Sadly, graffiti artists have found this one too. Also, the temperature drops at least ten degrees as you approach. You can actually smell the tunnel before you can see it. It smells musty and old like old wood and oil. I love the way the rock juts out overhead so you can truly see what the builders were up against all those years ago. It’s a 120 foot long wooden tunnel carved through rock. Walk a couple of miles east of Moonville to find the King’s Hollow Tunnel. Visiting here has long been a rite of passage for young people, including Ohio University students, to visit at night. ![]() Today the tunnel is largely covered in graffiti. However, if you go off trail in your exploration you might stumble into an old cellar or two so be careful. Even the foundation stones once left from old buildings have been mostly swept away by flooding or souvenir seekers. There’s not much left except a cemetery, the tunnel and some tall tales. No more than a hundred people ever lived in Moonville at one time and they were mostly miners and rail workers. It’s named for the small town that was once located here. The Moonville Tunnel was built in 1856 and repaired at the turn of the next century. This is a densely forested area with gorgeous views of the changing foliage, wetlands and stream. This is what can be accomplished when people unite for a common good. You cross several of their bridges in that two mile stretch between Moonville and Kings Hollow and I couldn’t help but smile every time we approached a new one. This is not a wealthy community so they have relied on grants, fundraisers and donations of blood, sweat and tears from a very small core group of people. Having new bridges placed was imperative to making this rail trail usable. When the railroad pulled out of this stretch years ago, they took out everything including the bridges which cross ravines as well as the incredibly twisty Raccoon Creek. This one is called King’s Hollow Tunnel or sometimes King’s Switch.įirst of all, I want to say how amazed I am at the work the Moonville Rail Trail Association has accomplished. We parked at Moonville and then walked the approximate two miles to another tunnel. I was there with a friend after work last night. They park, walk the short distance to the tunnel, nose around a bit and leave. In fact, many people come just to see the tunnel. It’s also a super cool old railroad tunnel. The tunnel is famous primarily for legends and stories about ghosts and hauntings. The trail follows an old Baltimore and Ohio rail line through sheer wilderness. It’s called the Moonville Rail Trail, named for one of Vinton County’s most famous landmarks, the Moonville Tunnel. It stretches for sixteen miles through the Zaleski State Forest, Lake Hope State Park wetlands and some small villages. It’s a muscle powered trail open to folks who walk, ride bicycles or ride horses. ![]() Twenty years ago, a group of folks in my community joined together with a shared vision to create a rail trail.
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