A group of local leaders and organizations are spearheading an effort to secure National Scenic Trail designation for the 1,454-mile Buckeye Trail.
As part of the effort, the National Park Service is conducting a trail feasibility study to determine its suitability for national designation. On Thursday, NPS will host a virtual public meeting at 5:30 p.m. where representatives will share updates about the study and answer questions.
The Buckeye Trail dates back to 1959 when its first 20 miles were laid out in Hocking County in Southeast Ohio. By 1980, the trail, which loops the entire state, was completed. The Greater Cleveland section of the Buckeye Trail is 66.2 miles long. Known as the Bedford Section, it covers the area from Brecksville Reservation to Headlands Beach State Park and on to the Burton section in Geauga County.
Buckeye Trail Association President Steve Walker said he broached the idea of seeking National Scenic Trail designation in 2017 when he stepped into the group’s top leadership role. In 2021, former U.S. Reps. Tim Ryan and Anthony Gonzalez introduced a feasibility study bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. Former Sens. Rob Portman and Sherrod BrownThis introduced a similar bill in the Senate in 2022.
Walker said the Buckeye Trail’s cultural diversity makes it deserving of National Scenic Trail designation. He noted that it connects 47 counties and goes through urban and rural areas, Wayne National Forest and 18 Ohio State Parks.
“If you live in Ohio, you’re never more than three to four hours from any part of the Buckeye trail,” he said.
Based on the criteria outlined in the National Trails System Act of 1968, the feasibility study will examine, among other things, the route and characteristics of the trail, the areas adjacent to the trail, land ownership and the associated costs of maintaining the trail.
For a trail to receive national designation, it must be historically and nationally significant and it must have “significant potential for public recreational use or historical interest based on historic interpretation and appreciation.”
Buckeye Trail could join Appalachian, other national scenic trails
National designation would mean federal funding and support, which would help with maintaining and improving the trail. Right now that job falls to the Buckeye Trail Association, a nonprofit volunteer-run organization with a limited budget. It consists of roughly 1,200 volunteers across 10 state chapters. Each chapter oversees a different section of the trail.
If it were to receive federal designation, the Buckeye Trail would become the 12th National Scenic Trail, joining a group that includes the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail and the North Country Trail. (About 70% of the Buckeye Trail overlaps with the North Country Trail, which goes through Southern Ohio.)
If designated a National Scenic Trail, the Buckeye Trail would be the only circumferential trail in the group.
The Buckeye National Scenic Trail Feasibility Study began in 2023. In accordance with the National Trails System Act of 1968, NPS must complete the study within three fiscal years. Once completed, the Department of the Interior will review the study and then submit it to Congress. The study will be released to the public at that time.
“This is a marathon. It’s not a sprint,” said Dan Rice, president and CEO of the Ohio and Erie Canalway Coalition. Rice joined the organization in 1994, two years before the Ohio & Erie Canalway received its National Heritage Area designation. He was heavily involved in the designation process.
“So you have to get public engagement. The park service is going to review it to make sure that it’s worthy of national designation. And then, quite frankly, you got to get it through Congress,” Rice said. “You gotta convince 435 members of the House and 100 members of the Senate that this is something worth pursuing.”
NPS is accepting online public comments on the Buckeye National Scenic Trail Feasibility Study. The public has until 1:59 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 20, to submit comments.
