Wabash Cannonball Trail

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]

Wabash Cannonball Trail
Westbound tandem with picnic basket at Rotary Park
Rails to Trails
Length	Williams County: 9 mi. Fulton County: 26 mi. Lucas County: 22 mi. Henry County: 6 mi. Total: 63 miles
Location	Northwest Ohio United States
Established	1995
Designation	North Country National Scenic Trail[1][2]
Trailheads	Parking available in all counties
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	Wheelchair accessible[3]
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

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 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.

North Fork and South Fork of Wabash Cannonball Trail

Wabash Railroad map, showing North and South Forks of the trail in Ohio

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 (69 km) starting in Maumee, and extending through Monclova, Wauseon, and West Unity, ending at its western trailhead near Montpelier, Ohio.

South Fork

An additional 18-mile (29 km) 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 (3.2 km) 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
			(mi)	(km)
North Fork North Fork North Fork	Lucas	Monclova	0	0	Paved	Jerome Road	Eastern Terminus, near The Fallen Timbers Battlefield and Fort Miamis National Historic Site, Maumee, parking available. 41.556741°N 83.699396°W
			0.2	0.32		Fork branches South
			1.7	2.7		Waterville-Monclova Road	Parking in Village of Monclova, Ohio. 41.556656°N 83.732709°W
			2.7	4.3		Keener Road	Monclova Township Hall, with parking, bathrooms, and a bicycle maintenance station.[20] 41.556633°N 83.752493°W
		Swanton	6.5	10.5		SR 295	41.556459°N 83.824994°W
			7.3	11.7		Evergreen Lake Trail	Oak Openings Preserve Metropark trail. 41.556390°N 83.840066°W Bathrooms and parking located one mile south at Ranger Station. 41.543583°N 83.840345°W
			9.0	14.5		SR 64	Oak Openings Preserve Metropark bathrooms and parking. 41.556333°N 83.873230°W
	Fulton	Swan Creek	15.2	24.5	Cinder, gravel, dirt, grass	Fraker Mill Covered Bridge[21]	Crosses Bad Creek, near Delta 41.5547649°N 83.9990659°W
		York	15.5	24.9		SR 109	Parking. NORTA (Northwestern Ohio Rails-to-Trails Association) offices. Bathrooms available in Delta. 41.555918°N 84.001243°W
			19.5	31.4		County Road 11	Two mile detour on County Road F, from County Road 11 to County Road 13 41.555557°N 84.076304°W
		Clinton	21.5	34.6	Paved	County Road 13	Paved trail maintained by City of Wauseon Parks. 41.555369°N 84.114888°W
			22.5	36.2		SR 108	Busy crossing 41.555384°N 84.134416°W
			22.7	36.5		Rotary Park, Wauseon	Parking 41.555336°N 84.139115°W
			23.5	37.8		Automotive Parts Factory	Pavement ends. 41.555284°N 84.152587°W 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. 41.555125°N 84.172869°W
		German	30.4	48.9		US 20A	41.572404°N 84.282744°W
			32.8	52.8		County Road 23 (old SR 66)	Parking in Elmira/Burlington. 41.579305°N 84.306980°W
			33.3	53.6		Tiffin River bridge.[22][23]	Large railroad bridge north of Archbold. 41.583054°N 84.335466°W
			33.6	54.1		US 20A	41.582987°N 84.341297°W
	Williams	Brady	38.3	61.6		Wabash Park, West Unity	Parking and bathrooms. 41.583068°N 84.431586°W
		Jefferson	38.7	62.3		US 127	41.583116°N 84.439879°W
			44.7	71.9		SR 15	Western Terminus, near Montpelier, parking. 41.58308°N 84.55563°W Bathrooms available in Montpelier
South Fork	Lucas	Monclova	0	0	Paved	Jerome Road	Eastern Terminus, near The Fallen Timbers Battlefield and Fort Miamis National Historic Site, Maumee. Parking available.
			0.2	0.32		Forks branch	41.556745°N 83.703956°W
			0.8	1.3		The Shops at Fallen Timbers	41.551229°N 83.709202°W
		Providence	6.2	10.0		SR 64, White House	Parking and bathrooms available. Bicycle repair shop. 41.517989°N 83.803102°W
			7.5	12.1		SR 295	41.509384°N 83.827107°W
			10.2	16.4		Neapolis	Parking available. 41.492799°N 83.873352°W
	Henry	Washington	14.7	23.7	Cinder, gravel, dirt, grass	Colton	Parking available. 41.464363°N 83.952668°W
			16.9	27.2		County Road 6C	Western Terminus end, Near Liberty Center 41.451114°N 83.989429°W[24]

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 43 miles (69 km) (not counting missing sections), others say 45 miles (72 km) (counting the missing sections), and still others 47 miles (76 km) (counting detour mileage).

References

1. "Welcome to Wabash Cannonball Trail". Retrieved 3 April 2016.
2. "National Park Service, North Country Trail". Retrieved 3 April 2016.
3. "Ohio Wheelchair Accessible Trails". Retrieved 3 April 2016.
4. "WhitehouseOH.gov". Retrieved 3 April 2016.
5. "Ohio Bikeways NW Region List". Retrieved 4 April 2016.
6. "City of Wauseon: Our Parks". Retrieved 4 April 2016.
7. "Ohio Department of Transportation Bikeways Info". Retrieved 2016-04-02.
8. "Ohio Department of Transportation Bike Map" (PDF). Retrieved 3 April 2016.
9. "North Coast Inland Trail". Retrieved 4 April 2016.
10. "Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments: Wabash Cannonball Trail Stewardship Plan" (PDF). Retrieved 4 April 2016.
11. "Wabash Cannonball, The". California State University, Fresno.
12. Schafer, Mike (2000). More Classic American Railroads. Osceola, WI: MBI Publishing Co. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-7603-0758-8. OCLC 44089438.
13. "Traillink: Wabash Cannonball Trail (North and South Fork)". Retrieved 2016-04-02.
14. "Wabash Cannonball Trail". Retrieved 2016-04-02.
15. "Toledo Blade: Wauseon Upgrades Biking Hiking Trail". Retrieved 2016-04-02.
16. "Wabash Cannonball Trail". Retrieved 2016-04-02.
17. "Mileage Chart" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-04-03.
18. "Google Maps: Wabash Cannonball Trail (North Fork)". Retrieved 2016-04-03.
19. "Google Maps: Wabash Cannonball Trail (South Fork)". Retrieved 2016-04-03.
20. "Bike Fixit Stations at Five Metroparks Locations". Retrieved 2016-04-03.
21. "Toledo Blade:Fraker Mill Bridge Dedication Set". Retrieved 2016-04-02.
22. "Trails, Festivals and Rails: Bicycling Through Ohio". Retrieved 2016-04-02.
23. "Tiffin 210". Retrieved 2016-04-02.
24. "Metroparks Toledo: Wabash Cannonball Trail". Retrieved 2016-04-02.

External links

• Traillink: Wabash Cannonball Trail, North and South Fork
• Google Maps: Wabash Cannonball Trail (North Fork)
• Google Maps: Wabash Cannonball Trail (South Fork)