Buckeye Trail & North Country Trail through Defiance County.

The City of Defiance, Defiance County Commissioners, and Buckeye Trail Association worked cooperatively to devise and install an updated trail signage system throughout the county. In addition to the traditional Blue Blazes, the trail is now marked with additional post markers, several locator maps, and two custom interpretive signs which provide information about the community, the trails, and encourage trail usage.

In December 2022, Aaron Landon completed the North Country Trail in Defiance. His trek covered 8 states and over 4,700 miles. Defiance, near the mid-point of the trail, is a favorite finishing point for hikers who travel each half of the trail separately to avoid the worst winter mountain conditions.


JULY 27, 2022

New Buckeye Trail signage throughout Defiance County.

Defiance is proud to be a Trail Town and part of The Buckeye Trail —a loop of over 1,400 miles connecting scenic and historic paths throughout the state of Ohio.

Over the past year the City of Defiance, Defiance County Commissioners, and Buckeye Trail Association (BTA) Defiance Section Supervisor John Nemick worked cooperatively to devise an updated and informative trail signage system. In addition to the traditional Blue Blazes, the trail is now also marked with dozens of additional post markers, several traffic-sign style locator maps, and two large custom trailhead signs. The trailhead signs serve a dual purpose. They provide local hikers, bikers, and visitors with information about the community and the portion of the trail that travels through Defiance County. They also provide education and encourage trail usage as an opportunity to improve community wellness.

The two trailhead signs stand tall at the City Reservoir trail, south of Defiance and at Pontiac Park in downtown Defiance at the confluence of the Maumee and Auglaize rivers. The Upright exhibit bases, custom fabricated by Pannier, were featured in Pannier’s June Newsletter. Read Pannier Story.


The sign system includes two large interpretive signs with trail maps and local information, several small Trail Town map signs, and numerous markers which provide way-finding information along the trail throughout Defiance county.


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