Trail Adopters . . .

There are many sections of trail throughout the State of Ohio that need trail adopters. The sections come in a variety: off-road, on-road, hilly, flat, rural, and urban. All of them need someone who cares enough about hiking to ensure that anyone who wants to do so, will have an enjoyable experience hiking on that trail. This relationship is most successful when the adopter takes pride in their trail as if it were their child. BTA calls this adopting the trail. As do all aspects of parenthood, this requires work and commitment. The off-road trail adopter must hike his or her trail at least 3 or 4 times a year so that they can ensure that the blazes are accurate and clear, that the hike is not a battle with thorns and other greenery and that the deadfall is removed or routed around. Even road sections need to be checked annually to ensure that the blazes are visible.

Late winter and early spring are ideal times to adopt a piece of the trial because without the undergrowth it is easy to follow and make friends with it. Soon it will be warm enough that the paint won't freeze and we can refresh or replace blazes. Now is the time to call on and schedule the Trail Crew to remove down trees. It will never be easier to beat back the briars and dig out the wild roses thus getting a head start on the summer's maintenance. This could be a great way to start the New Year.

We all like to hike the Buckeye Trail. Please give up four days a year to maintain it for all of us. You will have a good time, get outdoors and get good exercise. No one is more important to the trail than the adopters who do their job and ensure that it is fun to hike.

The Buckeye Trail Association always needs more Adopters, please consider adopting a segment of trail. If you are interested, please contact the BTA office at . Thank you!

Also, don't be discouraged if trail near your home is already claimed. We can always use help on the Buckeye Trail Crew that travels periodically throughout the state for special maintenance needs such as responding to storm damage, flooding, or re-routing trail. You can see the work party schedule on our Work Party Page.

Buckeye Trail Adopter Handbook: Maintenance Guidelines


We do recommend that all adopters record their time spent improving the Buckeye Trail and turn in their report every year. Awards are given at the annual meeting for different levels of hours given in maintaining trail. We know that many of you do not think this is worth the bother and do not care about the recognition but the BTA submits them to the NCTA and this improves our position with the National Park Service (they provide mowers and other expensive tools to the BTA). Think of it as getting some of your tax money back.

Download a copy of Adopter’s/Volunteer logs: Individuals or Groups. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to read and print the file.

Report your volunteer hours online! Online Volunteer Hours Report