The CVRNA is a 33,000 acre park which straddles 22 miles of the Cuyahoga river
between the cities of Cleveland and Akron, Ohio. One of the major attractions
of the CVNRA is the towpath trail, which follows portions of the old Ohio &
Erie Canal and is used by joggers, runners, walkers and bikers. (It's mostly
unpaved, so I wouldn't recommend roller-blading!) The National Park Service
now also has an extensive official CVNRA web site, so be sure to visit their
home page.
We start our trip at the Canal Visitor Center,
located on Canal Rd. a few
miles south of Rockside Rd. The Visitor Center is a convenient place to park,
fill your water bottle and chat with other people. The Visitor Center also
contains a small museum, help desk and gift store. The
lock at the visitor center has been restored and
the employees demonstrate how it was operated on the weekends. Sometimes it
seems like you can almost picture how it must have
looked a century ago...
The towpath trail continues 1.7 miles
North to Rockside Rd. and about fifteen miles South to Bath Rd. Hop on your
bike and lets go!
The towpath trail follows Canal Rd. South for a few miles and passes by
an old mill, now a feed store. If you visit in the
spring and throughout the summer you're likely to see to see the
ducks raising their families along the canal. In August and September the
wildflowers are in full bloom up and down the length
of the towpath trail. The trail soon veers West and follows the river away from civilization.
At one point the towpath is
little more than a strip of land with the canal on one side of you and the
Cuyahoga river on the other. Don't slip and fall in!
The watered stretch of the canal ends just past the Rt. 82 bridge and is dry
the remainder of the way. Some of the bridges over the
Cuyahoga Valley are quite dramatic, and it makes you wonder if the people
driving overhead have any idea what lies below them. You'll often see people
fishing in the shade under this bridge during the
summer.
Since most of the canal has long since silted up it's not unusual to come
across the remains of locks seeming dropped into empty fields. It's
impressive to stand in one of the locks and imagine the human effort that
was involved in building them. This canal alone was used for shipping cargo
from the Ohio River to Lake Erie, and it was built without the aid of
bulldozers, steamshovels or other modern equiptment.
The towpath trail runs through the small town of Boston, right past the new
vistor's center at the old Boston Store. While you're
there be sure to stop by Grandma's Watering Hole for a snack or a cold drink -
just follow the signs!
Just beyond Boston the Ohio turnpike and I271 both have long overpasses that cross over
the Valley. You just can't appreciate how massive these structures are until
you stand beneath one them! I drive I271 twice a day going to and from work
and am always treated to a gorgeous view of the Valley. Some mornings the mist from the
river shrouds the Valley in a haze, but other days the green trees and rolling hills
seem to bask in the early sun.
Sights from the trail:
- Through the woods...
- No, I'm not standing in the canal!
- Another glimpse of the river.
- A raised platform through the marshland.
- Looking back along the trail and the river just North of
Penninsula.
- Lock 29 at the town of Penninsula.
- Inside Lock 29.
- Another view of Penninsula.
- "All Aboard!" - The train station at Penninsula.
The historic Cuyahoga Valley Line railroad
runs the full length of the park during the summer and fall weekends
and gives you another perspective of the CVRNA.
- The Hunt's Farm visitor center lies a few miles
south of Penninsula (~14 miles south of the Canal Visitor Center) and is a
nice place to break for lunch. Szalay's Farm is just around
the corner and offers fresh fruit and home-made cookies in the late summer and
early fall.
- Just beyond Hunt's Farm is another raised platform
over a pond. The water-lillies are quite nice and give
the whole area a peaceful atmosphere.
View a montage of pictures from the Virginia Kendall
Area, including Kendall Ledges and Kendall Lake.
Other Links:
Back to my home page.
Don Neeper
dneeper@mindspring.com
March 16, 1999
We start our trip at the Canal Visitor Center,
located on Canal Rd. a few
miles south of Rockside Rd. The Visitor Center is a convenient place to park,
fill your water bottle and chat with other people. The Visitor Center also
contains a small museum, help desk and gift store. The
lock at the visitor center has been restored and
the employees demonstrate how it was operated on the weekends. Sometimes it
seems like you can almost picture how it must have
looked a century ago...
The towpath trail continues 1.7 miles
North to Rockside Rd. and about fifteen miles South to Bath Rd. Hop on your
bike and lets go!
The towpath trail follows Canal Rd. South for a few miles and passes by
an old mill, now a feed store. If you visit in the
spring and throughout the summer you're likely to see to see the
ducks raising their families along the canal. In August and September the
wildflowers are in full bloom up and down the length
of the towpath trail. The trail soon veers West and follows the river away from civilization.
At one point the towpath is
little more than a strip of land with the canal on one side of you and the
Cuyahoga river on the other. Don't slip and fall in!
The watered stretch of the canal ends just past the Rt. 82 bridge and is dry
the remainder of the way. Some of the bridges over the
Cuyahoga Valley are quite dramatic, and it makes you wonder if the people
driving overhead have any idea what lies below them. You'll often see people
fishing in the shade under this bridge during the
summer.
Since most of the canal has long since silted up it's not unusual to come
across the remains of locks seeming dropped into empty fields. It's
impressive to stand in one of the locks and imagine the human effort that
was involved in building them. This canal alone was used for shipping cargo
from the Ohio River to Lake Erie, and it was built without the aid of
bulldozers, steamshovels or other modern equiptment.
The towpath trail runs through the small town of Boston, right past the new
vistor's center at the old Boston Store. While you're
there be sure to stop by Grandma's Watering Hole for a snack or a cold drink -
just follow the signs!
Just beyond Boston the Ohio turnpike and I271 both have long overpasses that cross over
the Valley. You just can't appreciate how massive these structures are until
you stand beneath one them! I drive I271 twice a day going to and from work
and am always treated to a gorgeous view of the Valley. Some mornings the mist from the
river shrouds the Valley in a haze, but other days the green trees and rolling hills
seem to bask in the early sun.
