Cuyahoga Valley National Park

My last stop on July 9th was to Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  This park was created on October 11, 2000 and is located along a narrow stretch in eastern Ohio between Cleveland and Akron.  The Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail has been restored and the park deals a lot with the 19th century waterway history in this area.  The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad also runs through the park.  There are more than 125 miles of biking, walking, skiing or horseback riding trails in the park, so there's a lot of things to see and do.

I drove to the Boston Store and toured the visitor center there and read up on the Ohio and Erie Canals and towboats and how they were built.  They visitor center is in the old Boston Store and not only houses the mini museum but a small shop and bookstore with friendly staff.

When I was at James Garfield's house earlier in the day I met a lady, her daughter and the daughter's son on my tour of the house.  Ironically, they were in the visitor center the same time I was.  It was fun to reconnect with them yet again today!

After visiting Boston Store area, I drove over to see Brandywine Falls.  It was a short walk from the parking area, but you can also access it from the Boston Store (center of the park) Towpath Trail.  At Brandywine, there is the Stanford Trail that connects from the Towpath Trail (1.5 miles) or you can walk the Brandywine Gorge Loop (1.4 miles).

The falls were beautiful in July.  There was a kiosk with all the info and map of the Brandywine area.  The trail was gorgeous and I especially marveled at how well the park service kept the natural beauty of the area by building the walkways and stairs right into the rock.

The falls themselves were just gorgeous and they mesmerized me!

Here's a live video:

I also loved the ferns that grew out of the rocks as I walked back toward the car.  It was so pretty. 

Other things to do in this park is to take the train ride which runs North and Southbound throughout the day.  You can board the train at the Rockside, Peninsula Depot or Akron Northside Stations.  The ride is about 3.5 hours round trip.  Click the link for more details if you're interested.

NPS Photo

I wish we had more time in the area.  This would have been a fun place to spend a few days exploring.  I'd highly recommend this park for all the summer and fall activities like canoeing and kayaking, picnicking, hiking, biking and fishing.  Even in the winter months, this park is active with skiing and sledding.  It's also a pet-friendly place as long as dogs are on leashes.