Things to Do in Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Brandywine Falls

Brandywine Falls plunges 65 feet through a sandstone gorge. Cool spray hits your face from the wooden boardwalk. The platform lines you up with the upper cascade. Water crashes, thunder echoes, the pool churns below.

Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad

Vintage cars rock gently as the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad rolls past meadows. White-tailed deer graze. Heron rookeries and beaver dams slide by. The diesel beat matches the valley's heartbeat.

Ledges Overlook

Massive sandstone cliffs warm in the sun. Ferns nestle in cool alcoves. From the overlook, treetops unroll like a green carpet. On clear days, Cleveland's skyline pricks the horizon like tiny teeth.

Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail

Limestone grit crunches under your tires along the Towpath Trail. Canal locks from the 1830s stand like stone sentries. Great blue herons stalk the shallows. Wild mint scents the air.

Blue Hen Falls

A short maple-oak hike ends at a 15-foot cascade. Water drops into a shallow pool. Cold splash on your hands feels perfect. The small gorge amplifies sound into a natural amphitheater.

Peninsula is the park's unofficial base camp. Nineteenth-century houses now hold shops and cafés. Trail access starts right downtown.

Brecksville stays quiet and residential. Chain hotels line Route 21. Northern trailheads sit minutes away.

Independence offers suburban comfort. Shopping centers abound. The southern Towpath trailhead waits here.

Richfield feels rural. Farm stays and country inns dot the back roads. Ten minutes to the park gate.

Akron's Highland Square buzzes 15 minutes south. Vintage shops, coffee houses, and hip energy collide.

Cleveland's Ohio City sits 25 minutes north. Craft breweries pour. The West Side Market feeds.