The Outdoor Recreation Council of Appalachia, or ORCA, announced a plan last year to build 88 new miles of trails in Bailey’s Trail System. As of today, 58 of the 88 miles have been completed.
“We have the funding through the Appalachian community grant program through the State of Ohio and ARPA funds to build out the remaining miles,” said Delia Palmisano, ORCA’s communications and philanthropy director.
Palmisano explained the existing trails have direct community connections to the Village of Chauncey, York Township and Doanville.
“The new trails will be north of 685, which is kind of further out into the county, and will have direct community connections to the Village of Buchtel, which will also connect to Snow Fork Event Center, which is where Nelsonville Music Festival takes place,” Palmisano said.
Because of the size and geographic features of Wayne National Forest, where Bailey’s Trail System is located, it’s difficult to quantify a consistent cost per mile of trail construction.
“It varies depending on what sort of features are there, what sort of things need to be removed,” Palmisano said. “A mile of trail can cost anywhere from $25,000 to $45,000 to construct."
Palmisano said they always engage with multiple stakeholder groups, such as landowners, representatives from the Wayne National Forest and property owners.
“I wouldn’t say that it’s been the shortest process ever, but all in all, it’s been pretty well received, and we just want to make sure that we’re doing everything, dotting our “I’s” and crossing our “T’s,” Palmisano said.
Palmisano said ORCA hopes to build around another 20 miles in 2025 and is close to completion.
Cycling is a popular hobby in Athens, making Bailey’s Trail System a great asset for Southeastern Ohio. Hudson Parker, an Athens resident and employee at Cycle Paths Bicycles, located at 104 W. Union St, shared his thoughts on the subject.
“We got a lot of commuters,” Hudson said. “With the intro of the Bailey’s, we’re also getting a lot more mountain bikers, a lot of road cyclists just because of the scenery, and our roads are pretty great for road cycling. Also, parking sucks in Athens, so we get a lot of commuter traffic because of that.”
Student bikers are eager to see what challenges the expansion of Bailey’s will bring. Nathan Kallet, a freshman studying international business, is an experienced mountain biker and expressed his concerns about the new trails.
“My main gripe with it is the fact that a lot of the trails that they’re building, they’re expanding a lot, but they’re not expanding the selection of trails,” Kallet said.
Despite this, Kallet still said he thinks the trails are great for the community.
“Athens trails are just fast and flowy, which is great for beginners, but not really that challenging for people with a little more skill,” Kallet said. “There’s three trails all the way in the back that are double black trails, which, they’re fun, but it’s only three, and from campus, it’s like a fifteen-mile drive.”
Although Kallet said he doesn’t know exactly what trails they plan to build, he says he is all game if they are adding more advanced trails.
With the completion of the trail expansion project on the horizon, more outdoor adventures in the Wayne National Forest and Southeastern Ohio can be expected.
