KOKOSING GAP TRAIL

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The Kokosing Gap Trail enjoys the destinction of being designated one of the best rails to trails in the United States by the Rail to Trails Conservancy, a national rail-trail advocacy group. View a map (PDF) of the trail. Visit the Kokosing Gap Trail official web site for more information. A mill and railroad tunnel greet users in the hamlet of Howard.

The Knox County Park District serves as a partner of the Kokosing Gap Trail organization. The park district entered into a long-term lease with the Knox County Commissioners (who own the land beneath the trail) to maintain the parking area surfaces for the trail in Mount Vernon (500 Mount Vernon Avenue at Lower Gambier Road), Gambier (9943 Laymon Road, 297 Duff Street, 22500 Stull Road, 10921 Killduff Road) and Howard (23316 Coshocton Avenue). Recent upgrades to the trail include new drinking water fountains and pavement sealant. These upgrades were made possible, in part, by the passage of the Knox County Park District levy in 2008.

The Village of Danville maintains a beautiful picnic shelter and drinking water fountain (Trail Drive parking lot) at the eastern terminus of the trail. Users of the Kokosing Gap Trail can continue riding east, past Danville, on the Mohican Valley Trail. Fat-tired bicycles should be used on the Mohican Valley Trail, since the trail surface is not paved. View a map that gives directions between the Kokosing Gap and Mohican Valley Trails in Danville.

The Kokosing Gap Trail (Howard parking lot) serves as a staging area for one of the park district's parks, Hellbender Preserve.

 

Kokosing Gap Trail in Danville, Ohio

Kokosing Gap Trail in Mount Vernon, Ohio

Howard Depot historic photograph (Provided by the family of Gary Hewett)