118 Ridges Circle, Athens Ohio

The Ridges, or as it was originally named, the Athens Lunatic Asylum is located in Athens, Ohio. The asylum was built based on the famous Kirkbride Plan. Dr. Thomas Kirkbride believed exposure to natural light and air circulation were crucial to healing of the mentally ill.  Thanks to Dr. Kirkbride’s influence, many hospitals were built using his design throughout the second half of the 1800’s.

But like many things started with good intentions, things did not work as planned. By the 20^th century, these sanctuaries for the mentally ill became overcrowded and understaffed. These formally bright and airy halls because warehouses for the unwanted. Along with the disintegrating facilities came patient neglect and abuse. And as expected, a place with a history of so much suffering also has the reputation for being haunted.

Today, some of The Ridges buildings are occupied by Ohio University. But other buildings on the sprawling campus remain empty and boarded up.

I decided to drive ~76 miles from Columbus to Athens and check out The Ridges for myself. I was lucky to find a podcast that provides historical background, and some ghost stories about The Ridges to listen to during the drive. 

I also recommend you check out Ohio University’s website for an in depth history of The Ridges.

The campus was much bigger than I expected. Apparently, The Ridges comprised of seventy-eight buildings at its peak. The main red brick building was designed to impress, and it is still beautiful and imposing.

The Ohio University website provides walking and self-guided tours. Unfortunately, there was not a walking tour available the morning of my visit, so I opted for a self-guided tour around the campus. It was a beautiful sunny fall morning, not quite peak fall leaves, but a lot of the trees were popping. So not a spooky time to visit, so I will definitely return to do a haunted tour at some point.

After I finished exploring The Ridges campus (external only, as the buildings that are not boarded up are used by the university); I jumped back in my car and drove to The Ridges Loop Trail trailhead. 

The Ridges Loop Trail is 2.9 miles, taking you through the countryside around The Ridges, including the asylum cemeteries. I used the AllTrails app to chart my course. I also recommend opening the mAppAthens app available via your phone’s browser to learn about the floral and fauna you will encounter along The Ridges Cemetery Nature Walk, as the two trails mostly coincide. 

I started my hike at about 10:00 a.m. and the parking lot was empty. But it was filling up by the time I left about an hour and half later. Please note, I did not encounter any bathrooms along the hike, and none were provided at the parking lot/trailhead. So go before you arrive.

The trail started out as a gravel road, but then changed to a grassy trail and finally a dirt trail through the woods.

This trail gives some great ups and downs to get your heart pumping, and the countryside and woods are beautiful.

As I mentioned above, the trail takes you to the asylum cemeteries. The podcast provided some background information, including how some of the poor souls who lived out their days in the asylum had no one left to care when they final died, so they were buried on the asylum grounds.

I do not know if the grave markers were originally inscribed with information about the person buried there, but they all appeared to be blank at the time of my visit. It is incredibly sad to think some of the patients were left at the asylum and forgotten for the rest of their lives and even in death.

However, the cemeteries are beautiful and a peaceful resting place.

I encountered this plaque along the hike, “Dr. Tom “Chainsaw” Walker; a tireless crusader on behalf of those with mental illness.” 

Now this sounds like an interesting guy and how did he get “Chainsaw” for a nickname?!   Of course I had to look him up. I found his obituary; he earned his nickname from his work restoring the cemeteries and building the nature walk.  Sounds like he was a nice guy.

Overall. the trail was well maintained, and I encountered enough people to make me feel safe, but I had long stretches between passing others to make the hike pleasant and quiet.

I was starving after the hike so I drove into Athens to see what I could find. Athens is a great college town, so there are a ton of options for restaurants and shops. I opted for a foot long and fries at Larry’s Dawg House and it was delicious!

Here is my itinerary for the day:

If you decide to take this trip for yourself, please share your experiences. I look forward to hearing from you!