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Rails to Trails
About the Wabash Cannonball Trail
The Wabash Cannonball Trail is Northwest Ohio's premier Rails-to Trails project. When the abandonment of the Norfolk Southern railroad line was made known in 1990,several local visionaries and enthusiasts gathered to hare ideas about creating a public recreational trail and utility corridor. Their dream became reality on March 24, 1994, when the corridor was purchased from Norfolk Southern.
The Wabash Cannonball Trail is one of Ohio's longest rail-trails, covering a total of 64 miles and traversing four counties:Fulton,Henry,Lucas, and Williams. So it should come as no surprise that the Trail is owned by several partners. With the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments (TMACOG) acting as coordinating partners for the project, the land-owning partners are Lucas County, the city of Maumee, Northwestern Ohio Rails-to-Trails Association, Inc. (NORTA,Inc.), the Metropark District of the Toledo Area, the city of Wauseon, and the village of Whitehouse.
The Trail is actually comprised of two rail lines that converge in Maumee at Jerome Road. The "North Fork" of the Trail runs in an east-west direction, 46 miles from Maumee to within 15 miles of the Indianna state line near Montpelier, Ohio. The "South Fork" takes a southwesterly route from Maumee to the edge of Liberty Center, Ohio for a length of 17 miles. The South Fork has been abandoned for a greater length of time, as is evidenced by the the dense foliage lining the Trail. The minimum width of the Trail corridor is 100 feet, with the width of the Trail surface being 10-12 feet.
If you traverse the length of the Trail, you will cross over 16 bridges. The longest of these is the Tiffin River bridge, at 210 feet in length. The Beaver Creek bridge is the highest, at 38 feet above water level.
When Trail development is fully completed, the Trail will be surfaced with finely crushed stone. In the interim, you may find the surface a bit rough in spots. Mountain and hybrid/cross bikes will have no problem traveling on the open sections of the Trail.
Out of concern for the public' safety, some sections of the Trail may be closed periodically, due to agricultural spraying or during fire-arms hunting season, as the Trail passes by public hunting grounds.
About Rails-To_trails...
The Rails-to Trails concept promotes the conversion of abandoned railroad corridors into recreational trails open for public use. in other terms, it is a skinny park also sometimes called a linear park. It is usually restricted to non-motorized travel only;therefore, it is quiet,peaceful place to take a leisurely stroll, a vigorous jog, or a bicycling adventure. Away from the noise of automotive traffic, the beauty of nature abounds.
 Butterflies seek out the native wildflowers.
 Birds call out from trees as you pass.
 You may be lucky enough to see deer or other 4-legged creatures.
 The path may cross rivers or streams where you can pause and listen to the trickle of flowing water.
Rail-to-Trails is a nation wide movement begun over 25 years ago. With over 600 trails open across the country and over 600 more on the drawing board, it is the vision of the movement to one day be able to travel from coast to coast using rail-trails. Join the excitement-visit the Wabash Cannonball trial or another rail-trail project to see what fun it is!
Click here for information on The Trail Guide
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Monclova Township Administrative Offices
4335 Albon Road -- Monclova, OH 43542
(419) 865-7862
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Birds call out from trees as you pass.
