| Wabash Cannonball Trail | |
| Embed: | http://www.wabashcannonballtrail.org/maps |
| Rails to Trails | |
| Established: | 1995 |
| Length: | Williams County 9 mi. |
| Location: | Northwest Ohio United States |
| Designation: | North Country National Scenic Trail[1] |
| Trailheads: | Parking available in all counties |
| Use: | Hiking, bicycling, cross country skiing, equestrian |
| Grade: | flat to gentle railroad grades |
| Difficulty: | Wheelchair accessible[2] |
| Months: | 12 |
| Sights: | Oak Openings Preserve Metropark Fraker Mill Covered Bridge Wabash Railroad caboose[3] |
| Hazards: | US and State Route crossings |
| Surface: | Lucas County: all paved[4] Fulton County: 6 miles paved[5] remainder: gravel |
| Row: | Wabash Railroad |
| Website: | http://wabashcannonballtrail.org |
The Wabash Cannonball Trail is a rail to trail conversion in northwestern Ohio, U.S. It is 63miles long.[6] The North Fork of the Wabash Cannonball Trail is part of the North Coast Inland Trail, which plans to fully connect Indiana to Pennsylvania,[7] and portions of the trail are included in the North Country National Scenic Trail.[8]
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.[9]
The name Wabash Cannonball stems from an 1882 American folk song about an imaginary train.[10] No train actually had the name until 1949, when the Wabash Railroad actually named its Detroit-St. Louis day train the Cannon Ball.
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.
The northern section of the trail roughly parallels both the Ohio Turnpike I-80/90 and US Route 20A for about starting in Maumee, and extending through Monclova, Wauseon, and West Unity, ending at its western trailhead near Montpelier, Ohio.
An additional 18mile spur runs from Maumee southwest to near Liberty Center, Ohio. That trailhead has a parking area near Whitehouse, Ohio.[11]
All portions of the trail in Lucas County are paved.[12] [13] A 2miles section of the trail in Fulton County, owned by the city of Wauseon, also is paved.[14] [15] The remainder of the North Fork in Fulton and Williams counties are unpaved, as is the South Fork in Henry County.
| Trail section | County | Township | Distance[16] [17] [18] | Surface | Crossings | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (mi) | (km) | ||||||
| North Fork North Fork North Fork | Lucas | Monclova | 0disp=tableNaNdisp=table | Paved | Jerome Road | Eastern Terminus, near The Fallen Timbers Battlefield and Fort Miamis National Historic Site, Maumee, parking available. 41.5567°N -83.6994°W | |
| 0.2disp=tableNaNdisp=table | Fork branches South | ||||||
| 1.7disp=tableNaNdisp=table | Waterville-Monclova Road | Parking in Village of Monclova, Ohio. 41.5567°N -83.7327°W | |||||
| 2.7disp=tableNaNdisp=table | Keener Road | Monclova Township Hall, with parking, bathrooms, and a bicycle maintenance station.[19] 41.5566°N -83.7525°W | |||||
| Swanton | 6.5disp=tableNaNdisp=table | 41.5565°N -83.825°W | |||||
| 7.3disp=tableNaNdisp=table | Evergreen Lake Trail | Oak Openings Preserve Metropark trail. 41.5564°N -83.8401°W Bathrooms and parking located one mile south at Ranger Station. 41.5436°N -83.8403°W | |||||
| 9disp=tableNaNdisp=table | Oak Openings Preserve Metropark bathrooms and parking. 41.5563°N -83.8732°W | ||||||
| Fulton | Swan Creek | 15.2disp=tableNaNdisp=table | Cinder, gravel, dirt, grass | Fraker Mill Covered Bridge[20] | Crosses Bad Creek, near Delta 41.5548°N -83.9991°W | ||
| York | 15.5disp=tableNaNdisp=table | Parking. NORTA (Northwestern Ohio Rails-to-Trails Association) offices. Bathrooms available in Delta. 41.5559°N -84.0012°W | |||||
| 19.5disp=tableNaNdisp=table | County Road 11 | Two mile detour on County Road F, from County Road 11 to County Road 13 41.5556°N -84.0763°W | |||||
| Clinton | 21.5disp=tableNaNdisp=table | Paved | County Road 13 | Paved trail maintained by City of Wauseon Parks. 41.5554°N -84.1149°W | |||
| 22.5disp=tableNaNdisp=table | Busy crossing 41.5554°N -84.1344°W | ||||||
| 22.7disp=tableNaNdisp=table | Rotary Park, Wauseon | Parking 41.5553°N -84.1391°W | |||||
| 23.5disp=tableNaNdisp=table | Automotive Parts Factory | Pavement ends. 41.5553°N -84.1526°W One mile detour on County Road F via Krieger St. | |||||
| 24.5disp=tableNaNdisp=table | Cinder, gravel, dirt, grass | County Road 16 | Detour to County Road F. 41.5551°N -84.1729°W | ||||
| German | 30.4disp=tableNaNdisp=table | 41.5724°N -84.2827°W | |||||
| 32.8disp=tableNaNdisp=table | County Road 23 (old SR 66) | Parking in Elmira/Burlington. 41.5793°N -84.307°W | |||||
| 33.3disp=tableNaNdisp=table | Tiffin River bridge.[21] [22] | Large railroad bridge north of Archbold. 41.5831°N -84.3355°W | |||||
| 33.6disp=tableNaNdisp=table | 41.583°N -84.3413°W | ||||||
| Williams | Brady | 38.3disp=tableNaNdisp=table | Wabash Park, West Unity | Parking and bathrooms. 41.5831°N -84.4316°W | |||
| Jefferson | 38.7disp=tableNaNdisp=table | 41.5831°N -84.4399°W | |||||
| 44.7disp=tableNaNdisp=table | Western Terminus, near Montpelier, parking. 41.5831°N -84.5556°W Bathrooms available in Montpelier | ||||||
| South Fork | Lucas | Monclova | 0disp=tableNaNdisp=table | Paved | Jerome Road | Eastern Terminus, near The Fallen Timbers Battlefield and Fort Miamis National Historic Site, Maumee. Parking available. | |
| 0.2disp=tableNaNdisp=table | Forks branch | 41.5567°N -83.704°W | |||||
| 0.8disp=tableNaNdisp=table | The Shops at Fallen Timbers | 41.5512°N -83.7092°W | |||||
| Providence | 6.2disp=tableNaNdisp=table | , White House | Parking and bathrooms available. Bicycle repair shop. 41.518°N -83.8031°W | ||||
| 7.5disp=tableNaNdisp=table | 41.5094°N -83.8271°W | ||||||
| 10.2disp=tableNaNdisp=table | Neapolis | Parking available. 41.4928°N -83.8734°W | |||||
| Henry | Washington | 14.7disp=tableNaNdisp=table | Cinder, gravel, dirt, grass | Colton | Parking available. 41.4644°N -83.9527°W | ||
| 16.9disp=tableNaNdisp=table | County Road 6C | Western Terminus end, Near Liberty Center 41.4511°N -83.9894°W[23] | |||||
Note that 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 (not counting missing sections), others say (counting the missing sections), and still others (counting detour mileage).