Once the hunting and fishing grounds of the Delaware, Catawba, Iroquois, and Shawnee Native American tribes, Cuyahoga Valley National Park is one of only three large parks in the Great Lakes Basin. Designated as a national park in 2000, the area has a history of human habitation that dates back to Neolithic times. It’s a unique landscape where humans and nature have interacted to shape an outdoor playground featuring natural, man-made, and private attractions.
The park is a 51,000-square-mile natural wonderland that is cut in half by the Cuyahoga River and connects Akron, Cleveland, and Northeast Ohio in the heart of one of the United States’ most heavily industrialized regions. Reclamation efforts have returned the valley to its pristine natural state.
The Lenapé Nation
Long before Cuyahoga was a national park, it was home to the Lenapé. Considered the original tribe of the Native Nations of the upper Ohio Valley, the Lenapé (or Delaware) were pushed farther and farther west into this region by successive wars and the expansion of the European nations on the continent. Their agricultural, hunting, fishing, and trading activities greatly enriched their intricate society. However, pressures from the Europeans and the demand for furs made the tribes refocus on hunting and widespread commerce involving the fur trade.
The Lenapé Nation’s shift in activity to accommodate the demand for furs proved unsustainable. As a result, the populations of beavers and other fur-bearing animals in the valley plummeted. The networks indigenous people created across the region’s waterways through the 17th and 18th centuries allowed the Native American tribes to trade between the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico. The 1795 Treaty of Greenville set the Cuyahoga River as the boundary between indigenous peoples’ lands and European settlement. The Lenapé Nation was eventually pushed westward to what would become Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Canada.
A Grand Reclamation Project
Cuyahoga Valley National Park is home to diverse animal species, including raccoons, coyotes, skunks, red foxes, beavers, peregrine falcons, and many more. (NPS)
The great blue heron makes its home in Beaver Marsh, one of Cuyahoga Valley National Park’s most biologically diverse points of interest. This was land that had been drained to create the Erie Canal. Cooperation between beavers and humans reclaimed the marsh. (NPS)
The history of Cuyahoga Valley National Park began in 1929, when the estate of Cleveland businessman Hayward Kendall donated 430 acres around the Ritchie Ledges, along with a perpetual trust to Ohio, creating Virginia Kendall Park in honor of his mother. By the early 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps had built much of the park’s infrastructure.
By the 1960s, the Cuyahoga River’s urban sprawl and industrial pollution threatened to destroy one of Ohio’s and the country’s great natural treasures. Dumping, sewage problems, and other degradation were halted when the National Park Service acquired the 47-acre Krejci Dump in 1985. The Environmental Protection Agency surveyed the toxic waste and closed the area, designating it a superfund site. Several huge companies, including Ford, GM, Chrysler, 3M, and Chevron, were forced to pay to clean up the toxic disaster.
Congress redesigned the area as a national park on October 11, 2000, and more reclamation returned much of the Cuyahoga Valley to its pristine state. In one instance, the Richfield Coliseum was demolished in 1999, and the area became a grassy meadow now popular for birdwatchers. Today, Cuyahoga Valley National Park is unique among national parks for the number of compatible-use sites not owned by the federal government, such as the Cleveland Metroparks and Summit Metro Parks, and natural areas for every outdoor activity. Even with its urban elements, the park is once again a vast refuge—a naturescape of forests, rolling hills, hidden ravines, wetlands, streams, rivers, and more than 100 spectacular waterfalls, including Brandywine Falls, the state’s tallest.
Things to Do and See
In 2022, almost 3 million people visited the park to bike, hike, or run the many trails and to enjoy skiing and sled riding in the winter months. Visitors can also participate in almost limitless excursion experiences, such as hiking, biking, golf, or even a railroad tour. The park’s most interesting and popular trail is the 20-mile Towpath Trail, which follows a section of the former Ohio and Erie Canal path. Another popular sightseeing experience is Brandywine Falls, the park’s tallest (60 feet), and the 1.5-mile Brandywine Gorge Loop trail beyond.
Park visitors will not want to miss the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, especially during special events. Then there’s the Ledges area, a magnificent rock outcropping with unlimited views across the valley’s vast wooded areas. Visitors can also take in the Talus Caves, unique geological features nestled among colorful boulders. Other nature sites worth visiting include Cuyahoga Falls, where the junction of the ancient glacial river path meets the modern flow drainage, Tinkers Creek, and the magnificent reclamation project Beaver Marsh.
A 3-mile round-trip hike goes from the Boston Mill Visitor Center along the rugged Buckeye Trail to 15-foot Blue Hen Falls in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. (NPS)
Depending on the season and time of day, the Ledges area in Cuyahoga Valley National Park can become mystical as a movie location. (NPS)
The Canal Exploration Center helps visitors learn more about the Ohio and Erie Canal through interactive exhibits. (NPS/Bob Trinnes)
Cuyahoga also has fantastic cultural sites and exhibits, such as the Hale Farm and Village, which caters to art exhibitions, cultural festivals, outdoor concerts, and theater performances. Everett Covered Bridge, which crosses Furnace Run, is a must-visit attraction. Meanwhile, Stanford House is another farmhouse built in the 19th century by George Stanford, who was one of the first settlers of the Western Reserve. The house is now affiliated with the American Youth Hostels (AYH) organization. Some 250 other historic structures, including residential and farming properties, are inside the park.
The Boston Mill Visitor Center and Canal Exploration Center carry out public interpretive programs and provide meaningful educational programs in a residential or day-use setting.
If You Go
Opening Hours: Cuyahoga Valley National Park is open daily, 24 hours a day, with these exceptions: Brandywine Falls, Virginia Kendall Ledges, Octagon, and Lake all close from dusk until morning opening.
Admission Fees: Park admission is free for all ages.
Where to Start: The best place to begin your visit is at the Boston Mill Visitor Center, 6947 Riverview Road, Peninsula, Ohio.
Phil Butler is a publisher, editor, author, and analyst who is a widely cited expert on subjects from digital and social media to travel technology. He's covered the spectrum of writing assignments for The Epoch Times, The Huffington Post, Travel Daily News, HospitalityNet, and many others worldwide.
