Top 10 things to do in Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Cuyahoga Valley National Park follows the Cuyahoga River for about 22 miles (35 km) between Cleveland and Akron, 33,000 acres (130 km²) of wooded ravines, sandstone ledges, waterfalls, farms and wetlands, with the old Ohio & Erie Canal and a working railroad running through it. It is one of the most visited national parks in the country, and most of that is people from the two cities using it as their back garden. These are the ten outings we would put first. The order starts with what the park is known for, then goes by what an outing gives back for the time and effort it takes. Distances are approximate; times are our estimates and do not include stops.

The park is threaded with public roads and small towns, so the trails are never far from a car, but the ravines are steep and the shale and sandstone are slippery when wet. Stay behind the railings at the waterfalls: people have been badly hurt and killed climbing around Brandywine Falls. Weekend parking at the popular trailheads fills by mid-morning from spring to fall.

1. Ride or walk the Towpath Trail

From 1827 mules walked this path, towing canal boats between Cleveland and the Ohio River. Today it is a flat, crushed-stone trail that runs the length of the park beside the river, the old canal and the railroad, past locks, mills, marshes and farm fields. It is the easiest way to see the whole valley, and a bicycle covers it in a morning. For a one-way ride, take the scenic railroad’s Bike Aboard service back to your car: wave your bike at a boarding station and pay a small fare.

• Distance: about 20 miles (32 km) inside the park; the trail continues north and south beyond it
• Allow: an hour for a short out-and-back; half a day to ride the length one way
• Start: any trailhead along Riverview Road; Boston Mill, Peninsula and Ira are central
• When: all year; Bike Aboard runs on the railroad’s schedule
• Suits: everyone, including families with small children and wheelchair users on most sections

2. See Brandywine Falls

Brandywine Creek drops 60 feet (18 m) over a ledge of hard sandstone onto softer shale, spreading into a veil of small cascades. A boardwalk from the parking area leads to an upper viewing deck and down stairs to a lower one, close enough to feel the spray. The falls are at their fullest after rain and in spring, and they freeze into columns of ice in a cold winter. For more, the Brandywine Gorge Trail loops down the gorge and back past the falls.

• Distance: a few hundred yards (metres) on the boardwalk; about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) for the Brandywine Gorge Trail loop
• Allow: 30 minutes for the falls; 1.5 hours with the gorge loop
• Start: Brandywine Falls parking area, on Stanford Road near Sagamore Hills
• When: all year; spring and after heavy rain for the most water
• Suits: everyone for the upper deck; the stairs to the lower deck are steep

3. Walk the Ledges Trail

The Ritchie Ledges are cliffs of pebbly sandstone, laid down by rivers some 320 million years ago and split by cracks wide enough to walk into. The Ledges Trail circles their base through hemlock and beech, with moss and ferns growing on the walls. Go up to the Ledges Overlook at the end of the day: it looks west over the valley and is the park’s favourite place to watch the sunset.

• Distance: about 2.3 miles (3.7 km) loop
• Allow: 1.5 hours, plus time at the overlook
• Start: Ledges Trailhead, off Truxell Road near Peninsula
• When: all year; the rock and roots are slippery after rain. Climbing on the ledges is not allowed.
• Suits: most walkers; there are some uneven steps and roots

4. Watch for beavers and herons at Beaver Marsh

This marsh was an auto salvage yard until the 1980s. Beavers moved in and dammed it, and it is now one of the richest wetlands in the valley. The Towpath crosses it on a long boardwalk, among lily pads, cattails and the beavers’ lodges. Great blue herons, wood ducks, turtles, muskrats and, with luck, the beavers themselves are all close at hand. Come early or late in the day, when the animals are most active and the boardwalk is quietest.

• Distance: under a mile (1.6 km) each way on the Towpath
• Allow: 1 hour
• Start: Ira Trailhead, on Riverview Road north of Akron
• When: all year; spring for migrating birds, dawn and dusk for beavers
• Suits: everyone; the route is flat and the boardwalk is accessible

5. Ride the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad

The railroad runs vintage coaches the length of the valley, between the Cleveland suburbs and Akron, beside the river and the Towpath. It is a relaxed way to see the park in a morning, and you can get off at a boarding station such as Peninsula or Boston Mill, walk a while and catch a later train back. It is busiest in October, when the valley’s maples and oaks turn colour. Tickets are sold by the railroad, a non-profit partner of the park, and the special trains sell out early.

• Allow: 1 to 3.5 hours, depending on how far you ride
• Start: Rockside Station in Independence, Akron Northside Station, or a boarding station in the park
• When: most of the year; check the schedule, which is lighter in winter
• Suits: everyone

6. Find Blue Hen Falls

Blue Hen Falls is smaller than Brandywine and far quieter. Spring Creek slides 15 feet (5 m) over a ledge of sandstone into a pool in a wooded bowl, and in October the bowl fills with yellow and orange leaves. The path down from the road is short but steep. Beyond the falls, the Buckeye Trail carries on downstream to Buttermilk Falls, a lower, wider cascade, for a longer walk with few people on it.

• Distance: about 1 mile (1.6 km) round trip; about 3 miles (5 km) with Buttermilk Falls
• Allow: 45 minutes; 2 hours with Buttermilk Falls
• Start: Blue Hen Falls parking area, on Boston Mills Road west of Riverview Road. The lot is small.
• When: all year; spring and fall are best
• Suits: most walkers who can manage a steep path

7. Cross the Everett Covered Bridge

The red bridge over Furnace Run is the last covered bridge in the area, and the most photographed spot in the park. The story goes that a local farmer drowned crossing the flooded run in the 1870s, and the bridge was built so it would not happen again. A flood wrecked it in 1975, and the park rebuilt it in 1986. It is a short stop on the way to the Hale Farm, and the meadows around it are lovely in fall.

• Allow: 20 minutes
• Start: Everett Covered Bridge parking area, on Everett Road west of Riverview Road
• When: all year
• Suits: everyone

8. Step back to the 1800s at Hale Farm and Village

Jonathan Hale walked here from Connecticut in 1810 and built the brick house that still stands, with bricks fired from clay on the farm. Around it, the Western Reserve Historical Society runs a working village of the 1800s, with a glassblower, a blacksmith, a potter, heritage breeds of farm animals and costumed interpreters going about their work. It is the park’s best outing for children who are tired of trails.

• Allow: 2 to 3 hours
• Start: Hale Farm and Village, on Oak Hill Road in Bath
• When: summer and fall, on a reduced schedule outside high summer. There is an admission charge.
• Suits: everyone, families most of all

9. See how the canal worked, at the Canal Exploration Center

The canal opened Ohio to the world: before it, getting crops to an eastern market took weeks by road. This building in Independence served canal boatmen as a tavern, a store and a home over the years, and now tells the canal’s story with hands-on exhibits. Lock 38 is beside it, and on some summer weekends rangers in period clothing work the lock. The Towpath runs past the door, so it is an easy start or finish for a ride.

• Allow: 1 hour
• Start: Canal Exploration Center, on Canal Road in Valley View
• When: the center keeps seasonal hours; the lock and the Towpath are there all year
• Suits: everyone

10. Go sledding and skiing in winter

Snow turns the valley into the region’s winter playground. Kendall Hills, a set of open slopes near Kendall Lake, is the park’s sledding hill, and the Towpath and the old roads through the fields make easy cross-country ski and snowshoe routes when the snow is deep enough. After a hard freeze, the waterfalls hang in ice. Snow in northeast Ohio comes and goes, so watch the forecast and go the morning after a fall.

• Allow: a few hours
• Start: Kendall Lake and Kendall Hills, off Truxell Road near Peninsula; the Towpath trailheads for skiing
• When: December to March, when there is snow
• Suits: everyone

Before you go

This list covers what stays the same from year to year. Trail closures, railroad schedules and parking changes are posted by the National Park Service on its own site. The link is on our Cuyahoga Valley National Park guide, with the map and how to get there.