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Paved multi-use trail in Ohio, U.S. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Camp Chase Trail is a paved multi-use trail in Madison and Franklin counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. It serves as the Southwest Columbus segment of the 326-mile (525 km)[1] Ohio to Erie Trail. The entire length of the Camp Chase Trail is part of the Great American Rail-Trail, U.S. Bicycle Route 21 and U.S. Bicycle Route 50.[2][3][4]
| Camp Chase Trail | |
|---|---|
The start of the Camp Chase Trail at the Wilson Road trailhead in Madison County, Ohio. | |
| Length | 15.2 mi (24.5 km) |
| Location | Madison and Franklin counties, Ohio, United States |
| Designation |    USBR 21 / USBR 50 / State Bike Route 1 |
| Trailheads | Lilly Chapel to N. Eureka Ave. in Columbus, Ohio |
| Use | Paved Multi-use |
| Difficulty | Easy (fully accessible) |
| Season | Year-round |
Camp Chase Trail is named for the Camp Chase Railway it parallels. During the American Civil War, Camp Chase was a military staging and training camp for Union forces, and a prison camp for Confederates. All that remains of the camp today is a Confederate Cemetery containing 2,260 graves, located at 2900 Sullivant Ave. It was named for former Ohio Governor and Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase. Four future Presidents passed through Camp Chase as Union soldiers: Andrew Johnson, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, and William McKinley.
To create the Camp Chase trail, the Columbus and Franklin County Metropolitan Park District worked with the Camp Chase Rail Company to manage the regulations and construction requirements needed to acquire an easement alongside active railroad tracks,[5][6] finalizing the easement in 2009.[6][7] The trail was completed in 2015.[8]
The bike trail is one of the few in the United States that is a rails with trails, meaning the trail runs within an active railroad right-of-way.[7][6] The Camp Chase Trail has more than 12 miles of the bike trail existing within the railroad right-of-way.[7] As of 2018, there were 343 identified rails with trails in the United States, comprising 917 miles of trails in 47 states.[9] By comparison, there are currently 2,404 open rail-trails across the United States comprising a total of 25,723 miles along with 867 rail-trail projects planned for an additional total of 9,147 miles.[10]
A number of design elements separate the twelve-foot-wide trail from the rail line, including fencing, grade separation and ditching.[5] As part of the agreement that resulted in the creation of the bike trail, the trail owners indemnify the railroad company.[7] A bridge built for the bike trail provides a way for pedestrians to cross Interstate 270 instead of trespassing on the railroad bridge, as frequently happened before the trail was built.[11] The trail manager is required to provide the railroad with advance notification of work on the trail and trail maintenance staff "attend railroad safety classes to adequately prepare them for the responsibilities and limitations of working within an active rail corridor."[12] The trail has seven railroad crossings, the most of any rails with trails.[13]
The Camp Chase Trail is 15.2 miles (24.5 km), with 3 miles (4.8 km) in Madison County and 12.2 miles (19.6 km) in Franklin County. The Camp Chase Trail extends from Lilly Chapel (Roberts Pass Trail) to the Columbus Hilltop Neighborhood where it connects to the Scioto Greenway Trail. The approximate midpoint of the trail is in Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park where it crosses the confluence of the Big and Little Darby Creeks.
The follows alongside the Camp Chase Railway except for a short stint along Big Darby Creek and a one mile diversion along Georgesville Road in Columbus.[5][14] The Camp Chase Trail has been complete from the conjunction with the Roberts Pass trail at the Wilson Road Trailhead in Madison County, Ohio to the intersection with Sullivant Avenue in Franklin County since 2015.[15] The City of Columbus approved funding for the final 3 miles of the Camp Chase Trail from Georgesville Road to North Eureka Ave. on November 3, 2014.[16] and completed it December 2016. In July 2019, the trail connector parallel to Georgesville Road and Sullivant Ave was opened and replaced the Industrial Mile Road section of the trail. From the trail access at Georgesville Road, the trail continues north to N. Eureka Ave where the Ohio to Erie Trail route continues on N. Eureka Ave (North) to Valleyview Dr (East) which changes names to N. Highland Ave, then Harper Rd where the route crosses McKinley Ave. and utilizes the Hilltop Connector bridge to connect to the Scioto Greenway Trail.
The Ohio to Erie Trail is marked on the short road route to the Hilltop Connector bridge, where it joins the Scioto Greenway Trail. For the most part, the Camp Chase Trail is paved, with the exception of the 0.33 mile connector through the Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park, which is crushed, packed limestone.
For navigation, it is important to note that Camp Chase trail is in proximity to two roads named "Wilson Road", one in each county, Wilson Road Park is in Columbus (Franklin County) at 275 S. Wilson Road.
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