Uses along the canal changed dramatically over time. Its main use was transporting commerce, but it also ran through many towns and places where people needed recreation and an outlet from everyday life, a role that continues today. Fishing was an important recreational activity and also helped provide meals for families in the canal’s earlier days, and annual fishing derbies are still held in many communities along the canal, bringing awareness to its historical significance in northwest and west central Ohio. Earlier recreational uses also included trapping, hunting, ice skating, hockey, swimming, and sleigh rides along the towpath. Present-day land management continues to provide some of these activities, while also supporting hiking, biking, jogging, wildlife watching, birding, backpacking, cross-country skiing, and use of the Buckeye Trail and the North Country National Scenic Trail. These activities are important economic drivers for communities along the canal.