The Athens-Belpre Rail-Trail is a new trailway now being developed in southeast

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. It will link

Athens, Ohio Athens is a city in Athens County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 23,849 at the 2020 United States census. Located along the Hocking River within Appalachian Ohio about southeast of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, Athe ...

, in

Athens County Athens County is a county in southeastern Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 62,431. Its county seat and largest city is Athens. The county was formed in 1805 from Washington County. Because Ohio's first state university, Ohio ...

, with

Belpre, Ohio Belpre (historically spelled Belpré; pronounced ) is a city in Washington County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River across from Parkersburg, West Virginia. The population was 6,728 at the 2020 census. Its name derives from "Belle Pra ...

, in Washington County. It will link on the west with the

Hockhocking Adena Bikeway The Hockhocking Adena Bikeway, known colloquially as The Bike Path or more formally (but unofficially) as The Athens County Bike Path, is a long bicycle path in Athens County, Ohio, in the United States. The original section of the path was b ...

. There are hopes of eventually connecting with the

North Bend Rail Trail The North Bend Rail Trail is a rail trail in north-central and western West Virginia in the United States. It is operated by West Virginia State Parks and is part of the American Discovery Trail. Running parallel to U.S. Route 50, the rail ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

. It will largely use the former

B&O Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the oldest railroad in the United States and the first steam-operated common carrier. Construction of the line began in 1828, and it operated as B&O from 1830 until 1987, when it was merged into the Chessie ...

line from Belpre to Athens, which began as the B&O Short Line, and which became part of the B&O main line to

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. The eastern spadefoot toad, ''

Scaphiopus holbrookii ''Scaphiopus holbrookii'', commonly known as the eastern spadefoot, is a species of American spadefoot toad (family Scaphiopodidae) endemic to the eastern United States. It is not considered a true toad, with Bufonidae being the family of "true t ...

'', is known to inhabit one section of the right-of-way. Brick wall on ABRT

{{coord, 39, 14, 30.3, N, 81, 44, 56.2, W, region:US-OH, display=title

External links

Athens-Belpre Rail TrailAthens Conservancy: Athens-Belpre Rail Trail
Bike paths in Ohio Rail trails in Ohio Hiking trails in Ohio Protected areas of Athens County, Ohio Transportation in Athens County, Ohio Protected areas of Washington County, Ohio Transportation in Washington County, Ohio

See also

External links