Join us for a grand opening celebration, John Knouse-style! The festive event, kicking off at 1 pm on Saturday, June 11, will 
officially open the John Knouse Trail, built in honor of Athens Conservancy’s founder and widely-known friend of the community. The event, hosted by the Conservancy and Friends of Strouds Run, will include a ribbon-cutting, remembrances of John, some treats made from John’s extensive recipe collection, and self-guided tours of the new trail. The first 50 attendees will receive a bandana! The event concludes at 3:30 pm, but the trail is open for visitors and hiking anytime.
The celebration will take place at the trailhead at the western end of the John Knouse Trail, near the Horseman’s Area parking lot (see below for more directions).
The 2-mile, mostly forested trail crosses Canaan Preserve, and forms a critical new trail link. It connects separate trail systems of Strouds Run State Park and Baker Preserve, and makes it possible to hike from Sells Park to SR-690 near Canaanville (9 miles by trail) without crossing a road. From the trail’s western end on Lake Hill Road, the scenic John Knouse Trail descends steadily, but not steeply, to a small stream, climbs past a scenic rock shelter to a ridge, crosses two grassy service roads, and continues on relatively level terrain to its eastern end on Liar’s Ridge Trail in Baker Preserve.
The trail is open for hikers and nature enthusiasts, and is designed for pedestrian use only. The John Knouse Trail is an effort of Athens Conservancy and Buckeye Trail Association, and is made possible with grants from the Ora E. Anderson Conservation Fund and Ohio Health, generous donations, and the hard work of many volunteers
Finding the Trail
To access the western end of the trail and the parking area (“P” on map): From Athens, take Strouds Run Road into the state park and continue past the campgrounds and beach turnoffs. About a mile farther up a steep hill, there is a fork in the road. Turn right and follow Scatter Ridge Road 1.7 miles to the junction with Lake Hill Road, where there is a sign that says Horseman’s Area. 
Turn right and follow Lake Hill Road 0.5 mile to a parking area* on the right. From there, continue south on the road by foot another 0.2 mile and look for a trailhead sign on the left. It’s about 500 feet beyond a vehicle-exclusion gate. (*Please note, the parking lot is also used for horse trailers, so cars should try to park leaving room for them.)
The trail is also accessible at its eastern end and can be found by walking the Liar’s Ridge Trail loop through Baker Preserve. You can walk either direction from the Baker parking lot (on SR-690), but the distance to John Knouse Trail is slightly shorter if you walk the loop clockwise.
The John Knouse Trail is marked with white blazes.
John Knouse
1953-2021
John was a founding member of Athens Conservancy. He envisioned a land trust that would raise funds to establish nature preserves in the area, and he reached out to others to join him. He also one of the founding members of Friends of Strouds Run State Park. Self-trained in GIS, he prepared hundreds of detailed maps for both organizations.
As Athens Conservancy board member Donna Goodman said, “When we think of John, he is in the woods, blue bandanna on his head and mattock in hand. A trail named in his honor is just a tiny measure of thanks for all he has done for the plants and fish and bugs and birds and all of the other critters who need the woods to survive … including us.”