Camp Chase Trail

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.
Length15.2 mi (24.5 km)
LocationMadison and Franklin counties, Ohio, United States
Designation USBR 21 / USBR 50 / State Bike Route 1
TrailheadsLilly Chapel to N. Eureka Ave. in Columbus, Ohio
UsePaved Multi-use
DifficultyEasy (fully accessible)
SeasonYear-round

History
Main article: Camp Chase

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]

Steel Truss Bridge which carries the Camp Chase Trail and Ohio to Erie Trail over the Columbus outer belt I-270.

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]

Location
  • West terminus west of Lilly Chapel (and east terminus of Roberts Pass): 39°53′23.3″N 83°18′50.8″W
  • East Terminus in Columbus at N. Eureka Ave: 39°57′48.8″N 83°03′59.5″W

Route
One of the railroad crossings along the Camp Chase Trail. The trail has seven crossings, the most of any rails with trails.

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.

Communities adjacent to the trail
Main article: Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio

Trailside amenities
The Ohio to Erie Trail Mural, Sue Killilea

Local attractions
Movin’ & Groovin’ Artist: Roger J. Williams, along the Camp Chase Trail on the Hilltop (200 feet east of N. Sylvan Ave). Created 2017

Milestones
  • March 21, 2012: Trail bridge over Darby Creek brings the trail into Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park [22]
  • October 10, 2013: The Friends of the Camp Chase Trail held their first meeting at the Haydocy Automotive Community Room. Area citizens met with members of the Friends of Madison County Parks and Trails to discuss creating a similar function for the Camp Chase Trail.[23]
  • November 15, 2013: Completion of the Trail segment east of Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park [1]
  • April 8, 2014: Friends of the Camp Chase Trail introduced the trail at the Westland Area Business Association Meeting at Darby Dan Farm.[24]
  • July 14, 2014: WSA Studio presented to the friends of Camp Chase Trail and Community Stakeholders regarding the Wilson Road Trailhead at the Haydocy Community Room.[25]
  • October 12, 2014: Camp Chase Trail partnered with the Friends of Madison County Parks and Trails to host a table at Darby Creek Days at Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park an event held annually in the Indian Ridge section of the park.
  • November 3, 2014: Columbus City Council approves funding to construct the Camp Chase Trail between Georgesville Road and North Eureka Ave.
  • November 13, 2014: Paving completed on the Camp Chase Trail between Alton Road and Galloway Road.
  • March 28, 2015: Camp Chase Trail Day was celebrated at Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park[26][27]
  • October 30, 2015, Friends of Camp Chase Trail hosted the Opening Trail Ride on the newest 3 mile section between Galloway Road and Sullivant Ave, including the 100 Yard bridge over Interstate 270. 36 trail friends were in attendance.[28]
  • December 5, 2015, The Camp Chase Trail Hilltop Action Team was established to monitor conditions in the trail corridor for the trail area from Georgesville Road to N. Eureka Ave. The Columbus Westside Running Club was formed by meeting attendees and began holding group runs at Columbus Westgate Park on January 12, 2016.
  • December 1, 2016, The Camp Chase Trail is fully paved between Georgesville Road and N. Eureka Ave which represents the conclusion of the major construction of Camp Chase Trail.
  • July 20, 2017, City of Columbus Recreation and Parks Department hosted the dedication of the new Wilson Road Park and Camp Chase Trailhead at 275 S. Wilson Road, Columbus, OH 43204 [29]
  • July 7, 2018, the Hilltop U.S.A. 5K is the first timed race on the Camp Chase Trail.[30]
  • May 8, 2019, Camp Chase Trail was one of four locations to host a route reveal celebration for the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's Great American Rail-Trail[31]
  • July 2019, City of Columbus Recreation and Parks completed the half-mile trail segment along Georgesville Road and Sullivant Ave.[32]
  • May 2020, Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks completed the new 1 mile segment through the woods in Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park.

See also

References
  1. Rouan, Rick (8 October 2013). "Statewide bike path beckons". Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  2. Vitale, Marty (May 29, 2014). "Report to SCOH". Louisville, Kentucky: Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Archived from the original (Office Open XML) on 2014-05-31. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  3. Townley, Jennifer (April 10, 2014). "USBR 50 update" (PDF). Ohio Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  4. Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (May 2021). "2021 Spring Meeting Report to the Council on Highways and Streets" (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
  5. Pack 2013, p. 36.
  6. "Ohio's Camp Chase Trail" by Christina Sturdivant Sani, America's Trails, November 2021, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, 11/10/21 .
  7. FRA 2021, p. 26.
  8. Latimer, Sandi (25 March 2014). "County working on Camp Chase Trail issues". Columbus Messenger. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  9. FRA 2021, p. 10.
  10. "National and State Trail Statistics," Rails to Trails Conservancy, accessed August 19, 2023.
  11. FRA 2021, p. 87.
  12. FRA 2021, p. 88.
  13. Pack 2013, p. 25.
  14. American Shortline Railway Guide, 5th Edition by Edward A. Lewis, Kalmbach Publishing Company, 1996, ISBN 0-89024-290-9, page 57.
  15. Latimer, Sandi (25 March 2014). "County working on Camp Chase Trail issues". Columbus Messenger. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  16. Sullivan, Lucas (4 November 2014). "Columbus approves $4.2 million to link Camp Chase trail on West Side". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  17. "National Road Historical Marker". Remarkable Ohio. Ohio History Connection. Archived from the original on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  18. "ODOT Historic National Road Byway". Ohio Department of Transportation. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  19. Bell, Jeff (15 March 2013). "Biking hub pitched as development booster on west side". Columbus Business First. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  20. "Wilson Road Park". The City of Columbus, Recreation and Parks Department. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  21. Williams, Roger J. "Movin' and Groovin' Mural". Summer Jam West. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  22. Zurbrick, Kristy (16 March 2012). "First phase of Camp Chase Trail completed". Columbus Messenger. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  23. Friends of Camp Chase Trail (20 September 2013). "Friends of Camp Chase Trail Meeting". Ohio to Erie Trail. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  24. "WABA Westland Area Business Association". Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  25. WSA Studio. "Wilson Road Trailhead Community Meeting". wsastudio.com/. Archived from the original on 2014-08-08. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  26. Wartenberg, Steve. "Camp Chase Trail Day". Columbus Dispatch Best Bike Blog Ever. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  27. Wartenberg, Steve. "The C-C-Camp C-C-Chase Trail ride was..." www.dispatch.com. Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  28. "Champ Chase Opening - Galloway Road to Sullivant Ave (10/30/2015)". Friends of Madison County Parks and Trails. Archived from the original on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  29. Tomlinson, Miranda (20 July 2017). "Columbus' west side gets first city park in 15 years". Columbus Business First. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  30. "Hilltop U.S.A. 5K". runsignup. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  31. "Great American Rail-Trail Route Reveal". centralohiogreenways.com. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  32. "Sullivant-Georgesville Camp Chase Trail Connector". columbus.gov. Retrieved 20 October 2021.

Bibliography
Reports
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Camp Chase Trail.
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