Cuyahoga Valley National Park - Cleveland, Ohio

 “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.”

– Saint Augustine

The summer of 2024 couldn't come soon enough for us. We had been planning a month-long camping trip for months and couldn't wait to hit the road. We left home on July 7, 2024 for the first of 6 different campgrounds we would be staying at (see the post for Cherokee Park Family Campground) with happy hearts full of excitement for the adventures that were ahead. This blog entry describes the first two full days of our travels, spent in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, located between Cleveland and Akron, Ohio.

Cuyahoga (pronounced “Kye-ya-hug-ah”) Valley National Park is located in northeastern Ohio, between Cleveland and Akron. The park includes 33,000 acres nestled in the Cuyahoga River valley. Opened in 1974, the park was created as part of a federal civil rights effort known as Parks to People - a movement to bring greenspaces in and near cities.

In 1969 the Cuyahoga River became famous when it caught on fire due to it being extremely polluted. This event was the inspiration for environmental activism and a movement to protect our country’s waters. The park today features the now clean river, a scenic byway, scenic railroad and a portion of the Ohio & Erie Canal towpath. Roads and trails in the park lead to forests, ravines, waterfalls, lakes and huge rock formations. Also included within the park are several county parks. There are over 125 miles of trails to explore.

Monday, July 8, 2024

We started out at 9:00 a.m. while the temperature was a cool 71 degrees with a hike to Ritchie Ledges. “The Ledges” are a plateau of massive sandstone rock boulders forming moss covered ledges with passageways leading between them. They rise dramatically from the forest floor up to 30 feet high. The 2.71 mile long trail loops around the parking area with the ledges encircling it almost ¾ of the way. In addition to the Ledges, features of the trail include Ice Box Cave which is closed off to the public in order to protect the bats that reside within it. We could only peek through the bars of the gate blocking the cave entrance, but we could definitely feel the cool air pouring out of it. There is also an overlook along the trail that gives you a peek down into the valley below.

After finishing our exploration of the Ledges, we continued on to the National Park’s Boston Mill Visitor Center, located at the heart of the park. Here we picked up maps and information on area waterfalls, got a stamp for our National Park Passport, and purchased a sticker for our RV.

Next, we drove a short distance away to Brandywine Falls and hiked the 1.4 mile Brandywine Gorge Loop. By this time the temperature had climbed to 81 degrees, but with the high humidity it felt much hotter. We followed the boardwalk trail down many stairs to a viewing platform above the falls, then returned to the parking lot and picnic area to eat our lunch. Aftering finishing our lunch we walked the entire loop, stopping to enjoy views of the creek and waterfall, and to let a large black snake cross the path. Unfortunately, we weren't quick enough to capture it on camera.

Our next stop was the Great Falls of Tinkers Creek at the eastern end of Gorge Parkway in Viaduct Park in the town of Bedford. Here we saw the ruins of a saw mill, grist mill, electric power plant and a viaduct that carried trains over the creek. The area was opened as a park in 2002 via a coopertive effort by Cleveland Metroparks and the City of Bedford. The park has walking paths, overlooks and panels describing the history of the area.

Great Falls at Tinkers Creek

From there we continued driving along Gorge Parkway a short way until we arrived at Bridal Veil Falls Scenic Overlook, another park in the Cleveland Metroparks system located in the Bedford Reservation. From there we followed a short boardwalk path through a forest of hardwoods and hemlocks along Deerlick Creek to the waterfalls.

We needed something to cool us off after the day had reached a high of 84 degrees with humidity at 79%, so on our way back to the campground we rewarded ourselves with ice cream at a local stand. 

Tuesday, July 9, 2024

It was already 73 degrees with 79% humidity at 8:30 a.m. as we started our bike ride along the Ohio & Erie Canal towpath, beginning at the Boston Mill Trailhead at the NPS Visitor Center. We headed south on the trail, passing numerous locks with views of the Cuyahoga River on one side and the canal on the other. We also passed by Hunt Farm and through the Beaver Marsh until we arrived at the Memorial Parkway Trailhead in North Akron, almost 15 miles from our start. After turning around and heading north we arrived back at Boston Mill Trailhead at 12:17. We ate our lunch at a table across the street from the Boston Country Store, then bought some ice cream bars at the store to help cool us off.

The temperature had climbed to 85 degrees, but we decided to hike the trail to Blue Hen Falls, the start of which is directly across the street from the NPS Visitor Center. There was a lot of climbing involved with this trail including lots of stone stairs. The falls weren’t as spectactular as usual due to the lack of rain for the past 2 months, but they were running enough that we could cool ourselves off in the water before heading back to our truck at the end of the 2.96 mile round trip trail. Still needing some cooling down, we stopped at a gas station for some slushies before heading back to the campground.

Along the trail

Along the trail

Along the trail

Blue Hen Falls

We had a wonderful time at Cuyahoga Valley National Park and easily ticked off all of the things we wanted to do with time to spare for rest and relaxation. It’s amazing to know that the park is so very close to 2 cities, but you really didn’t feel like you were in an urban area, with the exception of the occasional sounds of traffic and highways. If you are ever passing through Ohio and have time to stop here, we highly recommend it!

* All photos and videos are the property of the owners unless otherwise noted. *