The Kokosing Gap Trail is a 14-mile-long recreational trail

Trail

A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...

 built on a former Pennsylvania Railroad

Pennsylvania Railroad

The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....

 bed alongside the Kokosing River

Kokosing River

The Kokosing River is a tributary of the Walhonding River, 57.2 miles long, in east-central Ohio in the United States...

 in east central Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. The trail begins in Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon, Ohio

Mount Vernon is a city in Knox County, Ohio, United States. The population was 16,990 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Knox County. The city is named after Mount Vernon, the plantation owned by George Washington.-History:...

 and winds itself to Danville

Danville, Ohio

Danville is a village in Knox County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,104 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:...

 via Gambier

Gambier, Ohio

Gambier is a village in Knox County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,871 at the 2000 census.Gambier is the home of Kenyon College and was named after one of Kenyon College's early benefactors, Lord Gambier....

 and Howard

Howard, Ohio

Howard is a census-designated place in southern Howard Township, Knox County, Ohio, United States. It is located at . The United States Postal Service has assigned Howard the ZIP Code 43028....

.

History

Opened in 1991, the 10 feet (3 m) wide paved trail was designed for bicycling, walking and rollerblading. The trail begins in Mt. Vernon's

Mount Vernon, Ohio

Mount Vernon is a city in Knox County, Ohio, United States. The population was 16,990 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Knox County. The city is named after Mount Vernon, the plantation owned by George Washington.-History:...

 Phillips Park, where a large gravel parking area has been constructed. From there the trail follows Knox County’s scenic Kokosing River and surrounding countryside.Forested hills, wetlands, family farms, and the river itself offer pleasant scenery, and many opportunities for photography. The trail runs east to historic Gambier

Gambier, Ohio

Gambier is a village in Knox County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,871 at the 2000 census.Gambier is the home of Kenyon College and was named after one of Kenyon College's early benefactors, Lord Gambier....

, the home of Kenyon College

Kenyon College

Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, founded in 1824 by Bishop Philander Chase of The Episcopal Church, in parallel with the Bexley Hall seminary. It is the oldest private college in Ohio...

. Here, one can stop for a rest at one of the trail’s restroom facilities and take photos of an old restored 1940's ALCO

American Locomotive Company

The American Locomotive Company, often shortened to ALCO or Alco , was a builder of railroad locomotives in the United States.-Early history:...

 0-6-0 steam locomotive, coal car, flatbed and caboose. From Gambier, the trail continues northeast toward Howard, underneath Route 36 through a stone-arched tunnel, and then continues on towards Danville. Convenient mile markers along the way make it easy to note distances and to mark progress in physical fitness programs.

This trail at present is the longest paved rail-trail in the US maintained solely by volunteers and donations. It is also one of the first 500 rail trails in the U.S.

Wildlife along the trail includes white-tail deer, gray squirrel

Gray squirrel

Gray squirrel or grey squirrel may refer to several species of squirrel indigenous to North America:*The Eastern gray squirrel , from the eastern United States and southeastern Canada; introduced into Britain, Ireland, western North America, Italy, and South Africa;*The Western Gray Squirrel , from...

, chipmunk

Chipmunk

Chipmunks are small striped squirrels native to North America and Asia. They are usually classed either as a single genus with three subgenera, or as three genera.-Etymology and taxonomy:...

, groundhog

Groundhog

The groundhog , also known as a woodchuck, whistle-pig, or in some areas as a land-beaver, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. Other marmots, such as the yellow-bellied and hoary marmots, live in rocky and mountainous areas, but...

, wild turkey

Wild Turkey

The Wild Turkey is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. It is the same species as the domestic turkey, which derives from the South Mexican subspecies of wild turkey .Adult wild turkeys have long reddish-yellow to grayish-green...

, great blue heron

Great Blue Heron

The Great Blue Heron is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America as well as the West Indies and the Galápagos Islands. It is a rare vagrant to Europe, with records from Spain, the Azores and England...

, and several species of hawk and owl. In recent years a pair of bald eagles have been seen nesting along the trail near the Kokosing River

Kokosing River

The Kokosing River is a tributary of the Walhonding River, 57.2 miles long, in east-central Ohio in the United States...

. Spring and summer wild flowers include trillium

Trillium

Trillium is a genus of about 40–50 species of spring ephemeral perennials, native to temperate regions of North America and Asia....

, mayapple, and jack-in-the-pulpit.