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After 17 Years, All But A “Smidge” Of Trail Open




Today, 17 years after the all-volunteer Northwestern Ohio Rails To Trails Association took ownership of two abandoned railroad rightof ways, most of the trail is open to hikers, bicycle riders, and horseback riders.

The route is known now as the Wabash Cannonball Trail. On the “north fork,” the trail mostly follows the rail bed from Maumee to Montpelier, with all but a “smidge” of 40 of the 46 total miles open, said Ed Snyder, NORTA president.

The “south fork” runs from Maumee to just outside Liberty Center.

The trail surface ranges from asphalt paving to crushed stone and cinders. Most of the trail is passable by mountain bike.

Snyder said the trail is being used.

“If you look up and down the trail on a nice day, you’ll see people on it,” he said.

Areas near communities are busier, and there are always people on areas where the trail is paved.

Last year, NORTA planted 419 oak trees on 17 acres of a former 26-acre railroad yard near Delta. The area is called a savanna, which is a grassland area, with small or widely spaced trees.

The savanna is part of a federal government conservation reserve program.

One of the projects this year is watering the trees. A Boy Scout troop has volunteered to assist.

A second major project for 2011 is to finish construction of an information kiosk at the NORTA maintenance building, located off of St. Rt. 109 south of Delta.

Snyder said there are areas that need work. In Fulton County, there are culverts to repair, he said.



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