The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District is projecting to spend roughly $60 million on additional trails.
The master plan was unveiled over the weekend. Trails Coordinator Dylan Sayre says the expected 300 miles of trail designs will be constructed over the next 20 years.
“A majority of the trails are hiking and biking combination, hiking only trails, equestrian trails, and then ABA accessible hiking trails that’ll follow guidelines for ABA standards. There’s eight recreational lakes as well as Beach City and then Wills Creek. It looks different that any other map that’s in the plan. At that location we are interested in doing world class mountain biking, and it’s about 9,000 acres.”
The majority of proposed trails are hiking and biking combination, equestrian, and ABA accessible for those with disabilities. Sayre notes these were the top picks from an MWCD survey.
“76% agreed or strongly agreed that the presence of trails at their destination determined if they went to the place or not. What types of trail people want to see. Natural surface was the obvious choice for most followed by asphalt and crushed stone. “
A few projects are proposed to start in 2026.
“At Tappan Lake Park there is a 1-mile paved trail that we’re looking to build next year that connects the camp areas to the beach as well as a 2-mile hiking/biking trail. Seneca Lake Park, near the park side campground, we’re looking at building out 7 to 8 miles of primarily hiking trail.”
A third project, at Atwood Lake Park, would see a 1.6-mile hiking/biking trail connecting the Woodland trail to Atwood Dam.
Money for projects in the master trail plan is expected to come from grants and out of the capital improvement fund from oil and gas revenue.
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