“Chillicothe Trails” Explained Their Work to League of Women Voters
Ross County, Ohio, and Beyond — The local League of Women Voters heard about the trails effort in Ross County, as well as a little about Ohio and continental hiking trails, Tuesday evening.
In their monthly meeting on April 29th, the League of Women Voters of Chillicothe-Ross hosted leaders of the nonprofit “Chillicothe Trails,” whose mission is “to expand, connect and create high quality trails in Ross County, making it a destination for hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, water trails, cycling and trail running.”
Isabella Blakeman, Dave Huggins, and Ty McBee spoke for the group, explaining their work in starting a trail system on the grounds of Ohio University Chillicothe – and other efforts throughout the county, especially at Great Seal State Park.
They pointed out that if Columbus mountain bikers know one place in Ross County, it’s Great Seal – it’s the best hilly trail system closest to them.
In our interview, Blakeman and Huggins also mentioned a “Funduro” event in August, where you mountain bike to the top of a hill and then coast down. They will also have a partnership event with the Ross County Humane Society to hike with your pet since there is much overlap between the needs of dogs and humans. They say to watch their website and social media to learn more.
They had mentioned that some visitors bring $4K to $7K mountain bikes to play here, so some cyclists have plenty of money to spend. I asked, how much do mountain bikers contribute to the Ross County economy? Huggins cited a statistic that it’s an average of $416 a day when traveling to a community.
Huggins is also the leader of the “Buck 50” relay race, and he says the recent event was more successful than previous years.
Hear them in their own words below. The League of Women Voters of Chillicothe-Ross has a website and Facebook page.
In the Q&A and sharing afterward, John Mark Hall mentioned that he is a volunteer for the Buckeye Trail, a 1,440-mile loop around Ohio the runs through Ross County.
He also pointed out that two other larger multi-state trails use part of the Buckeye: the North Country Trail and the Great American Discovery Trail. Hear him explain that in the below interview video.
The League also heard about the “Bee or Not a Bee” learning game the they had at their tent in the Earth Gathering festival.
