly parallels both the Ohio Turnpike I-80/90 and US Route 20A for about 43 miles starting in Maumee, and extending through Monclova, Wauseon, and West Unity, ending at its western trailhead near Montpelier, Ohio.
South Fork: A second, additional 18-mile spur runs from Maumee southwest to near Liberty Center, Ohio. That trailhead has a parking area near Whitehouse, Ohio.[13]
Condition: All portions of the trail in Lucas County are paved.[7][14] A 2-mile section of the trail in Fulton County, owned by the city of Wauseon, also is paved.[6][15][16] The remainder of the North Fork in Fulton and Williams counties are unpaved, as is the South Fork in Henry County.[7]
Trail Section | County | Township | Distance[17][18][19] | Surface [7] | Crossings | Notes | |
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(mi) | (km) | ||||||
North Fork North Fork North Fork |
Lucas | Monclova | 0 | 0 | Paved | Jerome Road | ![]() |
0.2 | 0.32 | Fork branches South | |||||
1.7 | 2.7 | Waterville-Monclova Road | ![]() |
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2.7 | 4.3 | Keener Road | ![]() ![]() |
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Swanton | 6.5 | 10.5 | ![]() |
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | |||
7.3 | 11.7 | Evergreen Lake Trail | Oak Openings Preserve Metropark trail. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Bathrooms and parking located one mile south at Ranger Station. ![]() ![]() |
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9.0 | 14.5 | ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
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Fulton | Swan Creek | 15.2 | 24.5 | Cinder, Gravel, Dirt, Grass |
Fraker Mill Covered Bridge [21] | Crosses Bad Creek, near Delta Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | |
York | 15.5 | 24.9 | ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
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19.5 | 31.4 | County Road 11 | Two mile detour on County Road F, from County Road 11 to County Road 13 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | ||||
Clinton | 21.5 | 34.6 | Paved | County Road 13 | Paved trail maintained by City of Wauseon Parks. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | ||
22.5 | 36.2 | ![]() |
Busy crossing Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | ||||
22.7 | 36.5 | Rotary Park, Wauseon | ![]() ![]() |
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23.5 | 37.8 | Automotive Parts Factory | Pavement ends. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. One mile detour on County Road F via Krieger St. | ||||
24.5 | 39.4 | Cinder, Gravel, Dirt, Grass |
County Road 16 | Detour to County Road F. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | |||
German | 30.4 | 48.9 | ![]() |
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | |||
32.8 | 52.8 | County Road 23 (old SR 66) | ![]() |
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33.3 | 53.6 | Tiffin River bridge.[22][23] | Large railroad bridge north of north of Archbold. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | ||||
33.6 | 54.1 | ![]() |
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | ||||
Williams | Brady | 38.3 | 61.6 | Wabash Park, West Unity | ![]() ![]() |
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Jefferson | 38.7 | 62.3 | ![]() |
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | |||
44.7 | 71.9 | ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
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South Fork | Lucas | Monclova | 0 | 0 | Paved | Jerome Road | ![]() |
0.2 | 0.32 | Forks branch | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | ||||
0.8 | 1.3 | The Shops at Fallen Timbers | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | ||||
Providence | 6.2 | 10.0 | ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
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7.5 | 12.1 | ![]() |
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | ||||
10.2 | 16.4 | Neapolis | ![]() |
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Henry | Washington | 14.7 | 23.7 | Cinder, Gravel, Dirt, Grass |
Colton | ![]() |
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16.9 | 27.2 | County Road 6C | ![]() |
Note: Distance information about the trail differs slightly from one source to another based on whether missing sections of the trail are counted or not. Some sources say the north fork is 43 miles (not counting missing sections,) others say 45 miles (counting the missing sections) and others 47 miles (counting detour mileage.)
External links
- Traillink: Wabash Cannonball Trail, North and South Fork
- Google Maps: Wabash Cannonball Trail (North Fork)
- Google Maps: Wabash Cannonball Trail (South Fork)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- Articles with Geo
- Pages with broken file links
- Rail trails in Ohio
- Protected areas of Fulton County, Ohio
- Protected areas of Lucas County, Ohio
- Visitor attractions in Fulton County, Ohio
- Visitor attractions in Lucas County, Ohio
- Visitor attractions in Henry County, Ohio
- Visitor attractions in Toledo, Ohio
- Protected areas of Henry County, Ohio
- Bike paths in Ohio
- Cycleways in the United States
- Rail trails in the United States