We visit CVNP regularly to walk the many trails, bike the towpath, ski at Boston Mills or Brandywine ski resorts, eat at the restaurants in Peninsula or visit shops there, golf at Brandywine Country Club (open to public). Since it is located in northeast Ohio the scenery changes with the seasons and is consistently beautiful. Can count on seeing many different types of wildlife here. This is truly a jewel of the area which also has the MetroPark system which is also gorgeous.
This is our country's newest National Park established in 2000. It is only 3 hours from Detroit so we planned a long weekend to hike and bike. There is so much to do 4 or 5 days would have been optimal. We stayed in the National Park at the Brandy Wine Inn which is the only accommodations in the park. This park is in a valley surrounded by interstate so you do hear the noise from the cars. However it is still pretty cool when you consider how close it is to large urban centers such as Cleveland and Akron. Its not Yosemite but Yosemite is more than 3 hours from my home. Still a great experience.
We spent a fall afternoon at the Cuyahoga National Park recently. We visited Brandywine Falls and the Ledges hiking trail. It is a nice park, but as other people have mentioned in their reviews, it winds in and out of the towns and neighborhoods around it, and we feel that we have many areas in our local Metroparks system that are just as enjoyable. The train ride might be fun and bikers love the Towpath Trail, but I am not sure we would make a special visit again unless we were in the area for another reason.
If you have your own horse and looking for a great place to ride for the day, look no further. Cuyahoga Valley National Park is the place for you! CVNP was the second park in the United States to become a National Park, Yosemite being the first. 33,000 acre facility...catering to hikers, bikes and horses. Wonderful adventures around every corner. Waterfalls, wildlife, beautiful scenery! Brecksville is just one of the areas in CVNP to experience the well marked trails and facilities.
THis place is so clean and attractive and has something for everyone from caving to skiing! I was originally just a popular place to go but now is a national park and has always been a GREAT place to take the family!
This is a very large national park to navigate. Most of the maps they have available do not have addresses on them for the many locations to see. I had bought a book previous to our trip and used this as a guide, and several different materials i had picked up, I found by using the addresses of the train stations near by I could find most of the areas I was looking for. The canal center closed at four on a Friday which i thought was a little early and we missed touring inside this since we arrived at four and they had just closed up the building. There are several metro parks located inside the national park area that they do not push visiting since they are not the national park it self. The parking for blue hen falls was muddy and up and rutty hill which could cause for some slipping of vehicles if wet and raining. we spent Fri- Monday touring the park itself and broke it down into a section at time and tried to hit the main attractions. The falls in the park are worth visiting, ledges trail hike is nice, the covered bridge is a short walk to and nice picture spot. overall there is a lot to do and see, and one can not possibly do it all in a visit.
Just want to set the record straight and correct false information in another post: The first national park was Yellowstone, not Yosemite and Cuyahoga Valley National Park was not the second national park, but was established in 2000.
We spent a beautiful fall day in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. There is much to see and lots of hiking trails to enjoy. The history of the area was very interesting to us.
My friends and I did the loop around the waterfall (we were following the instructions for a quest). Navigated a few steep hills, but enjoyed it. The scenery was pretty. Enjoyed a stop by the river and the waterfall at the end :) Afterwards we took another trail, but it followed the road for a bit and ended after a mile or so due to a closure (not sure what was being worked on exactly). The park is close to home, so that was convenient. I wouldn't recommend this for an experienced hiker tho - might be disappointing - at least the parts that I saw. Great for beginners or those looking for an easy hike! Or for bike riders (there were several on the path along the road).
We are lucky to have a National Park in our own back yard.This park has it all - hiking, camping, a railroad, ledges, everything!