We headed North- I-95, I-26, to I-77 where we stayed for awhile, headed to Cuyahoga National Park in northeastern Ohio. We made it as far as West Virginia.
Saturday, August 6th- Another driving day. The best part of the drive was through southwest West Virginia- mountainous, coal country, very beautiful and rugged. There are a lot of beautiful locations to explore here- we made a pact to return for a 4 or 5 day exploration trip. Unfortunately, there were no good places to pull out to take a shot of the area.
We arrived at the park around 2:30 pm, much later than we anticipated. Cuyahoga National Park preserves 33,000 acres of river, deep forests, rolling hills and open farm lands. There is a long history here of human occupation. The Indians named the river Cuyahoga, or Crooked, river, and it is, winding through the valley. The Ohio and Erie Canal opened here in 1827, parallel to the river, using its water. It was part of a national system of canals connecting the East Coast to the Midwest.
The park was designated a National Recreation Area in 1974 and a National Park in 2000. There are miles and miles of walking and biking trails throughout the park, including the graveled Towpath Trail, which follows the location of the canal.
We made our usual stop at the Visitor Center to talk to the docents and to see the movie about the creation of the park. Although there was significant local desire to preserve the area- it is at a confluence of several major highways- the transition to a park was not without pain. Many inhabitants of the area were happy to sell their property to the government to preserve the area, but many families, who had lived in the valley for generations, were not happy to leave. The movie was very honest about this issue. As you drive through the area, you can see evidence of old homes and farms. Some of the original buildings have been renovated and are being used by the park, including Boston Store, the visitor center where we stopped.
It was recommended that we see Brandywine Falls, not far from the center. After a short drive, it was reached by hiking a boardwalk down to several view points. There is also a trail to the riverbed, but we opted not to do that. There has been a drought in Ohio this summer, so the flow of water was not what it would normally be, but still very beautiful. We wanted to see some of the Towpath Trail, so returned to a lot near the visitor center to park at a trail head. The Towpath is heavily used by bicyclists and there are bridal trails, as well, so the park is certainly used by many seeking recreation. We walked a ways on the trail, seeing glimpses of the river, but saw only a short section of ditch that we thought might be remnants of the old canal. I believe other areas in the northern part of the park may have better views of this part of the park's history.
Overall, the park is very pretty and certainly an oasis for recreation in a busy part of the country. I think the best way to explore would by by bike, if you were so inclined. After seeing many of the Western parks, I think this one would not make the top of the list, although very nice.
We left the park about 6 pm, continuing to head West on I-80. It was after 7:30 when we arrived at a hotel in Fremont, Ohio. Long day...
Sunday, August 7th- A late start- overslept and did not leave the hotel until almost 10 am. Much of western Ohio is farmland, very pretty.
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