Canal Park Trail

37 minutes ago

Matt Morris,

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – Ohio Governor Mike DeWine joined local officials today to conduct the groundbreaking of the Canal Park Trail.

The governor recognizes what Ohio’s outdoors have to offer and wants to promote easier accessibility to encourage public utilization.

“We had the idea to come up with this Wonderful Waterfront Initiative and it’s a part of our whole Appalachian money. We decided to set aside a significant amount of money, actually it was about $500 Million dollars for 32 Appalachian counties. And one of the things I think we sometimes forget is the great asset we have and that’s water,” DeWine said.

The park is being constructed as part of the Wonderful Waterfronts Initiative and funded through the Ohio Department of Development’s Appalachian Community Grant Program. Zanesville Mayor Don Mason explained how the trail fits into the city’s planning for a more optimistic future.

“Zanesville and Muskingum County are very blessed to have the Muskingum Valley Park District, which the public supports and has voted for. And it’s important because they pick up a key piece that both the county and city government weren’t bringing to the table. We have a strong working relationship with the park district because we’re both developing properties within the same area,” Mason said.

Muskingum Valley Park District Executive Director Russell Edgington talked about all the amenities that the park will have to offer.

“We are actually today signing a lease with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. At that point the park district will be basically responsible for maintaining the Canal Park. The Canal Park Trail, when completed, will be paved from the Y-Bridge down to the lock tenders house. Visitors will be able to go from basically the Canal Park Trail up the Sixth Street Bridge and then take that over and connect to the Putnam Greenway Trail,” Edgington said.

The park will offer visitors plenty of picnic tables and seating opportunities to experience the views along with a handicap accessible kayak dock near the locks. The project’s estimated completion is sometime this fall.