The Moonville Rail-Trail is a sixteen-mile (25 kilometer) rail-trail in southeast Ohio, located in Vinton

Vinton County, Ohio

Vinton County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 13,435. , the least populous in the state. Its county seat is McArthur. The county is named for Samuel Finley Vinton, a 19th-century United States Congressman from...

 and Athens

Athens County, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 62,223 people, 22,501 households, and 12,713 families residing in the county. The population density was 123 people per square mile . There were 24,901 housing units at an average density of 49 per square mile...

 Counties. It is largely embedded in the Zaleski State Forest

Zaleski State Forest

Zaleski State Forest is the second-largest state forest in the U.S. state of Ohio, located primarily in Vinton County, with areas in Athens County as well. The 28,000 acre forest surrounds Lake Hope State Park in Vinton County, and extensively borders the Waterloo Wildlife Research Station in...

 and passes close to Lake Hope State Park

Lake Hope State Park

Lake Hope State Park is a state park located in Vinton County, Ohio, United States. It is entirely surrounded by the Zaleski State Forest. The park is centered around Lake Hope, a lake on Big Sandy Run....

. It was formerly part of the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad

Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad

The Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad is a defunct railroad of southern Ohio that was later absorbed by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad ....

, which eventually became part of the B&O Railroad, which eventually was absorbed by CSX Transportation

CSX Transportation

CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...

. The line was abandoned in the 1980s. The section of the railroad grade from Mineral

Mineral, Ohio

Mineral is an unincorporated community in Waterloo Township, Athens County, Ohio, United States. Centered on State Route 356, it was established as a coal-mining community. It is located on Mud Lick Run, which flows into nearby Hewitt Fork, a tributary of Raccoon Creek. The B&O Railroad once ran...

 to the Diamond Powder Plant was acquired by the respective county governments through Clean Ohio Conservation Fund grants. Work to restore the many bridges in order to make the entire stretch passable is underway.

This rail-trail is open to hikers, horse riders, and bicyclists. It has a gravel/dirt surface. The trail features two tunnels: the Moonville

Moonville, Ohio

Moonville is a ghost town in southeastern Brown Township, Vinton County, Ohio, United States. Little remains of this former mining community except a few foundations, a cemetery, and an abandoned railroad tunnel which is the subject of numerous ghost stories.-History:In 1856, the Marietta and...

 Tunnel, a masonry tunnel in Vinton County that is reputed to be haunted, and the King Switch Tunnel, a timber tunnel in Athens County.

The underlying property is owned by the Athens County Commissioners in Athens County, and by the Vinton County Commissioners in Vinton County.

The governing organization, Moonville Rail-Trail, Inc., also hopes to eventually extend the trail eastward to New Marshfield

New Marshfield, Ohio

New Marshfield is a census-designated place in central Waterloo Township, Athens County, Ohio, United States. Although it is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 45766...

and beyond.