The Great Ohio Climate March

Third Act Ohio group plans a May 16-28, 2026 march from Athens, Ohio to Salt Fork State Park to the Columbus statehouse to educate Ohioans about fossil fuel fracking and its harmful effects on our health, clean air, water and land, and the planet.

Third Act Ohio to host Great Ohio Climate March in  May of 2026

Do you wake up at 2 a.m., worrying about climate change?

Then mark your calendar, lace up your hiking boots- and prepare to walk for the planet.

Third Act Ohio will host the Great Ohio Climate March from May 16-28, 2026 from Athens, Ohio to Salt Fork State Park to Columbus to educate people about fossil fuel fracking and its harmful effects on the planet. At the end of the march, the group will attempt to persuade lawmakers to pass laws to mitigate the predicted worst effects of climate change.

“Climate change is real and climate change is here,” said Jess Grim of Cleveland, coordinating committee member of Third Act Ohio. “In 2023, we broke the 1.5-degree warming limit; climate analysts now say we may have as few as three years before 1.5 degrees Celsius is baked in. This is a problem of our own making. If we act quickly, we can implement the clean energy solutions that ensure we pass on a livable planet to our children and grandchildren.”

Hikers are welcome to participate in all of the march or a part of it- whatever portion they can manage, said Grim. “This is a great opportunity to see a beautiful part of Ohio and galvanize people to pressure legislators to act now to get Ohio on a net zero energy path.”

The 13-day event begins in Athens, Ohio on Saturday, May 16 with a kickoff program. Athens, home to Ohio University, has a long history of citizen activism promoting renewable energy and fighting the fossil fuel industry’s exploitation of the region.

Hikers will then travel a predetermined route over seven days, mostly on trails and unpaved roads, to Salt Fork State Park.

During this section of the march, hikers will witness the buildout of oil and gas infrastructure, including frack well pads, injection wells and compressor stations. The midpoint, Salt Fork, is Ohio’s largest state park at 20,000 acres- and arguably the state’s most beautiful.

As of June, 2025, the Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission has signed leases with Infinity Natural Resources to frack under thousands of acres there.

Salt Fork residents are already experiencing the negative social impacts resulting from fracking, including tree clearcutting; massive withdrawals of fresh water from the area’s watershed; and the industrialization of the area with constant loud noises, increased truck traffic and glaring lights 24 hours a day.

At Salt Fork, hikers will have a day of rest on Saturday, May 23. Friends and family will be welcome to join a mid-day rally with music, games and speakers on the environmental and biodiversity harms of fracking. There will also be education sessions on clean, renewable energy.

Over the next five days, the group will trek west mostly on off-trail bike paths and sidewalks to Columbus. In this section of the state, hikers will witness the new construction of huge, energy-guzzling data centers that compete with Ohio residents for water and electricity.

Ohio now has 179 data centers, the fifth highest of any state in the nation. Corresponding electricity demand for these and future data centers alone could more than double Central Ohio’s current electricity need and increase rates for all Ohio residents.

On Thursday, May 28, hikers and supporters will finish the march with a short hike before arriving at the statehouse for a celebration and Legislature Day.

Participants will meet with state lawmakers to explain what they saw and learned from communities along the march; urge them to phase out fossil fuels and quickly ramp up renewable energy; and persuade lawmakers to pass legislation to ban fracking under Ohio public lands.

Save Ohio Parks, a statewide 501(c)4 organization dedicated to educating the public about the health, environmental and planet-warming harms of fracking Ohio’s state parks and public lands, is the event’s first sponsor. Third Act Ohio is seeking additional sponsors-businesses, civic and nonprofit organizations- for the Great Ohio Climate March.

To learn more and sign up to be a part of it, click here.