Alley Park
Trail Info
Alley Park, part of the Lancaster Parks
system, offers over 6 miles of barefoot-friendly trails winding their way
through Hocking Hills topography. Some trails travel along ridgetops, others
follow valleys, and then of course some run between the ridges and the valleys.
It is easy to put together a hike of just about any distance,
from 1/2 a mile to 3 miles within this park.
There are two lakes that provide wonderful
scenery. Unfortunately, the two trails that circle the lakes have a bit of
gravel on them that might be too challenging for the novice barefoot hiker.
However, it is possible to avoid much of the gravel by walking along the edge
of, or just off of, the trails.
There are plenty of other trails, though,
with fully-natural surfaces. Some of the trails run right along side of the
blackhand sandstone, and between slump blocks. Here you will be able to feel the
texture of the sandstone under your feet. The Meadow Trail runs through grass,
which seems to be mowed about every 2 weeks, so its length will depend on when
it was last mowed. There are a few muddy spots in the park after it rains, but
these are few and far between.
The park is filled with oak trees, so,
after the gravel trails around the lakes, the most challenging part of hiking
these trails is treading on acorns in the fall.
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Alley Trail - 2.5 miles. A nice trail that
loops around much of the park. |
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Blackhand Trail - 0.75 mile. This trail has a
bit of gravel. |
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Buck Run Trail - 0.19 mile |
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Christmas Fern Trail - 0.15 mile. |
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Lakes Trail - 0.5 mile. |
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Meadow Trail - 0.34 mile.
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Muskrat Bend - 0.15 mile.
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Oak Trail - 0.12 mile. |
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Poplar Valley Trail - 0.32 mile. |
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Ridge loop - 0.32 mile. |
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Ridge Trail - 0.22 mile. |
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Sourwood Trail - 0.26 mile. |
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Trillium Trail - 0.16 mile. |
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Twin Lake Trail - 0.19 mile. This trail has a
bit of gravel. |
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Vulture Roost Trail - 0.14 mile. |
Directions
From Columbus take US 33 east to the Lancaster
bypass. Take the bypass most of the way around Lancaster to
Tarkiln Road. Turn left onto Tarkiln Road and pass the north
bound 33 entrance ramp. Take the next left onto Old Logan Road
SE (before the traffic light). Do not accidentally pass by Old
Logan Road SE and turn onto Logan Lancaster Road SE at the
traffic light. Follow Old Logan Road SE north less than 2 miles.
The park is on the left.
Alley Park
location and
trail maps.
Lancaster Parks & Recreation has more
information about
Alley Park.
Have questions? Write the
Ohio
Barefoot Hikers.
Trail description provided by Robert
Neinast.
The Ohio Barefoot Hikers name, logo and
site content © 2010 Ohio Barefoot Hikers. All rights reserved.
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