Moonville Rail-Trail
The Moonville Rail-Trail is a sixteen-mile (25 kilometer) rail-trail in southeast Ohio, located in Vinton and Athens Counties. It is largely embedded in the Zaleski State Forest and passes close to Lake Hope State Park. It was formerly part of the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad, which eventually became part of the B&O Railroad, which eventually was absorbed by CSX Transportation. The line was abandoned in the 1980s. The section of the railroad grade from Mineral to the Diamond Powder Plant was acquired by the respective county governments through Clean Ohio Conservation Fund grants. Work to restore the many bridges in order to make the entire stretch passable is underway.
This rail-trail is open to hikers, horse riders, and bicyclists. It has a gravel/dirt surface. The trail features two tunnels: the Moonville Tunnel, a masonry tunnel in Vinton County that is reputed to be haunted, and the King Switch Tunnel, a timber tunnel in Athens County.
The underlying property is owned by the Athens County Commissioners in Athens County, and by the Vinton County Commissioners in Vinton County.
The governing organization, Moonville Rail-Trail, Inc., also hopes to eventually extend the trail eastward to New Marshfield and beyond.
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Acadia Cliffs • Adams Lake Prairie • Audubon Islands • Augusta-Anne Olsen • Aurora Sanctuary • Baker Woods • Evans Beck Memorial • Betsch Fen • Bigelow Cemetery • Blackhand Gorge • Bonnet Pond • Boord • Brown's Lake Bog • Burton Wetlands • Caesar Creek Gorge • Lou Campbell • Carmean Woods • Cedar Bog • Chaparral Prairie • Christmas Rocks • Clear Creek • Clear Fork Gorge • Clifton Gorge • Howard Collier • Compass Plant Prairie • Conkle's Hollow • Copperrider-Kent Bog • Crabill Fen • Cranberry Bog • Crane Hollow • Crooked Run • Culberson Woods • Davey Woods • Davis Memorial • Marie J. Desonier • Drew Woods • Dupont Marsh • Eagle Creek • Emerald Hills • Erie Sand Barrens • Etawah Woods • Flatiron Lake Bog • Fowler Woods • Frame Lake Fen • Gahanna Woods • Gallagher/Springfield Fen • Goll Woods • Goode Prairie • Gott Fen • Greenbelt • Greenville Falls • Gross Memorial Woods • Hatch-Otis • Halls Creek • Headlands Dunes • Hueston Woods • Hutchins (Highland) • Irwin Prairie • Jackson Bog • Johnson Ridge • Johnson Woods • Karlo Fen • Kendrick Woods • Kessler Swamp • Kiser Lake Wetlands • Kitty Todd • Knox Woods • Kyle Woods • Ladd Natural Bridge • Lake Katharine • Lakeside Daisy • Lawrence Woods • Little Rocky Hollow • Mantua Bog • Marsh Wetlands • McCracken Fen • Mentor Marsh • Milford Center Railroad Prairie • Miller • Morris Woods • Mud Lake Bog • Myersville • Newberry • North Pond • North Shore Alvar • Novak Sanctuary • Old Woman Creek • Owens/Liberty Fen • Pallister • Pickerington Ponds • Portage Lakes Wetland • Prairie Road Fen • William C. McCoy • Raven Rock • Rhododendeon Cove • Rockbridge • Rome • Rothenbuhler Woods • Saltpetre Cave • Sears Woods • Seymour Woods • Shallenberger • Sharon Woods Gorge • Sheepskin Hollow • Sheick Hollow • Sheldon Marsh • Shoemaker • Siegenthaler-Kaestner Esker • Smith Cemetery • Spring Beauty Dell • Spring Brook Sanctuary • Springville Marsh • Stage's Pond • Strait Creek Prairie • Stratford Woods • Swamp Cottonwood • Edward Thomas • Tinker's Creek • Travertine Fen • Triangle Lake Bog • Trillium Trails • Walter Tucker • Tummonds • Warder-Perkins • Whipple • White Pine Bog Forest • Zimmermand Prairie
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