Chapter 21, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio

We stayed at Kenisee Lake Thousand Trails for our jump off point for the national park, which was still a bit of a drive at 60 miles, but since it was a TT park we could stay there for no extra cost and that made the drive worth it. The park itself was large and grassy with some trees around the perimeter. There was a small lake and a couple of ponds stocked with fish. It did seem a bit rundown, but we’ve seen that with several of the TT parks we’ve visited. They gave us a back-in site with 50-amp full hookup so we couldn’t complain.

There was a rail trail (Western Reserve Greenway Trail) only two miles from the campground, so we ran on it the first two days we were at Kenisee Lake, going a different direction each time. The first day we went to the left and ran 5.62 miles, crossing two bridges over a small creek. It was pretty and green but nothing spectacular. We did see a barred owl along the way which was cool.

The next day we ran to the right and went 5.21 miles to Lampson Road and back. We crossed a much larger creek over a tall wide bridge. This direction wasn’t quite as pretty as the other way but still nice and a good way to get in some exercise with the dogs. We found an Amish bakery and meat market in the little town of Jefferson, about four miles away and bought some cinnamon bread, sliced ham, and bacon cheddar cheese. We also got ice cream cones that were inexpensive and so yummy!

Mule Statue at Canal Exploration Center Trailhead

On the third day of our stay we drove the 60 miles to Cuyahoga Valley National Park, just outside of Cleveland. This was a strange national park because it was difficult to know when we were actually in the park. There wasn’t any obvious ‘entrance’ and as we drove along the scenic byway, we moved in and out of the national park, intertwining with private land and other city parks. It also was another national park that was free—no park pass required.

Towpath Canal Trail At Canal Exploration Center

Our first stop was along the towpath trail starting at the canal exploration center. The historical towpath through Cuyahoga Valley was used to pull canal boats loaded with goods or people along the Erie and Ohio canal hooked up to mules (horses or humans were also used) between 1827 and 1913. It’s now a 90.6-mile-long multi-use trail, 20 miles of which goes through the national park. The canal wasn’t very deep and much of it had been filled in with marshy vegetation.  We wanted to do about three miles on this section but got turned around at about three quarters of a mile in due to a trail closure for a section of the trail that was experiencing erosion of the canal bank.

The next stop was also along the towpath a little further down the road at Station Road Bridge. There’s a train depot there that is still in use and will take park goers on a scenic trip through the park, stopping in different locations along the way. You can get on and off the train where you want to experience the park closer up. We hiked this section to Red Lock then turned around for a total of 5.3 miles. It was pretty, but I wouldn’t say it rose to the level of ‘national park’ status. This paved and crushed rock path followed a creek that had lots of turtles, and we even saw what we believed to be a muskrat. Since it’s a multi-use trail, there were so many bikes that it made walking difficult to manage with the dogs. It was an almost constant stream of bikes, with a few runners and hikers. Thankfully there was an abundance of shade because it was warm that day. All in all, I didn’t enjoy it as much as some other places we’ve been, in large part, due to all the bikes.

Our final hike almost didn’t happen as we didn’t think we’d see anything different than what we’d been experiencing on the towpath trail, and it just wasn’t that appealing. Just the same, we hated for that to be our total experience in this national park, so we thought we’d try one other area before calling it a day. We stopped at Boston Mill visitor center to pick up a national park sticker (we’ve been collecting them) and I’d overheard a conversation between a park visitor and a ranger about an area called Ledges. It sounded like this was a big attraction in the park, so we decided to check it out.

Dave On Ledges Trail

Ledges turned out to be a wonderful area and by far our favorite thing we’d seen that day. It featured a loop hike of about 2.75 miles (the trail sign indicates a much shorter distance, but it was way off according to Dave’s Garmin). The deeply forested trail wove through really cool rock formations that gave the place it’s name, and was much more rugged than the previous trail sections we’d been on. There were high rock walls, some with narrow full-length openings just wide enough in places to squeeze through. In other parts we came across flat rock terraces that were layered in places. It was a magical place, and we enjoyed it immensely.

Ledges Trail

Between the three different areas we hiked a total of 9.5 miles and were fairly tired by the end. I’m not sure I’d recommend this national park based solely on the towpath trail sections. They were pretty but not anything special, although it is a historically significant location. But Ledges is definitely a must see if you’re in the area. There are a couple of waterfalls in the park that sounded nice but they’re at the opposite end from where we were and we didn’t want to drive that far.

Next we’ll be heading for a different location in Ohio, mostly just to rest and get Maggie groomed, but not a destination location, so I won’t be writing about it. After that we’ll be heading to Kentucky and the Red River Gorge where we’ll take a glass-bottomed boat ride through an underground cave system. I can hardly wait for that one!