COLUMBUS — Ohio’s 29-county Appalachian Region will be featured in the April issue of National Geographic Travel magazine.
The Appalachian Driving Trails Map, which will be inserted in the magazine, features trails from each of the 13 states within the Appalachian Mountain range.
The map was unveiled at the Spotlight on Appalachia Art, Music and Travel Show at the Fort Steuben Mall in Steubenville, Ohio.
Featured
National Geographic features four Ohio trails on the map:
• The Appalachian Adventure Trail in Pike, Jackson, Meigs, Vinton and Athens counties.
• The Clothesline of Quilts Trail in southern Ohio.
• The Ohio River National Scenic Byway, sharing the trail with Pennsylvania, Kentucky and West Virginia.
• The National Road entering Ohio from the east and shared with West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
Tourism
This map was produced by National Geographic Travel magazine in partnership with the Appalachian Regional Commission Tourism Council as a vehicle to increase tourism and the retail sales in the Appalachian Region, benefiting the businesses and artists along the trails.
The release of the map is expected to directly impact the economy of 18 counties and have an indirect impact on an additional 11 counties in Ohio’s Appalachian region.
The Governor’s Office of Appalachia provided a $15,000 grant toward the production and distribution of the map.
Online
The Appalachian Regional Commission has also launched an interactive Web site, which features all 28 trails in the 13 states and allows visitors to download itineraries and plan trips to the trails.
Thank you for all of that useful information. Just one thing. So ohio is or isn’t a mountain region? Just publish answer on sight. Thanks!!!
Well, I had to Google it and learned something new. Technically, Ohio is part of the Appalachian Mountain range, that starts in Canada and extends into Alabama. Eastern and southeastern Ohio is part of the “foothills” area of that mountain range. You can read more at Ohio History Central: http://bit.ly/L6yCX