Miles and miles of awesome flora and wildlife
The Kokosing Gap Trail is a paved, 14-mile recreational
trail built on a former Pennsylvania Railroad line with
endpoints in Mount Vernon and Danville, Ohio. Visitors
will traverse the Kokosing River twice on railroad bridges
more than 250 feet long with forests, wetlands,
agriculture and villages along the way. A 1940 Alco 0-6-0
locomotive and a 1924 Chesapeake & Ohio caboose sit
next to the trail in Gambier, and a wonderful park with
play structure is adjacent to the trail in Howard.
We would appreciate Trail users following these simple
rules:
√ No motorized vehicles or horses are allowed,
except motorized wheelchairs.
√ Stay to the right unless you're passing someone.
√ Announce your presence when passing other visitors
with, "Passing on the left!"
√ Be cautious of natural hazards.
√ Keep pets on a leash and off the Trail surface.
√ Be alert at all intersections.
√ Don't trespass! Private property borders both
sides of the Trail.
√ Leave alcohol at home. It is not permitted on
Trail property.
√ Don't be a litterbug. Picking up any trash you see
will definitely earn you points!
Water fountains and restrooms are available on the
Trail in Mount Vernon, Gambier and Howard. In Danville,
facilities are in Memorial Park. Water is turned off and
restrooms closed mid-November to mid-April. The Howard
restroom is open all year. Park benches are located along
the Trail about every 1/2 mile, and a bicycle repair Fixit
station at Gambier and Howard.
A map of the trail can be found here.
The Trail is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Our 0-6-0 locomotive was built in November 1940
by the American Locomotive Company (Alco) of
Schenectady, New York for the Alabama State Docks
Commission. The board of trustees of the Kokosing Gap
Trail moved Number 63 to Gambier, Ohio in April 2000. Chesapeake
& Ohio Caboose #90776 was built November 1924
and rode the rails until February 1979. Both of them can
be found in Gambier.
The Kokosing Gap Trail runs East to West from Mount
Vernon to Danville and passes through both Gambier and
Howard. Each of these communities provides a point of
access to or departure from the trail. You can find
restaurants, shops, and bed and breakfast destinations a
short distance from the trail.
The Kenyon College Brown Family Environmental Center provides opportunities for self-guided study of organisms and habitats of the Kokosing River valley. It covers approximately 380 acres and has a small visitor center and butterfly garden (which directly adjoins the Kokosing Gap Trail).
One of the more recent improvements to the trail was provided by the Mount Vernon Rotary Club to celebrate their 50th anniversary. The playground includes a playset, rest rooms, water fountain, picnic tables and new trees, which are located near the Howard underpass at Howard, Ohio.
Visitors will traverse the Kokosing River twice on
railroad bridges more than 250 feet long, with forests,
wetlands, agriculture, wildlife and livestock along the
way. You'll find this to be a perfect place for a
relaxing canoe or kayak ride or simply an opportunity to
listen to the peace and quiet the waterway provides.
Founded in 1824, Kenyon is the oldest private college
in Ohio. The small college originally educated all-male
clergymen for frontier America, but it soon became a
highly regarded seat of classical education whose
graduates included statesmen such as U.S. President
Rutherford B. Hayes. The college's picturesque campus is
adjacent to the locomotive and caboose in Gambier.
A 15-member board overseeing the Trail's non-profit
501(c)(3) status since 1989
The Kokosing Gap Trail, which is owned by the Knox County Commissioners, is overseen by a 15-member volunteer board that was first appointed by the Knox County Commissioners in 1987. This board is responsible for all day-to-day maintenance, development, and special projects on the Trail and must raise its own funds. The Trail board also cooperates with the Knox County Park District.
The Trail board received its non-profit 501(c)(3) status in 1989. Since 1990, this group of people, along with many other volunteers, have used gifts and donations to enhance the park with improvements such as rest rooms, water fountains, parking lots, benches, a playground and a restored steam locomotive and caboose.
Donations
also have been used to purchase maintenance supplies
and equipment and volunteers have built a storage
building to house the equipment. In all sorts of
weather and throughout the whole year, you'll
encounter board members and volunteers blowing leaves,
mowing, clearing brush, cutting trees, repairing
asphalt, and occasionally riding the trail!
While enjoying the Trail during COVID-19 guidelines, please
honor the gap. Social distancing rules of 6 feet apply.
Thankfully, there's plenty of room for both walkers and
riders alike!
The Trail is one of the largest, paved rail-to-trail parks in the United States maintained solely by donations and volunteers. Its non-profit board relies solely on gifts, donations and volunteers for support of operations, improvements and maintenance.
