Camp Chase Trail Explained

Camp Chase Trail
Location:Madison and Franklin counties, Ohio, United States
Length:15.2miles
Trailheads:Lilly Chapel to N. Eureka Ave. in Columbus, Ohio
Use:Paved Multi-use
Difficulty:Easy (fully accessible)
Season:Year-round

The Camp Chase Trail is a paved multi-use trail in Madison and Franklin counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. It serves as the Southwest Columbus segment of the 326miles[1] Ohio to Erie Trail. The entire length of the Camp Chase Trail is part of the Great American Rail-Trail, U.S. Bicycle Route 21 and U.S. Bicycle Route 50.[2] [3]

History

See main article: Camp Chase. Camp Chase Trail is named for the Camp Chase Railway it parallels. During the American Civil War, Camp Chase was a military staging and training camp for Union forces, and a prison camp for Confederates. All that remains of the camp today is a Confederate Cemetery containing 2,260 graves, located at 2900 Sullivant Ave. It was named for former Ohio Governor and Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase. Four future Presidents passed through Camp Chase as Union soldiers: Andrew Johnson, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, and William McKinley.

To create the Camp Chase trail, the Columbus and Franklin County Metropolitan Park District worked with the Camp Chase Rail Company to manage the regulations and construction requirements needed to acquire an easement alongside active railroad tracks,[4] finalizing the easement in 2009.[4] The trail was completed in 2015.[5]

The bike trail is one of the few in the United States that is a rails with trails, meaning the trail runs within an active railroad right-of-way.[4] The Camp Chase Trail has more than 12 miles of the bike trail existing within the railroad right-of-way. As of 2018, there were 343 identified rails with trails in the United States, comprising 917 miles of trails in 47 states. By comparison, there are currently 2,404 open rail-trails across the United States comprising a total of 25,723 miles along with 867 rail-trail projects planned for an additional total of 9,147 miles.[6]

A number of design elements separate the twelve-foot-wide trail from the rail line, including fencing, grade separation and ditching. As part of the agreement that resulted in the creation of the bike trail, the trail owners indemnify the railroad company. A bridge built for the bike trail provides a way for pedestrians to cross Interstate 270 instead of trespassing on the railroad bridge, as frequently happened before the trail was built. The trail manager is required to provide the railroad with advance notification of work on the trail and trail maintenance staff "attend railroad safety classes to adequately prepare them for the responsibilities and limitations of working within an active rail corridor." The trail has seven railroad crossings, the most of any rails with trails.

Location

Route

The Camp Chase Trail is, with in Madison County and in Franklin County. The Camp Chase Trail extends from Lilly Chapel (Roberts Pass Trail) to the Columbus Hilltop Neighborhood where it connects to the Scioto Greenway Trail. The approximate midpoint of the trail is in Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park where it crosses the confluence of the Big and Little Darby Creeks.

The follows alongside the Camp Chase Railway except for a short stint along Big Darby Creek and a one mile diversion along Georgesville Road in Columbus.[7] The Camp Chase Trail has been complete from the conjunction with the Roberts Pass trail at the Wilson Road Trailhead in Madison County, Ohio to the intersection with Sullivant Avenue in Franklin County since 2015.[8] The City of Columbus approved funding for the final 3 miles of the Camp Chase Trail from Georgesville Road to North Eureka Ave. on November 3, 2014.[9] and completed it December 2016. In July 2019, the trail connector parallel to Georgesville Road and Sullivant Ave was opened and replaced the Industrial Mile Road section of the trail. From the trail access at Georgesville Road, the trail continues north to N. Eureka Ave where the Ohio to Erie Trail route continues on N. Eureka Ave (North) to Valleyview Dr (East) which changes names to N. Highland Ave, then Harper Rd where the route crosses McKinley Ave. and utilizes the Hilltop Connector bridge to connect to the Scioto Greenway Trail.

The Ohio to Erie Trail is marked on the short road route to the Hilltop Connector bridge, where it joins the Scioto Greenway Trail. For the most part, the Camp Chase Trail is paved, with the exception of the 0.33 mile connector through the Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park, which is crushed, packed limestone.

For navigation, it is important to note that Camp Chase trail is in proximity to two roads named "Wilson Road", one in each county, Wilson Road Park is in Columbus (Franklin County) at 275 S. Wilson Road.

Communities adjacent to the trail

See main article: Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio.

Trailside amenities

Local attractions

Milestones

See also

References

Bibliography

Reports

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Rouan. Rick. Statewide bike path beckons. 30 March 2014. Columbus Dispatch. 8 October 2013.
  2. Web site: Report to SCOH. Marty. Vitale. Louisville, Kentucky. Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. May 29, 2014. June 1, 2014. Office Open XML. https://web.archive.org/web/20140531105136/http://route.transportation.org/Documents/USRN%20Report%20May%2029%202014.docx#. 2014-05-31. dead.
  3. Web site: USBR 50 update. Jennifer. Townley. Ohio Department of Transportation. April 10, 2014. June 1, 2014. PDF.
  4. "Ohio's Camp Chase Trail" by Christina Sturdivant Sani, America's Trails, November 2021, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, 11/10/21 .
  5. News: Latimer. Sandi. County working on Camp Chase Trail issues. 17 August 2023. Columbus Messenger. 25 March 2014.
  6. "National and State Trail Statistics," Rails to Trails Conservancy, accessed August 19, 2023.
  7. American Shortline Railway Guide, 5th Edition by Edward A. Lewis, Kalmbach Publishing Company, 1996,, page 57.
  8. News: Latimer. Sandi. County working on Camp Chase Trail issues. 30 March 2014. Columbus Messenger. 25 March 2014.
  9. News: Sullivan. Lucas. Columbus approves $4.2 million to link Camp Chase trail on West Side. 25 November 2014. The Columbus Dispatch. 4 November 2014.
  10. Web site: National Road Historical Marker. Remarkable Ohio. Ohio History Connection. 23 November 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151123100800/http://remarkableohio.org/picture.php?%2F3827%2Fcategory%2F644. 23 November 2015. dead.
  11. Web site: ODOT Historic National Road Byway. Ohio Department of Transportation. 30 March 2014.
  12. News: Bell. Jeff. Biking hub pitched as development booster on west side. 30 March 2014. Columbus Business First. 15 March 2013.
  13. Web site: Wilson Road Park. The City of Columbus, Recreation and Parks Department. 6 August 2017.
  14. Web site: Williams. Roger J. Movin' and Groovin' Mural. Summer Jam West. 6 August 2017.
  15. News: Zurbrick. Kristy. First phase of Camp Chase Trail completed. 30 March 2014. Columbus Messenger. 16 March 2012.
  16. Web site: Friends of Camp Chase Trail. Friends of Camp Chase Trail Meeting. 20 September 2013 . Ohio to Erie Trail. 30 March 2014.
  17. Web site: WABA Westland Area Business Association. 9 April 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141218143137/http://waba-cols.com/. 18 December 2014. dead.
  18. Web site: WSA Studio. Wilson Road Trailhead Community Meeting. wsastudio.com/. 16 July 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140808044138/http://wsastudio.com/wilson-road-trailhead-community-meeting/#. 2014-08-08. dead.
  19. Web site: Wartenberg. Steve. Camp Chase Trail Day. Columbus Dispatch Best Bike Blog Ever. 17 March 2015.
  20. Web site: Wartenberg. Steve. The C-C-Camp C-C-Chase Trail ride was.... www.dispatch.com. Columbus Dispatch. 24 April 2015.
  21. Web site: Champ Chase Opening - Galloway Road to Sullivant Ave (10/30/2015). Friends of Madison County Parks and Trails. 23 November 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151123084408/http://fmcpt.com/04-NewsUpdates/2015/15-10-30-Champ%20Chase%20Opening.html. 23 November 2015. dead.
  22. News: Tomlinson. Miranda. Columbus' west side gets first city park in 15 years. 6 August 2017. Columbus Business First. 20 July 2017.
  23. Web site: Hilltop U.S.A. 5K. runsignup. 4 May 2018.
  24. Web site: Great American Rail-Trail Route Reveal . centralohiogreenways.com . 20 October 2021.
  25. Web site: Sullivant-Georgesville Camp Chase Trail Connector . columbus.gov . 20 October 2021.

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