We Visited All 63 U.S. National Parks

When visited:             June, 2007

Date Established:      October, 2000

Park ranking:            59 out of 63

Why to go:                 Ledges Trail and Brandywine Falls

Why not to go:          There are many national monuments and state parks with more to offer

The first stop on a grand adventure

We visited this park as part of a 7-week cross-country extravaganza that began in June, 2007.  We had exciting stays planned at Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Olympic, Crater Lake, Rocky Mountain and Arches National Parks in the weeks to come.  Cuyahoga Valley was viewed as a means to break up a long initial day of travel.  We explored Cuyahoga Valley for about five hours as a break from our drive from our home in Elizabethtown, Pa to Ann Arbor, Michigan.  We did not kayak, we did not do extensive hiking, nor did we have significant expectations of the park.  Since our visit in 2007, the park has publicized several more areas of interest and activities than were highlighted when we attended almost 20 years ago.  Biking/Hiking along the Towpath Trail and kayaking along the Cuyahoga River Water Trail look like wonderful opportunities to get outside.  Kudos to the National Park Service and many other stakeholders in restoring the Cuyahoga River after the infamous river fire in 1969.

Cuyahoga Valley is ranked near the bottom of my national park list simply because it never felt like a national park.  There is no admission fee, public roads traverse the park and it felt more like a state park.  In fact, Ricketts Glenn State Park in Pennsylvania, Rainbow Bridge National Monument, Colorado National Monument and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore have a more national park feel than this one did for us (just to name a few!). 

Torches in hand to find Ice Box Cave

Our visit began with a stop at the Visitor’s Center as it was difficult to get a feel for the park at that time on the Internet.  Much online information was focused on the Cuyahoga Railroad and the canal system.  We wanted to stretch our legs and selected two short hikes – the first on the Ledges Trail. The loop is 1.8 miles.  The Ledges hike explores rock formations that were formed over 400 million years ago when the land was a swamp.  The formations make a series of crevasses which are great exploring for the kids. 

The boys enjoyed the trail and looking at the unusual rock formations and massive boulders.  These crevasses and boulders were great for climbing! A highlight was the Ice Box Cave. 

Ice Box Cave – looking out

The cave was much cooler than the outside air.  We were able to crawl and climb our way into total darkness (we did have flashlights if needed).  We came to the back of the cave (about 40 feet) and could hear water running loudly – but we could not see it.  The running water was behind the rock.   (According to the NPS web site, the cave is currently closed to visitors in an effort to slow the spread of a disease to the bat population.). 

We made our way out of the cave and headed to our second walk at Brandywine Falls – we enjoyed viewing the falls and walking along the Gorge Trail.  Near the falls had been an old grist mill and electric company – neither of which remain.  Our boys enjoyed skipping rocks in the river and we found a memorable heart-shaped rock. The falls are about 60 feet high and quite wide.  Before leaving the park, we toured Locke 29 from the historic Ohio and Erie Canal. 

In summary, Cuyahoga Valley combines beauty with history – history of the canal and railroad and beauty of the rock formations and Brandywine Falls.  In my opinion, however, it doesn’t rival the national parks of the western US and thus is where it is ranked.  If you live near there, it would be a great way to get outdoors and hike, kayak or bike, but for those looking for a destination national park vacation, this isn’t your choice.

Observing Brandywine Falls