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Cuyahoga Valley National Park
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
15 reviews for Cuyahoga Valley National Park
15 reviews in English
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Review from Alison B.
Lake Villa, IL
4/25/2011
Oh my word! This trail is amazing and goes on forever! I ran about 4 miles and would have kept on going if it weren't for a torrential downpour. By the time I got those 4 miles back to my car down, the weather had cleared a little and I was so tempted to go farther the other way. But I stopped with a promise to myself to hit the trail in another spot tomorrow. Because the trail is so long, you can catch it in a hundred different places so do a little research if you're in the area to see if a trailhead is near you!
I'm from Chicago area, Lake County, and we have, I've always thought, the most amazing trail system if you're a runner. It's a fine gravel trail so it's low impact and gets messy enough when it rains to make you feel like you've gotten out with the wild when you return with mud spatters all over your back. This trail definitely gives my beloved Lake County Forest Preserves a run for their money!
Thanks, OH, for taking a piece if history and keeping it alive in an extremely unique and active way! -
Review from Edward H.
Northfield, OH
1/27/2012
Yosemite it's not, but for beauty in the midst of the Akron-Cleveland area it cannot be beat. There are great ledges, a couple of very respectable waterfalls for the mideast, lots of wildlife (coyotes, wild turkeys, pheasants, vultures, hawks, the occasional eagle, etc), lots of great hiking trails, and some great facilities.
The only downside is the lack of camping; there are only three (!) camping spaces (not three campgrounds--three SPACES) in the entire park, and those are reserved for people passing through on the towpath bike trail and are really just places to pitch a tent. I would not want to see an RV park plopped down in this beautiful countryside, but a small, decent tent-camping area (or three) for ANY biker or hiker would be a great addition. Also MIA: nice lodging (chain motels are close-by, but nothing lodge-like). There is Stanford House, which is fine if you like skipping TV and sleeping in mostly bunk beds in a warren of small unadorned rooms in a historic farmhouse that last served as a hostel (with mostly shared bathrooms to boot). It will work for bikers and bohemians, but a lodge it isn't.
Last gripe: before it was a park, a few blights had a chance to spring up to mar the scenery: a couple highway bridges cross the valley, and the Weathervane area business strip and the Botzum Sewage Treatment plant can give riders on the towpath a "WTF" moment for sure. But they are small blips in an otherwise beautiful area, and you're through them in 10 minutes. Considering that the park cleared out all the vintage junkyards and other intrusions of civilization, it's much improved over its pre-park days, and it will now be preserved for all to enjoy.
Don't overlook assets such as charming villages (Peninsula is my favorite), and Hale Farm and Village (a re-created early 19th century village next door to the original, restored Hale Farmstead of that same vintage). Start in Akron at the Mustill Store trailhead and ride north into the valley--it's great. Or start at the north end in Valley View and head south. Getting tired? Flag down the train in selected areas (hours vary, plan ahead) and get a lift back for only $3. The visitors centers every few miles are free and very worthwhile as well. Rangers and townsfolk are friendly as can be. As noted in another review, a few of the bikers riding on the roads can be clods, acting as if they own the road rather than getting along with the vehicles, but again, it's a small blip on an otherwise good time in a great location.
I give Hocking Hills an edge in terms of wild canyon/ledge/forest scenery, but given that this park is in the much-more developed NE Ohio area vs the rural Hocking Hills area, this is still worth exploring--you wont be disappointed! -
Review from Paul V.
11/2/2011
This is definitely not my favorite National Park, but it is nice. Cuyahoga Valley National Park will always hold a special place in my heart since I saw Radiohead in concert there in 2008. I even heard the band doing their sound check while hiking one of the park's trails prior to the show! How cool is that? I forget which trail I did there, but it was nice. If I lived in Ohio I'd be sure to come here fairly often. Being that I live in Arizona I probably won't be back, unless of course Radiohead plays there again and I'm on a cross country road trip.
Listed in: Best National Parks I've…
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Review from Ryan L.
9/30/2010
CVNP runs from Cleveland to Akron along the Cuyhaoga river. It is the busiest national park in the country and is one of the closest to a major urban area. CVNP is such an asset to Cleveland/Northeast Ohio area and I hope the people living there appreciate it.
Before trains, intrepid American engineers built canals to ship goods across the country. The most famous is the Erie canal in New York. Well, they also built a canal connecting Lake Erie and the Ohio river via the Cuyahoga with the aptly named Ohio-Erie Canal. Canals aren't really used anymore, but the park follows a good portion of the old canal. In fact, the old paths used by mules to pull the barges down the canal has now been smartly converted into paths for bicycles.
Traveling along the river you can see remnants of the old canal system. At Boston, you can see where the barges were built and an old general store. At the Canal visitor center you can find a museum regarding the canals and their locks and see an example of a lock outside. There is a farm you can visit to see what life was like in the 1800s. In addition, the park has numerous walking, hiking, biking trails that could satisfy any outdoor enthusiast.
Ranger stations and visitor centers dot the park along the river. They are friendly and helpful in answering any questions.
The park itself is beautiful and quite impressive. It's perfect to spend an hour or days in and it is literally in someone's back yard.Listed in: America The Beautiful, National Parks
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Review from P W.
Cleveland, OH
3/20/2011
All of my troubles are forgotten when I come here. I walk on the trails and look at the moss covered rock formations. There are so many cool trails to walk. My favorite may be the Ice Box Cave hike. The temperature drop is significant when you approach the actual ice box. People are always friendlier when on hiking trails. Everyone says hello. The government website for the park is excellent in selecting a good trail for the day.
http://www.nps.gov/cuv...
I have had so many great days out in the woods. We got lost before and ended up creeping up through someone's backyard. That was a memorable day. Coming here on a weekend day reminds me that my cares of the week and life in general are pretty dumb. A great experience that grounds me. -
Review from Kevin s.
Medina, OH
5/31/2010
Before you flame me for one-starring this magnificent valley park, please note: this review is ONLY for the BICYCLE and BICYCLE-RIDERS in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. (And this park, for the record, is one of the three or four reasons I returned to Ohio. That's how much I love this place, and is also the reason I'm reviewing only the BIKES and BIKE-RIDERS in the Park. Clear?)
I know every little crook and nanny of this valley, from before it was anything other than a few scattered farming communities. Grew up canoeing down the polluted river downstream of the Akron Sewer... errr... "Treatment" Plant, worked night snow crew through high school at the Midget Hills of Boston Mills, know all the lakes, the lanes, the falls, the hiding places. Helped move some of the homes out for families that were run out... uh... "relocated" when the park came in. My family has lived in this valley since 1825, so yeah. It's my park.
Now, you Bikists? Hear this: I ride a bike, on trails, on the road, used to commute by bike so I know how tough it can be riding on the road. People in cars have little respect for bikes: they crowd you, they ignore you, they toss insults, and sometimes worse, your way. I get it. I'm one of you, for the love of Ivan Basso.
But the Bikists. Those people who are just SO certain that they, in a greater global sense, are doing the right thing, and that cars are doing the WRONG thing, that they disregard a few things. Safety. Courtesy. Common sense. The laws of both man and physics.
Riding two, or three, or more abreast.
Rolling blindly through intersections, stop signs, railroad crossings.
Blocking intersections (again, two or more abreast) waiting to make a turn.
Stopping in the middle of the road to adjust equipment, or sip water, or text message.
I'm not the guy out for a leisurely drive in the country. I'm working. I have to drive from job to job, and I have customers on both sides of the valley, as well as a few IN the valley. I don't honk. I don't crowd. When I pass I pass by getting way over in the oncoming lane, just in case you swerve or fall or decide to dismount in the middle of the road. (I'm using real-world examples I've witnessed so far THIS year. I didn't even honk waiting for the left-turning couple blocking the entire intersection through the traffic light change. But I do despise you both, you sanctimonious twits. )
I know, I know. That's not how YOU ride. Sure. You're the guy riding single-file, stopping at intersections, using hand signals. (When was the last time you saw a hand signal? Really?) Okay, let's just go with that. It ain't you, it's every other rider. But you're not off the hook. Because you KNOW these guys. You RIDE with these guys. You TALK with these guys, work with them, buy stuff at the same shops.
Here's what you do: Call them on this behavior. Explain that, unless the road is closed for a race, you can NOT ride in a peloton. Remind that, on the road, bicycles and cars follow the same laws. Suggest that my four-ton service truck trumps their carbon-fiber frame by a factor of thousands-to-one. Ask them to take their responsibilities and lives more seriously.
Thanks in advance. -
Review from Phillip Y.
Des Moines, IA
8/13/2011
Okay, this was a nice stop for me because it was just minutes from my hotel. I ventured further to Kimbal's Lake and the Ledges Trail. This was probably more worthwhile than the other sites. On the drive-in, it was confusing as hell with no signage regarding where in the park you are in. My advice is to stay on Riverview Road which has some construction. Beware of road closures and then finding your way back on Riverview Road. Bugs are out and biting. The nice thing about visiting Kimbal's Lake and Ledges Trail is that you can definitely hit the major views like the lake and the ice house cave immediately. I was off on my next leg of my move out to Des Moines in no time. Easy access from the interstate made this a no-brainer.
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Review from Mike P.
Broadview Heights, OH
9/20/2010
Most everything about the Cuyahoga Valley National Park is awesome. The scenery, fresh air, wildlife, plant life, trees, tall hills, waterfalls, creeks, river, oh heck even the dozens of cyclists on the Towpath Trail.
My ONLY gripe- the parking lot right by the entrance to the Towpath Trail and by the train station in Peninsula. The parking lot is too damn small. Not enough parking spaces. This is especially evident on weekends and Mickey Mouse holidays such as Labor Day. This parking lot fills up faster than the number of 4th downs the Cleveland Browns get during a football game. Its freaking pathetic.
To add insult to injury, there are vehicles that shouldn't be using this parking lot. As an example, the dorks who sit on or next to their parked vehicle(s) just bullcrapping around, doing whatever. They're not riding a bike nor hiking on the trail. They're taking up much needed parking room and being a hazard to moving vehicle and pedestrian traffic.
The alternative is to park in the street in the nearby neighborhood. Only problem is that there's a two hour limit AND you have to spend wasted time walking to or riding your bike to the trail.
I have no complaints about the Towpath Trail nor the National Park. Wish I had pictures to post because those say lots more than any words can about these destinations. We need a friggin bigger parking lot. Not just a few more parking spaces, but at least double the size of the current parking lot. That is all. -
Review from Jim W.
11/1/2008
Review # 500.
The Cuyahoga Valley National Park is little known to those outside of Ohio. It is a wonderful resource for those in the region with a wide variety of recreational opportunities, all within a relatively short drive of metro Cleveland or Akron, OH.
Some of the many things I have done in the CVNP:
*watched the Perseid Meteor Shower while I relaxed on the grass listening to the Cleveland Orchestra play at Blossom Music Center.
*taken courses on backpacking and winter camping at the Institute of the Great Outdoors (IGO) which were followed up with backpacking and camping trips.
*hiked along the old Erie Canal.
*tons of mountain biking.
*day hikes of 6 hours or more.
*attended bluegrass and Irish music concerts.
*hiked and scrambled through one of the east's only areas with narrow slot "canyon's".
*Visited a working farm running as farms did 150 years ago.
*numerous picnics and family outings.
*enjoyed a 50 mile rails to trails loop.
*attended many rock concerts at Blossom.
*visited a working lock which has been restored on a section of the Erie Canal.
*tried to snap photos that rivaled the ones world renowned photographer Galen Rowell has taken in the CNVP.
If you make it to Northeast Ohio pay a visit!Listed in: IGO (Institute of the Great…, Place me here!
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Review from Heather F.
Foster City, CA
11/20/2008 4 photos
During my fourth cross country trip with my sweetie (we were trying to see if long hours in the car, off key singing, and numerous pit-stops secondary to my obsessive need to pee every 10 minutes made us want to kill each other. No luck.) we stopped in Northwestern Ohio at Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
We came with very low expectations (sorry Ohio, I had no idea!) and left very pleasantly surprised. Bryn R.'s review is great, and covers just about anything I could possible say and so, so much more. What I can say is, I loved driving through, exploring, and hiking in this park. See my pictures :)Listed in: "Who Pooped in the Park?"
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Review from Kevin S.
San Francisco, CA
8/12/2005 3 photos
Yes, this is the same Cuyahoga River that caught fire and burned in 1969 in downtown Cleveland, but that was decades ago and many miles downstream, and it was probably an oil slick on fire, not the river itself. The beautiful, serpentine Cuyahoga River Valley was acquired by the National Park Service soon after and became a National Recreation Area and was then upgraded to a full National Park a couple of decades later. This park is sandwiched between the teeming urban areas of Cleveland and Akron, forming a green lung in a metro area of some 4 million people. It incorporates the scenic and historic Ohio and Erie Canal and towpath and a 1940's era scenic railroad. The heavy forest canopy and meadows are home to beaver, coyote, and thousands and thousands of deer and millions of birds, including bald eagles and hawks of many kinds.
Fall foliage and the beautiful effects of a winter snowstorm make this a great cold weather destination as well as a beautiful place for hiking, cycling, horseback riding, and picnicking. Perhaps the Cuyahoga, immortalized in Randy Newman's song Burn On Big River, should really be famous as a river of supreme beauty and natural bounty instead.
Information at: http://www.nps.gov/cuv... -
Review from Dominique K.
Royal Oak, MI
1/2/2011
This is a lovely, free, National Park within a few hours' drive of us, so it's an easy weekend trip from the Detroit area.
We've been here a few times (most recently on this January day), although we've yet to come here when the park is at its busiest in the summer months, when I understand the traffic along the Towpath Trail can get pretty clogged with walkers, runners, and bicyclists jockeying for position.
Today (Jan 2) the trail attracted more than a few runners, dog walkers, and even a few lookie-loos with cameras like us!
I like the history of the park and the canals that played such an important part of this country's westward movement in the early 1800s. There are several old locks to view and you can, in at least once case, go down into one of the old locks to see the massive block construction and marvel at the effort it must have taken to build the transit way at that time. The Canal Visitors Center has some nice historical exhibits, a small gift shop, and at least one ranger on duty to answer questions.
Brandywine Falls is also a must-see in the park. This beautiful waterfall is easily accessible via several wooden walkways so you can take photos of the falls from several different vantage points, There is a B&B just across from the falls where we stayed a few years ago (Brandywine Falls Inn)..
There's also a pretty impressive heron rookery in the area where plenty of the birds stop during the spring nesting season.
Winter, there are a couple of nearby ski hills and, if there is enough snow, you can cross country ski or snowshoe. My only disappointment this trip was that there wasn't enough snow for me to bring my cross country skis or to try snowshoeing this trip...
The little village of Peninsula within the park is also a fun stop. There's the old train depot (which is now a park info center), a bike rental place, and the Winking Lizard (which still has the vintage "Peninsula NIght Club" sign...and where you still can get a burger and beer lunch).Listed in: Oh, Ohio!
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Review from Kri B.
Caldwell, NJ
6/1/2007
The Towpath area of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park has long been a favorite for my family.... my mom grew up on a farm just across the street, where the giant movie theatre is now! My old dog, Ollie is buried somewhere near Hoggys....
Bring your bike down to the towpath and check out the remains of the locks on the Erie Canal. You can find all kinds of interesting wildlife living between the canal and the river. There's even a small museum with a restored section of the lock near the trailhead in Valley View. If the museum is open, I recommend checking out the miniature working display of the canal in the basement.... I remember checking this out with my grandma in the old museum 25 years ago! -
Review from Kimberly K.
San Francisco, CA
7/25/2007
did you know there was a national park, right here in the midst of our land of cleves?
well, did you?
nope. i didn't either.
being a national park, it's big. large. heeeouge even. i only touched the tip of it.
wait...um...
well, i didn't get very far.
um...
wow, this is just getting worse and worse as i continue.
i have not explored enough of the cuyahoga valley national park, and plan on taking a nice weekend sometime to do so.
they have a train. so you can yell "HERE COMES THE CHOO CHOO!!!" and jump up and down ecstaticly like a child.
i have enjoyed the trails along the road, in which, you can ride bikes, jog, walk, or run. or skip. frolic.
my friend and i did all of the above, all the while singing the theme song from rocky.
you can do the same.
thank you, cuyahoga valley national park.
addendum: i minused one star because...well...i was really sad that the erie canal had litter in it and i saw a fish trying to swim upstream and it just broke my heart. c'mon national park system. give a fish brotha a clean home.
this message brought to you by kimmys for a cleaner water supply for fishies who hug trees. wait- the fishies don't hug trees. the kimmys do. um...i'm done now. -
Review from Patrick B.
Hudson, OH
7/15/2007
The Cuyahoga Valley NP is a great park located conveniently to the Cleveland and Akron areas. I am down here often, as I live only ten minutes away, in Hudson, from many popular spots. There are tons of activities to do here. The big activities are hiking, biking, and skiing. The Cuyahoga Valley is really a year round park. There are farms with little shops (Szalay's is the best example), bars/restaurants (Winking Lizard, see review), small, free museums chronicling the areas rich history, skiing at Boston Mills and Brandywine, hiking on numerous trails, and other fun activities. The park really is beautiful. You feel like you're in the rural Pennsylvania foothills, even though it sits in a major metropolitan area. And the best thing for NE Ohioans, it's not overrun with tourists, unlike other National Parks. Overall, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park is a great place to spend a good chunk of time escaping the urban environment and enjoying nature's beauty.
