#3 - All Aboard to the C.A.&C. Depot
Welcome aboard as we collect your ticket to ride on the Pennsylvania RR also known as the Cleveland, Akron, Columbus (C.A.&C.) Railroad that once occupied our (3) multi-use trails in Knox County. In the late 1990s, Knox County began to explore the idea of taking the abandoned rail beds and converting them to multi-use recreational trails, this project is nearly complete as our trails include the Heart of Ohio, Kokosing Gap, and Mohican Valley trail which make up a greater trail system called Ohio to Erie Trail and spans 326 miles from Cincinnati to Cleveland. On our GeoTrail you will discover scenic views our county has to offer. This trail features (11) Geocaches which are numbered to follow in sequence. As you visit each cache we encourage you to become engaged in learning the history of Ohio Railroads and the significance they contributed to the growth of these towns. We hope that you enjoy our 2020 GeoTrail.
The Heart of the Ohio Trail
This trail begins outside of Centerburg and runs through Mount Vernon. To search for the third cache in our series travel to 501 S. Main Street, Mount Vernon and park in the C.A.&C Depot parking lot. You will notice an informational kiosk about the Knox County Trail system. The Train Depot is the home to our Knox County Chamber of Commerce. You may access the east end of the building for access to a drinking fountain and restroom. At this location you will view "The Viaduct" which is a stone bridge built in 1892 to allow travel over the Koksing River. The Train Depot was built in 1905 and is was listed in 1972 to the National Register of Historic Places.
- Bring a Pen. There are no writing utensils in the cache to record your name on the log sheet.
- Our geocaches are handicap accessible but someone will need to accompany the visitor to aid in retrieving the cache.
- Record your Geocaching username on the log sheet inside the cache and place the cache exactly where you found it.
- Log your find on the www.geocaching.com cache profile. PLEASE LOG WHERE YOU ARE FROM IN YOUR COMMENT
- To take the adventure one step further (OPTIONAL) Scan the QR code in the cache box or take a picture of the website link and go on a virtual trip as you learn about each cache location. Here you will find a lot of information about the trail town and what you might have seen on your visit as well as a featured Hospitality Stop discounts by clicking on the coupon.
- Unlock the opportunity to receive our exclusive Geocoin by completing our "test your knowledge" challenge on the last cache to obtain the geocoin.
- Be sure to follow our caches in sequence (1-11) and enjoy our trail.
Upon completion of all (11) of our GeoTrail caches and our virtual challenge, you will receive a Knox County Park District Geocoin. The challenge will ask for your name, email, and mailing address to which your coin will be sent. Our coins are available to the first 200 to locate the cache, one will only be given to the Geocacher listed with each find and we prefer a family to share a coin.