Wilderness Wandering

October 11, 2024

Cuyahoga Valley is an urban park. It covers 33,000 acres.  It is the 12th most visited park in the system, with more than 2 million visitors per year.  It was established to preserve the heritage of The Cuyahoga River and the Ohio and Erie Canal. The region’s industrial development harmed the river. The river caught fire 13 times between 1868 and 1969. Fortunately, decades of treatment and restoration have improved the water quality. 

We arrived shortly after sunrise and entered the park. The first thing we did was take our photo at the entrance. 

Next we arrived at the Everett Covered Bridge. It is a beautiful area. The leaves are about 20% turned and there was mist off the river. 

We stopped to see Kendall Lake. There is a fabulous pavilion there. It would be a great place to host an event. 

We drove to The Ledges hike. This is the most popular hike in Cuyahoga Valley. It is 1.8 miles in, around and over sandstone ledges. It reminded us of Shawnee National Forest in IL.  We encountered very few other people. This was our favorite hike here. 

Happy Days Lodge is a CCC lodge that can be rented for events.  I loved the screen porch. We did a .75 mile walk of the site. 

We stopped at the  Boston Mill Visitor Center. It was a very busy place! There is a tow path that follows the canal from one end of the park to the other that went right by the visitor center. There were several shops and a few trails that began at that site.  We sure wished we had our bikes. The trail looked very inviting!

The next stop was Brandywine Falls. As you might guess, this was a waterfall hike. The Ranger suggested we start the trail clockwise and walk the 1.4 mile mostly flat path which then ends at the waterfall. There was an extensive walkway system that had platforms at different elevations, so you could see the waterfall from different heights. 

We tried to visit the Canal Exploration Center, but that was one of the landmarks that was closed for the season. We had a lovely lunch there though.

We continued on to The Great Falls of Tinker Creek on the far north end of the park.  I liked this waterfall. There was a viewing platform at the top of the falls, but you could also walk out onto the rocks above the falls. The day had warmed up and there were people swimming in the pool at the bottom of the falls. 

Our next stop was Station Bridge Road. It is a transportation hub in the park. There is a railroad depot, an old steel bridge that is now a footbridge and you can see the new interstate highway bridge high above from here. We talked to two guys riding incumbent e-trikes who were starting a ride. 

Our last stop in Cuyahoga Valley was Frazee House. It  a historic home from the 1700s with a legend about the woman who lived there saving her house by providing the Revolutionary War soldiers fresh baked bread. The house is under going some stabilization, so it wasn’t open, but we enjoyed walking around the outside and admiring the bricks the family made on site. 

That concluded our 1 day visit of Cuyahoga Valley National Park. There is also a train tour that will take you around the park. We opted not to do that. 

Cuyahoga Valley NP does not have a campground. We stayed with friends. Thank you to Val and Mark for your hospitality!

We were very impressed! It doesn’t have the awe inspiring views of other parks, but it’s wonderful that this beautiful metropolitan green space has been preserved for everyone to enjoy, and it appears to be well loved by many!

The Cuyahoga River