Park Details
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Parking Location: (40.88528, -80.75614)
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Trailhead Location: (40.88505, -80.75589)
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Distance & Type: 0.2 Mile Out-and-Back
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Elevation Change: None
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Hike Difficulty: Easy
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Hike Features: Around 200 Beehive Coke Ovens built in 1866 and remained in operation for 65 years.
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Note: Trail conditions change over time. If you discover any inaccuracies with this post during your visit, please post a comment below to let us know.
Located at the northern edge of town just off Cherry Valley Road is the Leetonia Beehive Coke Oven Park. Built in the mid-1800s the former Cherry Valley Coke Ovens consists of 200(ish) dome shaped ovens once used to turn coal mined in the area into purified coke. The coke was then used as fuel at local steel mills. The coke ovens remained in operation from 1866 when they were built until the factory’s closure in 1930. The area, and coke ovens, remained an abandoned site for the next fifty years until local restoration efforts began.
The park features a picnic gazebo and bathrooms in addition to the historic ruins. 20+ coke ovens line the parking lot offering up close views. A short path following the inner row of coke ovens and creek is maintained throughout the year, but the other rows of coke ovens remain covered with growth. The hilltops above the coke ovens are closed off to help preserve the area and for safety reasons and for the park visitor’s safety as many of the oven structures are old and structurally unstable.