State and local officials cut the ribbon on the Canal Park Trail on October 14, which finishes a riverfront project that broke ground in May. On a map it's a short stretch of path. What it does is link several places Zanesville already uses. One end sits beside the Y-Bridge and the other at the city's 19th-century lock, with a bridge crossing in between that reaches the Putnam Greenway Trail. Local partners call it the first finished piece of a much longer paved route.
That framing makes the trail more useful. It works best as one part of a walk or ride that starts and ends somewhere you already know.
The Route, End to End
The Ohio Department of Development's groundbreaking announcement laid out the route. It starts at East Main Street, follows the riverfront through Muskingum River State Park and ends at the historic Lock and Dam #10. At the groundbreaking, Muskingum Valley Park District Executive Director Russell Edgington described the paved section as running "from the Y-Bridge down to the lock tenders house," as WHIZ reported.
Here are the landmarks in order, heading downriver:
- East Main Street, just east of the Y-Bridge. This is the start, and the closest point to downtown.
- Muskingum River State Park. The trail runs along the riverfront through the state park land.
- The lock tender's house. This is the end of the paved section Edgington described.
- Lock and Dam #10. ODNR lists the lock at 1000 Hughes Street, Zanesville, which is also the easiest address to plug into a phone.
A 2024 Zanesville Times Recorder story on the original plan said the project would upgrade the existing gravel canal path that runs past the existing parking lot on the Muskingum River Parkway. If you've walked that gravel path before, you already know the corridor. The new trail paves it and gives it a name.
The Turn That Makes It a Loop
The most useful detail came from Edgington at the May groundbreaking. "Visitors will be able to go from basically the Canal Park Trail up the Sixth Street Bridge and then take that over and connect to the Putnam Greenway Trail," he said in WHIZ's coverage.
That changes how the trail works for anyone living near downtown or in Putnam. You don't have to walk down to Lock 10 and turn around the way you came. The Sixth Street Bridge links the Canal Park Trail to the Putnam Greenway, so a walk can cross the river and come back along a different stretch of it.
Zane's Landing Park sits upriver at the west end of Market Street. Visit Zanesville lists it as an existing starting point for the riverfront bike and hike trail. So the Canal Park Trail fills in the downriver end of a riverfront that already had a well-used anchor at its upriver end.
Why It Ends at a Lock
Lock 10 is the oldest thing on the route by a long way. ODNR's Muskingum River State Park page explains that Major Samuel Curtis designed 10 dams and 11 locks to connect the river to the Ohio & Erie Canal at Dresden, and that the system opened in 1841. ODNR also notes that the Muskingum River was Ohio's first designated water trail.
The canal in "Canal Park" refers to that navigation system. The lock chain runs from Devola Lock #2 near Marietta up through McConnelsville Lock #7, Philo Lock #9 in Duncan Falls, and Zanesville Lock #10, with Ellis Lock #11 just upriver. The new trail ends at one link in a 180-year-old system that ties Zanesville to river towns up and down the valley.
"Our communities got together around themes, where they wanted to do community development projects that would help… help grow these local communities."
Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik, speaking at the October 14 ribbon cutting, as reported by WHIZ
Who Runs It, and Who Paid for It
There are several agencies involved, and knowing which does what helps if you ever need to report a downed tree or ask about an event.
| Role | Who | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Co-manages the trail | Ohio Department of Natural Resources, alongside the park district | WHIZ, Oct. 14 |
| Day-to-day maintenance | Muskingum Valley Park District, under a lease signed with ODNR at the groundbreaking | WHIZ, May 1 |
| Grant coordination | Ironton-Lawrence County Community Action Organization | WHIZ, Oct. 14 |
| Funding program | Ohio's Wonderful Waterfronts Initiative, part of the Appalachian Community Grant Program | Ohio Dept. of Development |
The state's list of funded Appalachian Community Grant projects shows a $1,178,560 award for the Canal Park Trail, with the Muskingum Valley Park District named as the project's overseer. The trail is one of 21 projects completed in a regional effort built around Ohio's rivers, which Ironton-Lawrence Community Action coordinated from southern Ohio. Across 32 Appalachian counties, that statewide program put about $500 million into the region, Governor Mike DeWine said at the groundbreaking.
Zanesville Mayor Don Mason told WHIZ the city and park district have "a strong working relationship" because "we're both developing properties within the same area." That overlap is why a trail through a state park, maintained by a voter-supported park district, can link into city bridges and greenways.
What the State Announced for the Riverbank
The groundbreaking announcement listed benches, picnic tables, an ADA-accessible kayak launch, a deck overlooking the river and an amphitheater for public events. WHIZ's May report put the handicap-accessible kayak dock near the locks.
The kayak launch would add a new way to use the river. ODNR already lists public boat ramps run by other entities near Locks 2, 7 and 10. An accessible launch beside a paved path is a different kind of access, for paddlers who don't want to haul a kayak down an unpaved bank. The amphitheater is the piece most likely to bring events to this stretch of river once it's in regular use. The park district's site is the place to watch for those announcements.
Using It This Fall
The trail opens at the quiet end of the river season, so plan for that.
The locks are done operating for the season. ODNR's posted schedule ran weekend lock hours from September 12 through October 11, from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. with a daily 2 to 2:30 p.m. lunch closure. A late-October walk to Lock 10 means seeing the lock and dam at rest. ODNR notes that special arrangements outside normal hours can be made by calling the park office at least 48 hours ahead, subject to staff availability.
The Lorena is already looking ahead. The sternwheeler is moored at Zane's Landing, and its Visit Zanesville page now says the crew looks forward to the 2027 season. A boat ride and a trail walk on the same afternoon will have to wait until next year.
Zane's Landing stays open. Visit Zanesville lists the park as open daily from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., with the Eternal Flame, the Bicentennial Legacy Monument and a boat dock on site. It's a good place to start for anyone coming from the Market Street side of downtown.
A sensible fall outing starts at Zane's Landing, heads downriver past the Y-Bridge to East Main Street, follows the Canal Park Trail to Lock 10 at Hughes Street, and comes back over the Sixth Street Bridge by way of the Putnam Greenway Trail.
The Longer Line on the Map
The groundbreaking announcement says local partners hope to eventually connect the Canal Park Trail to other local trails, creating "a continuous paved recreational trail from South Zanesville to Dresden."
That goal follows the river's own history. Dresden is where Curtis's lock system originally met the Ohio & Erie Canal. A paved route from South Zanesville to Dresden would trace much of the same corridor that once carried canal traffic. The Canal Park Trail, from the Y-Bridge to Lock 10, is the first stretch of it with pavement down and a ribbon cut.
At J Moore Realty Group, we keep track of how projects like this change everyday routines across Zanesville, from new trail connections to what's open along the riverfront. If you're wondering how a walk to Lock 10 or the Putnam Greenway connection fits into your own plans, we're glad to talk it through, and you can get your free home valuation anytime.
