Final Leg of the Buckeye Trail Is Dedicated

What initially started in 1958 as a proposal published in The Columbus Dispatch to create a footpath connecting Cincinnati and Lake Erie grew into what is today known today as the Buckeye Trail.

Enthused by the article’s proposal, a small group of passionate volunteers gathered in February 1959 to discuss what such a project would entail, and just four months later, they formed the Buckeye Trail Association. 

The first 20 miles were dedicated on September 19, 1959, in Hocking County, and in the following years, the goal of the trail’s potential reach expanded to become a state-wide loop that touched Ohio’s four corners, an effort that involved numerous government agencies and impassioned individuals.

After nearly a decade of work, a BTA newsletter from January 1968 stated that, “The Buckeye Trail Program is moving forward in big strides (if we may be permitted a small pun), thanks to the help of a good many friends.”

Some of these “friends” included appointed officers State Sen. Ralph Regula, Robert Paton of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Emma “Grandma” Gatewood, the first solo female thru-hiker of the Appalachian Trail.

The newsletter also noted that, “When the trail is completed and the paint blazes are in place, hikers can travel in either direction over any part of the route,” giving people the chance to slow down and come to appreciate different parts of Ohio to this day.

In The Marion Star’s May 11, 1980, edition, Nancy Kaumeyer spoke with the then-79-year-old Paton, who was one of only two charter members still active at the time, to discuss his time with the association and his work on the Buckeye Trail. 

“Paton speaks proudly of the trail. And why not, since through much of his work, the organization has grown from a ‘handful’ of people to a membership of about 1,200,” Kaumeyer wrote.

The trail’s completion was celebrated on March 20, 1981 (just over 20 years after the project began), with a dedication ceremony held at Deer Lick Cave. Ohio Department of Natural Resources director Robert Teater, Buckeye Trail Association president Ralph Ramey and Lou Albert of the National Park Service were among some of the officials in attendance.

In addition to marking the final “blue blazes” on the trail, a permanent marker depicting its full 1,444-mile length was unveiled during the ceremony. Today, the Buckeye Trail is recognized as Ohio’s official hiking trail.

“Once you’ve walked the entire Buckeye Trail you’ve covered an entire cross section of Ohio,” Paton said. “Hills, valleys, towns and trails; you’ve seen it all.”

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