The Buckeye Trail Association is attempting to set a record tomorrow with its Biggest Day Hike.
In honor of National Trails Day, the organization is asking people to hike, bike or paddle along segments of the Buckeye Trail in an effort to collectively complete the approximately 1,440 mile loop in just one day.
The feat has never been done before.
“The closest we've gotten so far is 89%, so it's an aspiration to see if we can complete the whole thing together,” said Andrew Bashaw, executive director of the Buckeye Trail Association.
The Biggest Day Hike was born after the COVID pandemic as a way to reconnect the hiking community.
“Every year, literally millions of people are using [the Buckeye Trail] just in a few popular places,” Bashaw said. “We all have something in common. We all love the Buckeye Trail. We love the experience. We love being outdoors. And yet we don't always get to meet each other.
“So on this day, for those who want to, they may reach out to meet other like-minded people that find value in something like the Buckeye Trail, maybe help advance it and improve it in the future by getting more people involved.”
What is the Buckeye Trail?
The Buckeye Trail was first envisioned in the 1950s as a way to connect Lake Erie with the Ohio River, in the style of the Appalachian Trail.
“The original founders of the Buckeye Trail Association, like Emma ‘Grandma’ Gatewood and many others, wanted to create a trail that they wished to hike and they weren't going to wait for somebody else to do it for them,” Bashaw said.
Since then, the trail has evolved into a statewide loop: It runs from the Cuyahoga Valley through the Wayne National Forest, down to the Ohio River and up through the flatter lands of the state’s northwest.
“The Buckeye Trail, by its nature, is within 90 minutes of every Ohioan,” Bashaw said. “If you're in central Ohio, you can go in any direction away from Columbus to find the Buckeye Trail.”
Currently, the loop is being considered for National Scenic Trail designation, a title fewer than a dozen other trails hold.
How to participate in the Biggest Day Hike
Anyone can participate in the Biggest Day Hike, Bashaw said, and the Buckeye Trail has something for everyone.
People can hike through an urban downtown like Dayton or through a more rugged segment like the Shawnee State Park.
And if hiking isn’t your thing, Bashaw says consider mountain biking or paddling along rivers adjacent to the trail.
“As you can imagine, if you were segmenting a 1,400-plus mile trail, there are lots of opportunities to choose from,” Bashaw said.
He encourages people to sign up for one at buckeyetrail.org.
“You can certainly choose any segment you want to,” he said. “But you might want to consider choosing a segment that hasn't been chosen already, so that we can try to achieve that goal of completing the entire Buckeye Trail.”
But whether that goal is met or not, Bashaw says this year’s Biggest Day Hike will be a victory no matter what.
“For us, it's a success just to get people out hiking, enjoying Ohio's great outdoors,” he said.
