One of the nice things about our trip is the pleasant and unexpected surprises we have had from time to time. Cuyahoga turned out to be one of them. All we knew about this park going in was it is a relatively new addition to our country’s National Parks, and it is located near Stow, Ohio, a place our family visited twenty years ago to enjoy the now closed Geauga Lake amusement park. As a matter of fact, the campground Beth and I were staying at was located in Stow, and is run by the City of Stow.
Our plan for our stay included hiking some of the trails in the park, and then we had tickets to take a train ride through the park on the historic Cuyahoga railroad. A more simple itinerary than some of our stops.
We paid a visit to the Visitor’s Center, where Beth did her usual great job in getting the needed information from the park rangers to make the most of our stay. Armed with this intelligence, we embarked on our first hike, a trail of a little over 2 miles, ending at a pretty waterfall. The day was off to a good start.
One of the unique things in Cuyahoga is the old route of the Ohio-Erie Canal Line. Prior to the establishment of train routes, canal boats were used to move both passengers and goods along the Ohio-Erie Canal, and a number of the canal’s locks are still visible today and can easily be seen from a multi-use path that runs for over 100 miles parallel to the canal. Beth and I hiked a small portion of the multi-use path and stopped to see one of the old locks. It was interesting to retrace the steps of a by-gone era as we walked along.
After lunch, we completed a rather strenuous hike to another waterfall in the park. Since it was the middle of the summer, there wasn’t a whole lot of water flowing over the falls, but it was still worth the time and effort to get there and back. When we returned to the parking lot near the Visitor Center, we took time to visit the General Store that is located along the multi-use path. The store’s proceeds benefit the National Park, so to show our support, we had to buy some ice cream, and since the treats were only $2.00 apiece, I bought two, while Beth bought one. We walked outside and sat down in some rocking chairs and leisurely rocked and ate as we watched bikers and walkers go by. It was a refreshing respite after a tough hike.
The day had turned out to be more fun and interesting than we expected. We returned to our campground and enjoyed another good dinner. During dinner, we overheard a conversation our camping neighbors were having with a staff member of the campground. The couple was telling the staff member that they had just embarked on a 45 day tour of various National Parks across the country. It sounded very similar to what we were doing. When we had finished eating, Beth walked over and talked to the couple about their trip. The wife walked into her motorhome and returned with a spreadsheet her husband had created that detailed their travels. I joined them to get a look at the spreadsheet since I had prepared one for our trip and I had to laugh as his looked very similar to mine, just not as many stops. I was glad to see I am not the only OCD planner out there.
In the morning, we packed up our tent and belongings and headed to the train station for our 10:00 a.m. excursion on the Cuyahoga historic railroad. I had sprung for premium seats on the upper section of the old train, which consisted of a domed glass top, providing unlimited views of the surrounding park lands. We really enjoyed the ride. For two hours, we rode along the old railway that winds its way through the park. There was a volunteer staff member on the upper deck who explained to us what we were seeing and traveling through. It was very interesting and we learned a lot about the history that predated the park.
The more we rode, the more we realized that we needed to make plans to return to the park. In addition to more hiking trails, we also want to spend time biking a good portion of the 107 mile multi-use path. We enjoy biking, and we can see ourselves spending time back here to enjoy more of what the path and the park have to offer.
We left Cuyahoga with a greater respect for the park than what we arrived with two days earlier. While it may not have the grand mountain peaks of Rocky Mountain, or the giant cacti of Saguaro, or the deep blue Crater Lake, it has a definite charm that won us over and made us want to return. It’s nice to have surprises like this along the way.
Our next stop is the nation’s newest National Park, New River Gorge in West Virginia. We know what to expect at this park, and we are really looking forward to our time there.