Welcome to the Home of Tri-County Triangle Trail, Inc.
A Volunteer Non-Profit Supporting Recreational Trails in Ross and Fayette Counties of Ohio
Visit our Facebook Page for additional information on events and trail
also visit the Ross County Park District Web and Facebook pages:
Ross County Parks and Trails Web page and the
Ross County Park and Trails Facebook page
NOTICE!
NEXT TRI-COUNTY TRIANGLE TRAIL MEETING
Time and Location to be Announced
Thanks to all the riders and volunteers that made
the Cookie Ride a great success!!
More than 100 riders enjoyed a beautiful day riding the 2026 Cookie Ride! The donations that we received will help us continue to assist the Ross County Park District in maintaining the 34 mile trail connecting Chillicothe to Washington Court House. Thank you to the TTT volunteers and our sponsors to bake cookies, setup the cookie stops and answer rider questions! Maintaining a trail of this length is a massive undertaking. Your donations will assist greatly in keeping the trail in good condition!
Tri-County Triangle Trail Receives Volunteer of the Year Award from Ross-Chillicothe Convention & Visitors Bureau!!!
We were honored at the 2026 Pineapple Awards ceremony hosted by the Ross-Chillicothe Convention & Visitors Bureau on May 4, 2026, in Chillicothe, Ohio by the Ross-Chillicothe Convention & Visitors Bureau on May 4, 2026. We received the Volunteer of the Year award for our dedication to maintaining and promoting the region’s outdoor trail network. This recognition celebrates the group’s ongoing work in supporting recreational trails in Ross and Fayette Counties, fostering community engagement, and enhancing the area’s tourism appeal
The Pineapple Awards are an annual event that honors individuals and organizations contributing to hospitality and tourism in Ross County. The “pineapple” is the international symbol of hospitality, and the awards highlight those who make the region a welcoming destination for residents and visitors.
This award underscores the trail’s role in the local economy and culture, as well as its importance to outdoor recreation in Southern Ohio. It also reflects the broader impact of volunteer-driven tourism initiatives in the region.
TRAIL CONSTRUCTION UPDATE:
GOOD NEWS! All five of the erosion issues have been resolved and the trail is open!
Trail Surface Maintenance Complete! Tri-County Triangle Trail Volunteers have completed work in removing the root bumps from Hopewell Mound Group on Sulfur Lick Road west to the Shaw Wetland at Robinson Road. With the proceeds from dues, donations and the annual Cookie Ride we were able to purchase an asphalt shaver that has allowed our volunteers to remove the root issues that have been a problem for many years! Big thanks to Jeff and Sandra Clark for their work to get this done! You will find a great improvement in your ride on the trail!
The trail Extension from Octa to Milledgeville is complete! This extends the Jamestown Connector Trail 1.5 miles from Octa east to Milledgeville! The trail is now complete from Xenia Station Trail Head, 150 S. Miami Ave, Xenia click for MAP. Please note that Google Maps has not updated map to show completed trail east to Milledgeville – 20.1 miles total distance from Xenia to Milledgeville. Thanks to the Fayette County Engineer for making this project possible!
On June 4, 2025 44 statewide projects in Ohio 33 counties were approved under the Alternative Transportation Program (TAP) administered by the Ohio Department of Transportation. (read more here) Ross and Fayette County were awarded two of these projects which will greatly improve and extend the Paint Creek Recreational Trail (PCRT)! In Ross County the project will resurface/repair trail from Frankfort Village east to Musselman Rd (3.2miles). A second grant will build a new trail to connect the Shaw Wetland to the City of Washington. The projects will be completed in 2027-28. We will have to wait a while but they are fully funded! A great thanks to the Ross County Park District, Fayette County Engineer and County Commissioners to successfully obtain these highly competitive grants!
We are excited about a promising future, much needed trail extensions and repairs to Paint Creek Recreational Trail and Xenia to Washington Court House extensions. In total over $3 million dollars have been allocated to improve our community trail network. Tri-County Triangle Trail is pleased to support these critical projects to improve recreational opportunities and economic benefits of our regional trail system. Since Tri-County Triangle Trail was created in the 1990’s to make a recreational trail system possible by purchasing most of the old B&O railbed and supporting efforts to make the trail a reality. We are optimistic about the recreational trails being developed and maintained by many including City of Chillicothe, Village of Frankfort, Ross County Park District, Fayette and Ross County Commissioners, Fayette County Engineer, donations by individuals and groups and many more! Thank You!!!!
The Paint Creek Recreational Trail (Interactive Map) is a scenic 34-mile trail from Chillicothe to Washington Court House and passes through the Historic Village of Frankfort, a Hopewell Culture National Historic Park/World Heritage Site, Pleasant Valley and Chillicothe. The trail is maintained according to jurisdiction including the City of Chillicothe, the Ross County Park District, the City of Washington Court House, the Village of Frankfort, the Fayette County Engineer, the Wayne Twp Trustees in Fayette County and the non-profit Tri-County Triangle Trail.
Facilities along the Trail-Click on Links for Maps including Location on trail, restrooms, shelter, dining and water are available at sites along the trail or nearby, this includes Water Street Access-Mile Marker 1.0 parking, bike tool station and many restaurants nearby, High Street Access-Mile Marker 1.5 (restrooms, shelter, water, parking), Hopewell Culture Park-Mile Marker 8.5 (water, restrooms, parking, picnic shelter, walking trails), Brad Lightle Park-Mile Marker 15 on trail at Frankfort (shelter, portable toilets, water, parking, food nearby), Austin Mill Brewery at SR 138 on the trail-Mile 18.5, Shaw Wetland-Mile 30 (parking, wetland information and board walk, portable toilet, shelter) and Christman Park, Court House (device charging, portable toilets, water, picnic shelter). Also note that there are covered and uncovered benches at many places along trail other than the locations noted above. There are many pubs, restaurants and diners in Chillicothe, Frankfort and Washington Court House!
About Us: Tri-County Triangle Trail is a 501(c)3 non-profit (all volunteers!) promoting and assisting improvement of recreational trails in Ross and Fayette Counties including the Paint Creek Recreational Trail. Our mission is to provide support to assist in the routine maintenance of the trail as requested and in cooperation with the Ross County Park District and the Village of Frankfort in Ross County. In Fayette County, Tri-County Trail owns and is responsible for the trail from the Ross County Line to Robinson Rd. a distance of 5.5 miles. We receive valuable support in Fayette County from the Fayette County Engineer, Fayette County Commissioners and Wayne Township Trustees for mowing and brush removal. Fayette Travel and Tourism supports the trail with annual grants for improvements. Our volunteers help in removal of fallen trees, cleaning the trail and general maintenance in coordination with the Ross County Park District. Trail volunteers also mow the trail head parking lot area at the Shaw Wetland.
If you are interested in assisting with volunteer trail maintenance, have questions, making a donation or becoming an active member email us. Thank you!
A Brief History of the Paint Creek Recreational Trail: Actually, it is a 150-year project in the making!!! It began as the Dayton & Southeastern Railroad. Colonel S. N. Yeoman of Washington Court House created the railroad in 1871 hoping to build a standard gauge railroad to connect Dayton, Xenia, Washington Court House, Frankfort, Chillicothe and Wellston to connect to the coal mines of southeast Ohio. The railroad would provide a good way to move coal from southeastern Ohio to shipping west to Dayton and beyond. There was a railroad bed that had been graded 25 years earlier connecting Dayton and Washington Court House.
Yeoman was able to gain the rights to this roadbed to build the railroad but was unable to gain financing for the project. Three years later he hired a promoter to raise interest and funds to start construction. Ultimately, he was able to raise funds to start the project but in 1875 he was discharged at a directors meeting and replaced by the railroads chief engineer. Construction began in 1875, and the first train ran on the tracks from Dayton and Washington Court House in 1877. The section from Washington Court House through Frankfort to Musselman Rd was completed in November of 1877 and onto Chillicothe in 1879. This included at 1,000’ bridge over the Scioto River. The railway between Chillicothe and Washington Court House was abandoned in the early 1970’s by CSX who had acquired the rail from the Baltimore and Ohio Line and is now the Paint Creek Recreational Trail. The trail is approximately 32 miles in length from a trail head at Shaw Wetland on Robinson Rd 2 miles east of Washington Court House to the east side of Chillicothe at the Scioto River. We are awaiting an Ohio Department of Natural Resources Clean Ohio grant approval submitted by the City of Washington in March 2024 to complete the final 2.4 miles from Robinson Rd/Shaw Wetland to the City of Washington Court House.
By 1890 the railroad was extended southeast to Richmond Dale and onto Wellston in 1891. Then by 1892 the railroad reached Ironton. The dream of Colonel Yeoman was finally realized to connect the coal fields of southeast Ohio to the shipping port of Ironton and west to Dayton and beyond.
In 1990 Tri-County Triangle Trail, Inc. a 501(c)3 non-profit was created with the vision to convert the abandoned railroad right-of-way to and convert the abandoned rail bed to a recreational trail (commonly known as a rail-trail) to connect Chillicothe, Frankfort, Washington Court House. The group worked tirelessly to raise funds from supporters and businesses and were successful in purchasing the right-of-way from Washington Court House to National Park Service Hopewell Mound Group on Sulfur Lick Road a distance of 24 miles. The Ross County Park District acquire the right-of-way from Hopewell to Chillicothe a distance of 7 miles. The trail was constructed in multiple phases with Tri-County Trail assisting with local fund matches for grants, construction of amenities like covered benches and other rider amenities, maintenance such as mowing, trail repairs, pavement sealing and other improvements. Tri-County Triangle Trail has continued to support trail development in Fayette and Ross Counties and partnered with the Ross County Park District to assist with maintenance. In addition, Tri-County Triangle Trail has been able to purchase abandoned rail right-of-way from Washington Court House east to New Holland (the Pickaway County Park District owns the right-of-way from New Holland to Circleville and southwest from Washington Court House to Clinton County line (Clinton County Park District owns the right-of-way from Fayette County line to Wilmington (approximately 7 miles of this trail has been completed.)
When all these connections are completed the Paint Creek Recreational Trail will be connected to a regional and national trail system that consists of hundreds of miles of rail-trail extending across the United States!
This page updated August 14, 2026
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