Wabash Cannonball Trail

Wabash Cannonball Trail
Westbound tandem with picnic basket at Rotary Park
Rails to Trails
Established	1995
Length	Williams County: 9 mi. Fulton County: 26 mi. Lucas County: 22 mi. Henry County: 6 mi. Total: 63 miles
Location	Northwest Ohio United States
Designation	North Country National Scenic Trail
Trailheads	Parking available in all counties.
Use	Hiking, Bicycling, Cross Country Skiing, Equestrian
Highest point	879 feet (268 m)
Lowest point	640 feet (200 m)
Grade	flat to gentle railroad grades
Trail difficulty	Wheelchair accessible
Months	12
Waymark
Sights	Oak Openings Preserve Metropark Fraker Mill Covered Bridge Wabash Railroad caboose
Hazards	US and State Route crossings
Surface	Lucas County: all paved Fulton County: 2 miles paved remainder: gravel
Right of way	Wabash Railroad
Website	http://wabashcannonballtrail.org

Northwest Ohio

The Wabash Cannonball Trail is a rail to trail conversion in northwestern Ohio, U.S. It is 63 miles (101 km) long. The North Fork of the Wabash Cannonball Trail is part of the North Coast Inland Trail, which plans to fully connect Indiana to Pennsylvania, and portions of the trail are included in the North Country National Scenic Trail.

The Wabash Railroad line used by the trail was first built in 1855, and service continued until 1969. The Norfolk Southern Railway then purchased it. The rails were finally abandoned in 1990. Local enthusiasts developed the idea of creating a public recreational trail and utility corridor. On March 24, 1994, the corridor was purchased from Norfolk Southern.

The name Wabash Cannonball stems from an 1882 American folk song about an imaginary train. No train actually had the name until 1949, when the Wabash Railroad actually named its Detroit-St. Louis day train as the Cannon Ball.

Other rail-to-trail conversions of the Wabash Railroad in the Midwestern region include the Kiwanis Trail in Adrian, Michigan, the Wabash Heritage Trail in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the Wabash Trail in Sangamon County, Illinois.