Baileys Trail System spurs development with opportunities for lodging entrepreneurs

Bailey’s Trail. Photo by Emily Crebs.

New possibilities for lodging complexes have been created because of continued development of the Baileys Trail System, potentially offering accommodations for hikers and bikers as well as economic opportunity for Chauncey. 

Baileys Lodging Company and Baileys Basecamp, located on West Bailey Road and expected to open this Summer, are two of the new businesses created for visitors of the Baileys Trail System. 

Jasmine Facun, the Baileys Trail System program assistant at Rural Action, has been working through the Resilient Communities Program to provide coaching support and resources for the development of the surrounding area of Chauncey. Facun focuses on bringing in business that benefit both the local economy and those that are visiting sustainably and ethically.

“Sustainable development is possible in a rural place and we don’t need to necessarily look at our natural resources as something that needs to be extracted,” Facun said. “The beauty of where we live is a natural resource.”

Facun works through social media to get acquainted with local potential small business owners, where she connected with Laura Sowers and Ross Kuhns. 

Sowers, an Ohio University graduate, was first introduced to the Baileys Trail System after returning to Athens in 2018.  

After losing her job with the city of Athens at the beginning of the pandemic, Sowers asked herself, “Do I go to Walmart and work, or do I make money for myself?”

Sowers later purchased five acres of a former dumping site to be transformed into a lodging site: Baileys Lodging Company. Sowers plans to utilize shipping containers on her property for short-term vacation rentals. 

Ross Kuhns of Millfield purchased a parcel of property on West Bailey Road surrounded by Wayne National Forest in 2016. Kuhns originally used the land as a place for family, friends and nature, but in 2020, he became aware of the Baileys Trail System project. Kuhns utilized his business background to develop the property into a lodging location for visiting hikers and mountain bikers called the Baileys Basecamp. 

Kuhns said he was drawn to the opportunity to be so close to nature and the outdoors, saying there is a lot of work to be done “like drinking from a firehose.” 

The COVID-19 pandemic offered an unconventional opportunity for both Sower and Kuhns. 

“It created a paradigm shift where people are seeking more outdoor activity where they can socially distance,” Kuhns said. “I'm an optimist. Where I see crisis, I search for opportunity.”

Rural Action has also played an integral role for Sowers and Kuhns in expanding social media exposure, access to contacts for business-related aid, along with fostering collaboration between developing businesses.

Facun’s Humans of the Baileys offered an opportunity to introduce Sowers and Kuhns to the Baileys Trail community on Facebook and grow both of their followings and supporters. 

Although competitors, cooperation is necessary in the Baileys Trail project, Sowers said.

“What we don’t want to see is everyone doing their own thing and working at their own rate, but rather share these resources and develop together,” Sowers said.

In order to continue the sustainable developments on the Baileys Trail, collaboration is vital, Facun said. 

“There’s no need to look far for resources, we can get it done here,” Facun said.