North Coast Inland Trail

The North Coast Inland Trail (often abbreviated as NCIT) is a work-in-process multipurpose trail project that currently consists of several separate portions, defined by their counties, in northern Ohio, United States. Affiliates with the trails have high hopes to connect all of these portions and to extend the trails into Indiana and Pennsylvania, two of Ohio's land-bordering states.

In 1992, several park districts agreed to create a series of connecting trails across the state of Ohio. The non-profit organization Firelands Rails to Trails, Inc. gave the project the collective name "North Coast Inland Trail" in 2000.

The North Coast Inland Trail is mostly funded by the federal government, but is also partially funded by private organizations and local governments.

The trails are designed to cover many different landscapes, including farmland, urban areas, and forests. Many of the trails follow railroads. Some of these trails are paved over abandoned railways, while others follow alongside active railroads. Because of road obstacles, the trails themselves sometimes cut off before large cities and highways, and signs are placed throughout the open cities or areas, leading the followers to the next segment of the trails, which, in some cases, can be slightly hazardous.

The trails are also designed to "allow people within [counties] to easily move from community to community" and to "connect people and neighborhoods," as stated by Jim Ziemnik, the director of the Lorain County Metro Parks district. The convenience of the trails is also believed to help enhance the real estate appraisal of community homes near the trails.

Because the North Coast Inland Trail is not yet complete, it is currently separated into several disconnected portions that are generally defined by specific counties. The North Coast Inland Trail also has many small and incomplete segments in many areas of northern Ohio besides in these three counties, such as in Wood County, Ottawa County, and Lucas County, which are planned to eventually be expanded and connected. The following are the three prominent portions of the project:

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