Belle Valley Section

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New Belle Valley Trail Adopter
Joe Phillips paints
his first blaze. Debbie Zampini

Supervisor: Terry Blackstone

58.0 Total Miles / 15.4 Off Road Miles (26%)
Map Publication Date: March 2013

The Belle Valley section is a mostly hilly, completely rural portion of the BT that runs through Guernsey and Noble Counties in southeast Ohio. The section runs from Winterset to the American Electric Power Recreation Lands. The trail here is mostly on rarely traveled dirt roads, with off-road portions located at Salt Fork Wildlife Area, Seneca Lake (the southernmost of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District Lakes), Wolf Run State Park and the newly created Appalachian Hills Wildlife Area (formerly AEP Recreation Lands), now owned and managed by ODNR.

The trail passes through the villages of Old Washington, where the trail crosses I-70, and Belle Valley, where it crosses I-77, and Hoskinsville.

Trail Alerts

  • (7/18/25) Trail Alert — Belle Valley Pt 29

    ODNR’s Bicentennial Campground K at the southern end of Belle Valley is no longer an available camping location for BTA hikers. NOTE: Camping is only allowed for chartered groups.
    For camping information in the Appalachian Hills Wildlife Area or the Jesse Owens State Park please view the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) website at https://ohiodnr.gov/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/campgrounds/ .

    This alert applies to all BTA map products and removes any previous alerts pertaining to former American Electric Power Recreation lands that are now owned and operated by ODNR in the Belle Valley Section.

Map Updates

  • (7/18/25) Map Update Belle Valley Pt 29.
    This map update was requested by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) and applies to all BTA map products.

    Bicentennial Campground (K) is managed by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Division of Wildlife in the Appalachian Hills Wildlife Area. Campsite K is open for camping to chartered groups only. The location is just north of Belle Valley Pt 30. BTA hikers may follow the BT around the edge of the campground, but are not allowed to camp there.

    The description change in Pt 29 is noted in Bold print:

    29. Footpath at Chapel Drive (C20)
    Cross road. Descend W on footpath through early succession fields dominated by Autumn Olive shrubs. After undulating generally W for 0.4 mi, enter woods turning SW. After just over 2 mi with more undulations, join access road in the former AEP’s but now ODNR's Appalachian Hills Wildlife Area's Bicentennial Campground K (closed) and continue S. After 0.13 mi on access road, duck under pipe gate that blocks access to dam onto grassy path that leads S past a BT Carsonite® marker. Continue for 0.16 mi through woods to lawn around ODNR’s Bicentennial Campground K. NOTE: Camping is only allowed for chartered groups. BTA hikers may no longer camp there. Continue S along W edge of lawn.
  • (4/25/23)Map Update

    This update address a road name change in Noble County between Points 26 and 27. The road named Serdy Rd (T161) on the March 2013 map and described in the Point 26 description, has changed to Ola Teters Rd (T161). Note: There may or may not be a road sign stating the new name.

Trail Towns

  • There are no Trailtowns in this Section at the present time.

Section Blog Posts

  • (3/30/25) Belle Valley Section Blog—A New Year's Beginning with Help from Trail Friends
    This blog post is written by Victoria Livingston who provides blogs for the various sections of the BT as she and her husband Dave trek around the state to complete their goal of hiking the entire trail. We decided to forego New Year's Eve festivities, get to bed early and hike 12 miles in Belle Valley on January 1, 2025. Two experienced hikers joined us—what luck! Read her blog from when she and husband Dave hiked.