Review of Cuyahoga Valley National Park: A hidden gem near Cleveland/Akron, Ohio
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| Brandywine Falls, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, OH |
During the month of March, my wife and I were looking for a suitable destination to spend about a week. Instead of doing the usual, which is staying near New York City where we spend the month of March, we decided it was a good idea to finally explore the Midwest.
Traveling to Midwest from New York City (where we grew up) had always been something of a challenge, mentally and physically. At a driving distance of at least 7 to 8 hours, it’s not an easy drive you can take just on a whim.
The days of hesitating when thinking of traveling to the Midwest, are over. Thanks to our early retirement, we are no longer bound by these constraints. We finally have plenty of time to take that long drive that used to feel like it was out of reach.
So, in the end, we decided to check out the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, in the state of Ohio.
Cuyahoga Valley National Park was established in 1974, and it is located near the Cuyahoga River, between the cities of Cleveland and Akron in Ohio. Some of the notable attractions at the park include: The Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath, restored section of the canal’s original towpath and the Canal Exploration Center, detailing the 19th century waterway’s history.
We were eager to check out this national park, and we were off and running, heading east via I-78, traversing through the states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, then finally onto Ohio. Despite the fact that we had just completed a road trip just the prior month, there’s no such thing as too much road trip especially when we’re talking about a national park!
Yay, another road trip for these wandering souls!
We purposely took I-78 instead of the usual I-80 because we wanted to stop by one of our favorite Italian restaurants in Hershey Pennsylvania area, Fabio’s Restaurant in Grantville. The restaurant, converted from a barn, gives off a charming and rustic atmosphere. On top of that, they make their own almost perfect tomato sauce sourced from their own farm, resulting in one of the very best sauces we’ve ever had.
Some of our favorite go-to dishes are chicken cacciatore and shrimp fra diavolo, and they are some of the absolute best we’ve had anywhere. After living in New York City for over 20 years, that says something…
We were trying to save some time, so we ordered ahead to do a quick pickup. We ate right at the restaurant’s parking lot, savoring tasty bites of the awesome chicken cacciatore and shrimp fra diavolo with that wonderful tomato sauce. The garlic bread, made with their homemade flat bread with just the right amount of garlic and butter, made for an elevated dining experience even if we ate inside our car.
We finished our meal, rather hurriedly, then headed northwest, to eventually get back on the I-80. Along the way, we drove along the beautiful Susquehanna River for a good 20-30 minutes, making for a wonderful drive with scenic, idyllic views.
By the time we arrived at our temporary home for the duration of this trip (2 nights/3 days, before heading further west to Detroit), which would be Homewood Suites by Hilton Solon, the day was already turning into night. We had ordered some extra foods from Fabio’s for dinner, so we savored that meal, but this time sitting comfortably in dining chairs at our hotel.
After getting a good night’s rest, we awoke the next morning, greeted by the gloomy weather just outside of our windows. No big deal. Rain or shine, we were going to check out this national park!
The drive to the first of the most popular attraction at the park, Brandywine Falls, would take roughly 30 minutes from the hotel. We took I-480/I-271 heading south until we found the trailhead.
The day was gloomy, with a hint of light rain, but that didn’t deter fellow visitors to the falls. The parking lot was busy, with more than half of the lot filled by the time we arrived at the trailhead.
At the parking lot, we saw a couple with dogs we had to say hello to, then moved on to check out the falls. The short trail, on a wooden boardwalk, got us close enough to the falls to feel the falls’ mist hitting us right in our faces. Nice.
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| Brandywine Falls trail, Cuyahoga Valley National Park |
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| Love these rocks |
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| Brandywine Falls |
We felt the power of nature, watching the falls do its thing. It’s always a treat to see waterfalls and this was no exception. We took few minutes to savor the beauty of the falls before heading out to the second most popular destination at the park: Ledges Trail. Ledges Trail circles a plateau of striking rock formations providing stunning views along its 1.8 mile loop trail. That, we had to hike.
We drove little over 6 miles southeast to arrive at the Ledges Trailhead, finding a forest full of mature trees surrounding the area. We parked our car, then followed fellow hikers on a tour of this majestic place.
The scenery was amazing, place immediately reminding us of any number of western national parks (albeit at a smaller scale) full of cool rock formations. The difference is the color of the rocks themselves: at Ledges, they were the color of green thanks to the park’s abundant rainfall giving lichen/moss to flourish, and not the brown/beige/gray colors found on the west coast.
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| Walking on the Ledges Trail, Cuyahoga Valley National Park |
We hiked deeper into the trail, enjoying the ever more spectacular rocks/rock formations along the way. This was no ordinary hiking trail. Hiking is nice, but having some of the most spectacular rock formations right along the trail is even nicer!
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| The famous “Staircase” |
Our legs felt the strain a bit, and we were sweating by the time we climbed the “Staircase”, which connects the lower and the upper portions of the Ledges Trail. It is one of the most popular spots along the trail, so why not climb it?
The entire hike of the Ledges Trail took us around 40 minutes as we took our time hiking it. For fast hikers, it probably takes no more than half an hour.
Nice waterfall and awesome hike at the Ledges Trail!
In conclusion:
Cuyahoga Valley National Park was on my radar as far as list of places to explore in my lifetime, and we were glad we got to do it. Although bit out of the way for most people living on the east coast, it’s no longer a problem for us early retirees who have plenty of time these days to complete this long road trip.
Our hotel was well located, and we enjoyed checking out the beautiful Brandywine Falls and the Ledges. We recommend all lovers of nature to check out this sometimes obscure and not-as-popular national park.
Although on the small side, it certainly packs a punch with awesome attractions in a smallish package. There’s a reason why it’s a national park. Go and check it out for yourself!
Thank you for reading and happy trails!
Jake
Wandering Money Pig
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