Five Fun Facts About Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Cuyahoga Valley National Park is one of the few national parks in the middle of the country and the only national park in Ohio. It is tucked between the nearby cities of Cleveland and Akron in Northeast Ohio. Downtown Cleveland is just a short drive from the park. Given the park’s central location between small towns and major urban areas, it’s considered an “urban park.”

The park was first designated as Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area in 1974 and became a national park in 2000. The most popular attractions in Cuyahoga Valley National Park are Brandywine Falls, the Boston Mill Visitor Center, the Ohio and Erie Canalway, Everett Covered Bridge, and multiple miles of trails that are great for biking. The park follows the Cuyahoga River and was once a vital link in developing the frontier of the United States.

Podcast Episode Overview

You may not have even heard of this park, so you’re in for a real treat! Today on the Exploring the National Parks Podcast, we’re sharing our favorite fun facts about Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio.

This park is more of a blend between a national historical site and a national park because it has both natural beauty and significant historical landmarks. Cuyahoga Valley is a unique smaller park that many people don’t know much about. Join us as we discuss what makes this park so cool!

In this episode, we discuss:

What makes the bedrock layers at this national park so interesting
The fascinating history of the canal
How this park helped Ohio become one of the most populated states in the country
How the river in this park became a catalyst for a major environmental movement
The surprising number of active farms within the Cuyahoga Valley boundaries

We hope you love hearing about this incredible national park! It’s truly like going back to simpler times when you visit Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and we hope you get the chance to visit it soon!

Listen to the Full Podcast Episode:

Cuyahoga Valley National Park Fun Facts

1. The bedrock layers in Cuyahoga Valley National Park are more than 245 million years old

The rich geologic history of Cuyahoga Valley is relatively peaceful compared to most national parks. If you’ve listened to our other fun facts episodes, like Big Bend and Arches, you know that the geology of a national park can be chaotic as massive forces collide over millions of years.

Cuyahoga Valley seems calm in comparison to the chaos. Little is known about what happened in the area geologically in the 250 million years between the bedrock’s formation and today. Dinosaur records don’t exist here or in Ohio!

My favorite trail in Cuyahoga National Park is the Ledges Trail, a 1.8-mile loop that takes you through exposed rock formations. It is one of the park’s most photogenic areas and offers a great glimpse at its peaceful history.

The same ice-age glaciers that impacted places like the Great Smoky Mountains out to Olympic also scraped across Ohio. Despite the powerful forces of these ice giants, which carved out Lake Erie and all the Great Lakes, Ohio’s geology remained unchanged because there was nothing to crush.

2. The Ohio and Erie Canal allowed people to travel between Cincinnati and Cleveland in 80 hours

One of the most common mixups with Cuyahoga Valley is which canal is actually in the park. The Ohio and Erie Canal is the center of Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

The Erie Canal, completed in 1825 between the Hudson River and Lake Erie in New York, inspired Ohio to build its own canal, which began construction in 1825.

After seven years of hard work, the Ohio and Erie Canal stretched 308 miles from Cleveland to Portsmouth on the Ohio River. Canal boats promised passengers they could now travel between Cincinnati and Cleveland in as little as 80 hours. That was a big deal when the trip took weeks in a wagon.

Most wagons could carry between 2,500 and 6,000 pounds. Canal boats could carry up to 30 tons using three mule teams to pull the ship through the Ohio and Erie Canal. You can follow the same path as the mules today by biking along the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail!

We recommend starting your trip to Cuyahoga Valley at the Canal Exploration Center before embarking on the Erie Canal Towpath Trail. We talk about our perfect Cuyahoga Valley itinerary in Episode 76!

3. Ohio became the third most-populated state in the country after the construction of the Ohio and Erie Canal

For a long time, Ohio was the edge of the frontier. People would cross the Appalachian Mountains with everything they owned in wagons. The Ohio and Erie Canal changed everything. The frontier was finally connected with the major cities of the United States.

The canal system was so successful that it became the backbone of civilization for over 80 years. Cuyahoga Valley National Park is special because it connected and still connects humanity.

Connections of commerce and people across the country didn’t stop with the canals. By the mid to late 1800s, railroad companies laid new tracks everywhere. Today, Ohio has 3,500 miles of railroad that runs through it, the third most of all states. Only Texas and Illinois have more railroads.

Valley Railway Company brought railroading to the Cuyahoga River Valley in 1880. As industrialization took off, the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad was built. However, it didn’t become designated scenic until 1994, after the National Park Service purchased and restored the tracks.

For nearly 100 years, the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad carried goods across Northeastern Ohio. After achieving national park status, the train started carrying tourists. Today, you can take a scenic train ride through the park and experience the connectivity of the rail line for yourself.

4. The Cuyahoga River has caught on fire 13 times throughout history

With industrialization and increased connection came downsides. Pollution of land and water was rampant as factories dumped directly into rivers. Oil, rubber, chemicals, and debris built up in waterbodies nationwide. Lake Erie was declared a dead lake because of the pollution and lack of wildlife.

Only after an oil spill in California did people start to worry pollution was an issue. We can look back and shake our heads, but this era of history taught us what we shouldn’t do to the Earth if we want to take care of it.

Around this time, the Cuyahoga River caught on fire near where it meets Lake Erie. All the pollution and debris had built up around a train bridge, and when a train threw sparks into the oily trash buildup in the river below, the river caught on fire. For 25 minutes, the Cuyahoga River burned, and most of Cleveland’s residents didn’t care.

Time Magazine sent a reporter to investigate, only to find that local citizens didn’t care because the Cuyahoga River had caught on fire ten times before this most recent event.

The image of the river on fire spurred the beginning of the environmental movement. This growing movement, which started on the Cuyahoga River, led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Clean Water Act, and the Clean Air Act.

As we discuss in Episode 65: The First Five National Parks, the United States already had an environmental ethic that led to the creation of the National Park Service. This new movement focused on the need to keep more areas of the country clean.

In the original version of The Lorax, Dr. Suess referenced Lake Erie’s pollution, which has since been removed because the lake has been cleaned up.

Beaver Marsh is one of the best places to visit to see how the land has been transformed from lifeless to thriving.

5. People farm inside Cuyahoga Valley National Park

The National Park Service has taken careful steps to restore Cuyahoga Valley’s natural landscapes and cultural heritage. As pollution has been cleaned up, some of the land in the national park has been opened up for farmers. This is part of the Countryside Initiative that began in the late 1990s to open farmlands again.

Today, there are ten farms within the boundaries of the park. Berries, sheep, and vineyards are some of what you’ll find growing in the park. There are sheep-dog competitions, and Sarah’s Vineyard has a restaurant you can visit!

Together, the open farmlands, historic buildings, winding Cuyahoga River, deciduous forest, and natural areas make Cuyahoga Valley National Park one of the most unique national parks in the country.

We hope you plan a trip to Cuyahoga Valley National Park soon to see this slice of American history!

Don’t forget to complete your task for this week! Which of these fun facts surprised you the most? Head over to the Dirt in My Shoes Facebook or Instagram page and let us know!

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