The Mohican Trails Club is a non-profit unincorporated association which was organized in 2004 to assist governmental agencies with trail maintenance responsibilities and  to raise funds to assist in those efforts. 

Our Mission:   To support, promote and  advocate trail usage within the Mohican State Park and State Forest boundaries  by providing trail maintenance, trail construction, trail improvement projects  and hiking opportunities which enable trail users of all abilities and ages to  experience the natural beauty of the Mohican Park and Forest area today,
tomorrow and for centuries to come.  
  
Our Vision:  The Mohican Trail Club’s vision is to connect the  human spirit with nature–-preserving the delicate majesty of the Mohican State  Park and State Forest area as a haven for all to enjoy.    We are committed to  nurture and protect this unique resource through volunteerism, education and inspiration. We strive to create an ever-expanding community of doers and
dreamers, and work to ensure that tomorrow’s generations  will experience and
appreciate the same  beauty we  behold today.

Our Values:  The Mohican Trails Club is guided by a set of core values that represent the organization’s commitment to preserve the trails within the Mohican State Park and Forest. We pursue our mission and vision by our dedication to:

Volunteerism and Community Support: 
  • We exist through the generosity, talents, and support of our members, partners, advocates and our volunteers--the very  soul of trail preservation
  • Spirit of Cooperation: We cherish our  partnerships with agencies, communities, clubs, volunteers, students, and  citizens. We collaborate to achieve a common goal.
  • Sustainability: We seek to minimize our impact on the environment and incorporate the ideals of sustainability in our everyday operations.
  • Integrity: We act honorably in accordance with the highest standards of personal and professional conduct.  We  always hold ourselves responsible to fulfill our mission and commitment to the
    public. 

Our inititial focus was to ensure all existing hiking trails in Mohican State Park and Forest were accessible and passable.   The first grant that was written and successfully obtained purchased trail working tools, such as chainsaws, chainsaw safety equipment (cut resistant chaps, helmet with face shield and ear protection), heavy duty fire fighting  rakes/hoes (called McClouds), special ax/pick tools(called Pulaskis), shovels, pruning saws and typical garden tools.   Members were provided safety courses by Park and Forest personnel prior to beginning trail clearing activites. Trail clearing continues to be one of our primary functions.

The club has also proposed numerous capital improvement projects for  consideration by the Park and Forest agencies.  The projects fell into two classes; maintenance/replacement of existing bridges and walkways and new construction projects.   Maintenance projects included the replacement of pedestrian bridges and wooden walkways that had fallen into disrepair.  New construction involved the re-establishment of trails that had been closed or abandonded due to loss of pedestrian access and required new bridges or walkways.

Our most ambitious project involved the construction of a series of stairs and platforms at Big Lyons Falls.  The Big Lyons Falls site includes the cliffed gorge accessed by the Lyons Falls hiking trail and the Big Lyons Falls grotto.  In the 1930's, as part of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal vision to bring work to those impacted by the Great Depression, CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) workers were brought to the Mohican area to rebuild the forest and construct projects to provide access to the Park and Forest for recreational purposes.  As part of that program, steps were carved in the standstone cliffs to provide access into and out of the Big Lyons Falls grotto.  However, heavy wear and erosion from 80 years of foot traffic made the steps difficult to navigate by visitors, and the worn out stairs were eventually closed by the Park.  

In 2011, the Mohican Trails Club obtained a grant and donations to purchase materials to construct stairs to re-open access to the falls.  ODNR engineers surveyed the site to determine the best routing for the stairs and provided detailed plans for construction.  Materials were purchased by the club and transported to the site with the assistance of Park personnel.  The construction took a year to complete and the stairs were opened In October of 2012.  Our Photo Gallery includes a slideshow which chronicles the stairs construction project.
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Typical pedestrian bridge constructed by MTC--Hog Hollow Trail
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Typical boardwalk project--Lyons Falls Trail. 
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Stairs under construction.  Picture from base of Big Lyons Falls.
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Completed stairs from base of Big Lyons Falls