A network of Native American trails, usually following waterways, traversed Ohio and often determined the routes of military roads and improved highways. The Scioto Trail extended from the mouth of the Scioto River at Portsmouth, also known as Shawnee Town, to Sandusky Bay and connected the Shawnee's hunting grounds in Kentucky with Lake Erie. It ran along the Scioto River, the Little Scioto River, and the Sandusky River, with a portage between the Little Scioto and Sandusky rivers in Crawford County. Used for warfare, trade, and migration, the Scioto Trail was one of the most important trails in the Old Northwest.