Bob Downing / Akron Beacon Journal The Moonville Tunnel, on the route of a new rail trail near Lake Hope in Ohio, is rumored to be haunted.

ZALESKI, Ohio — Without a doubt, Lake Hope is Ohio's Fat Tire Capital.

Other Ohio state parks offer mountain biking — Dillon, Alum Creek and West Branch — but none offers what Lake Hope State Park does.

The park in Vinton County in southern Ohio features 28 miles of mostly intermediate single-track mountain biking.

In 2001, I had visited Lake Hope and pedaled its lone mountain biking route, the 4.5-mile Little Sandy Trail.

It was the first at Lake Hope, but thanks to volunteers from the Athens Bicycle Club, the mountain-biking options have grown.

The volunteers have logged more than 3,500 hours (through 2006) to create the growing mountain-biking network that runs from the lake north to the ridge tops, with three designated trailheads, club spokesman Malcolm Idleman said.

Lake Hope's trails are "excellent single track not super technical," he said. "They were built by mountain bikers for mountain bikers. And that's important. ... They're all sweet and slightly different."

I pedaled past an old iron smelting furnace along state Route 278, past a cove filled with lily pads and into the heavy woods where the Habron Hollow and Bobcat trails slowly climbed via switchback after switchback. They took me to Copperhead Trail, with its tight turns atop the ridge.

A second ride began at Grouse Point on Bobcat Trail, with its climbs and descents and lots of switchbacks. It heads north for 3.5 miles and also connects with Copperhead.

The rides, mostly designed for beginners and intermediates, are fast and rolling, not straight up and down and not overly rocky or rooty. You will work on the climbs, but they won't kill you.

The routes are marked by signs affixed to trees.

Another option is to pedal Sidewinder and Little Sandy trails, which together create a 5.5-mile loop. You can pedal uphill or opt for a fast downhill run, depending on where you start.

An easier and relaxing option is to just pedal around the scenic 120-acre lake.

The club has added two tougher trails for advanced riders: Yosemite Ridge and Yosemite Falls, Idleman said.

Two miles of trails have been added since last fall, he said.

The park distributes a brochure and map that suggests three rides: a 10-mile loop on Copperhead, a 5.5-mile loop on Sidewinder and a 16-mile pedal called the Big Loop.

Mountain bikers really have 56 miles of trails at Lake Hope, because they can be ridden in either direction, creating far different rides, Idleman said.

Idleman, 57, a high school teacher in Athens and a mountain biker for 30 years, said he got involved in trail building at Lake Hope in 2002, after he and friends were ticketed for illegal bike riding in Zaleski State Forest.

Park officials were pleased with the care and eco-friendly touches that went into building the trails, he said.

The park is happy with the extra visitors, and mountain bikers are happy with what the park offers. The club's volunteers also help the park by maintaining the trails.

The trails are open year-round for mountain biking. There are no user fees.

Lake Hope covers 3,103 acres and lies totally within the 26,827-acre Zaleski State Forest, which covers a wooded and rugged tract in Vinton and Athens counties.

The state park lies within the Big Sandy Run valley.

Serious backpackers love the Zaleski Backpack Trail that covers 23.5 miles in the state forest. It is a moderate to difficult hike. The trailhead lies off state Route 278. There is a shorter 10-mile loop available. Attractions along the trail are an old mining town, pioneer cemeteries, Indian ceremonial grounds, abandoned roads and ridge-top views.

There are also 33 miles of bridle trails in the state forest.

The state park features a campground with 192 sites, along with 66 cabins and a group lodge.

The park's dining lodge burned in February 2006. That means that nearby food options are very limited.

Lake Hope Forest Park was created in 1937 by the Division of Forestry. Many of its buildings were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It became a state park in 1949.

The park also offers picnicking, swimming, boating, fishing, hunting, volleyball, basketball, horseshoe pits, a playground, winter sports and an interpretive center.

Something new is in the works in the Lake Hope area: a rail trail with a haunted tunnel. The Moonville Tunnel will be a big attraction when the rail trail is done.

According to stories, a railroad brakeman was struck by a train on a rainy, cold night. The man was drunk and swayed into the path of the train.

There are some who claim to have seen a ghostly figure with his lantern "a glimmerin' and a wavin'" in the dark, still trying to stop the train.

The ghost is even the subject of a bluegrass song, "Moonville Brakeman," by the Rarely Herd.

The tunnel itself is 100 yards long. It was constructed in the mid-1880s and was rebuilt and lined with bricks in 1903.

The hamlet of Moonville, now abandoned, was home to about 100 people and a loading place for timber.

Railroad men reportedly called the Moonville area one of the most desolate sections of B&O track between Parkersburg, W.Va., and St. Louis, Mo.

You can find and explore the tunnel.

From the Lake Hope dam and state Route 278, turn onto Hope-Moonville Road. At the fork, veer left. The third time you cross the old railroad bed, you are at the site of Moonville. Cross the steel bridge at 2 miles and pull over where the berm widens. Walk the old railroad bed to the left, cross Raccoon Creek, where a tree trestle is out (if the water is low), and the tunnel will be straight ahead.