- Moonville Rail-Trail
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King Switch Tunnel
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.
References
- Moonville Rail-Trail, Inc.: http://www.moonvillerailtrail.com
Protected areas of Ohio Federal National parksCedar Point • Ottawa • West Sister IslandState Adams Lake • Alum Creek • A. W. Marion • Barkcamp • Beaver Creek • Blue Rock • Buck Creek • Buckeye Lake • Burr Oak • Caesar Creek • Catawba Island • Cleveland Lakefront • Cowan Lake • Deer Creek • Delaware • Dillon • East Fork • East Harbor • Findley • Forked Run • Geneva • Grand Lake St. Marys • Great Seal • Guilford Lake • Harrison Lake • Headlands Beach • Hocking Hills • Hueston Woods • Independence Dam • Indian Lake • Jackson Lake • Jefferson Lake • John Bryan • Kelleys Island • Kiser Lake • Lake Alma • Lake Hope • Lake Logan • Lake Loramie • Lake Milton • Lake White • Little Miami • Madison Lake • Malabar Farm • Marblehead Lighthouse • Mary Jane Thurston • Middle Bass Island • Maumee Bay • Mohican • Mosquito Lake • Mt. Gilead • Muskingum River • Nelson Kennedy Ledges • Paint Creek • Pike Lake • Portage Lakes • Punderson • Pymatuning • Quail Hollow • Rocky Fork • Salt Fork • Scioto Trail • Shawnee • South Bass Island • Stonelick • Strouds Run • Sycamore • Tar Hollow • Tinkers Creek • Van Buren • West Branch • Wingfoot Lake • Wolf Run
Beaver Creek • Blue Rock • Brush Creek • Dean • Fernwood • Gifford • Harrison • Hocking • Maumee • Mohican-Memorial • Perry • Pike • Richland Furnace • Scioto Trail • Shade River • Shawnee • Sunfish Creek • Tar Hollow • Yellow Creek • Zaleski
State nature
preservesAcadia 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
State
scenic riversBig Darby Creek • Chagrin River • Conneaut Creek • Cuyahoga River • Grand River • Greenville Creek • Kokosing River • Little Beaver Creek • Little Darby Creek • Little Miami River • Maumee River • Mohican River • Olentangy River • Sandusky River • Stillwater River
Regional Ashtabula County Metroparks • Cleveland Metroparks • Columbus Metro Parks • Erie MetroParks • Five Rivers MetroParks • Geauga Park District • Hamilton County Park District • Johnny Appleseed Metro Parks • Lake Metroparks • Lorain County Metro Parks • Metroparks of Butler County • Metro Parks, Serving Summit County • Metroparks of the Toledo Area • Mill Creek MetroParks • Trumbull County MetroParks •
Ohio Department of Natural Resources (web) Categories:- Transportation in Athens County, Ohio
- Rail trails in Ohio
- Transportation in Vinton County, Ohio
- Protected areas of Athens County, Ohio
- Protected areas of Vinton County, Ohio
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