Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Falls & Ledges at Cuyahoga, Ohio’s Only National Park

Seeking spectacular desert landscapes or ocean breezes? You won’t find them at Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Looking for amazing mountain vistas? Look elsewhere. Hoping to get away from it all? Not here. But you can find a nice selection of walks in the woods with food and lodging nearby.

  • Cuyahoga Valley National Park
  • Cuyahoga Valley National Park
  • Cuyahoga Valley National Park
  • Cuyahoga Valley National Park
  • Cuyahoga Valley National Park
  • Cuyahoga Valley National Park
  • Cuyahoga Valley National Park
  • Cuyahoga Valley National Park
  • Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Meandering along the Cuyahoga River between Cleveland and Akron, Ohio’s only national park offers a mélange of forest and water in a uniquely suburban setting. The park is one of three in the Great Lakes Basin.

There is no shortage of trails . But we had allotted just half a day. So, we stopped by the Boston Mill Visitor Center, located in the shadow of I-271, for a bit of guidance. We chose two hikes: the Brandywine Falls Loop and the Cuyahoga Valley Ledges Trail.

The falls loop was a bust. A dry spell made for a light flow at Brandywine Falls. The loop down one side of Brandywine Creek and up the other was disappointing. Numerous visits to the Yosemite Valley and the coastal ranges of the Pacific Northwest have raised our expectations for waterfalls.

The tromp around the ledges trail, however, was interesting and unique. A few moderate rises and falls even got our blood pumping as we hiked the perimeter of the massive sandstone outcropping and explored narrow passageways between the 20-foot cliffs.

Did we give Cuyahoga Valley short shrift? Probably. But we were on a schedule. And if we ever decide to return, it’s just 40 minutes from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

  • Lake Erie
  • Lake Erie
  • Lake Erie

Cawtawba Island

True confessions. Cuyahoga Valley National Park was an afterthought.

The primary draw to Ohio’s north shore was an invitation to stay with Dan’s newspapering buddy Bill at his Cawtawba island cottage on the banks of Lake Erie. Bill befriended and mentored Dan 40 years ago at the St. Louis Globe-Democrat and its short-lived sister publication, the St. Louis Evening news.

We enjoyed the local perch and frites, visits to the Port Clinton and Marblehead light stations ahead of the Memorial Day weekend crowd, grilled salmon a la Bill, beachside s’mores, and chatting with his fine friends and family.

It was a grand visit, swapping stories, sharing some laughs and even shedding a few tears – an old friendship that has aged well.

We spent three weeks enjoying friends, family and the wonders of the Great Lakes region of the United States in May and June 2023.

Big Sky & Wild Pigs at Grant Park on the Ridge Trail

The Bay Area Ridge Trail at Joseph D. Grant County Park rises and falls along a ridgeline with a view of San Jose to the west and the Lick Observatory atop Mount Hamilton to the east. Large and lovely meadows bookend the trail at the north and south ends of the trail. Watch out for feral pigs.

We are hiking the 405-mile Bay Area Ridge Trail. Sign up to follow our progress here.

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Battling Ridge Trail Anxiety at Mission Peak

The core of the Bay Area Ridge Trail across Mission Peak Regional Preserve rises 1,600 feet in just three miles from the parking lot at Ohlone College. It then rises some more. The trail flattens out as it bypasses Mission and two other peaks before diving steeply down the west side of the mountain toward Ed R. Levin County Park. The views and elevation gain are breath-taking. Recent trail extensions meander through neighboring hills at the college and county park.

We are hiking the 400-mile Bay Area Ridge Trail. Sign up to follow our progress here.

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Hood Mountain Regional Open Space and Preserve, Santa Rosa, CA

Hood Mountain Jump Starts Ridge Trail Trek

The Bay Area Ridge Trail at Hood Mountain begins with a gentle climb from the St. Francis Winery and Vineyard in Santa Rosa toward Hood Mountain Regional Park and Open Space Preserve. Upon entering the preserve, the trail spikes skyward to a ridge about 300-feet short of the 2,730 foot summit. Fire damage from 2020 and storm damage from 2023 litter the mountain. The views of Sonoma Valley are lovely.

We are hiking the 405-mile Bay Area Ridge Trail. Sign up to follow our progress here.

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New Dungeness Spit, Sequim, WA

A Hike to the Light at the Tip of the Dungeness Spit

Some people bag peaks. We bag lighthouses. The New Dungeness Lighthouse off the coast of Sequim, WA, poses a unique challenge.

The light station sits in the Strait of Juan de Fuca at the end of the Dungeness Spit – the longest sand spit in the United States. Lighthouse visitors must make the 10-mile round-trip trek at low tide or get swamped in a jagged thread of tumbled rocks and driftwood that crown the spit’s high water mark.

Dungeness Spit Trail (Aug. 25, 2022) – 10.2 miles

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Hoh Rain Forest, Olympic National Park

A Trail Less Traveled in the Hoh Rain Forest

A glacial valley that boasts 140 inches of rain per year cradles the Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park. Moss and lichen-covered spruce, hemlock, fir and other native tree varieties rise from the valley floor along the banks of the Hoh River and its South Fork. A layer of ferns and shrubs undergirds the canopy. The South Fork Hoh Trail is a less-traveled alternative to the Hall of Mosses and other trails located near the Visitor Center on the Hoh River’s main branch.

South Fork Hoh Trail (Aug 20, 2022) – 8.1 miles, 265 feet of elevation gain

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North Sonoma Mountain Regional Park

Battling the Ridge Trail ‘Wall’ on Sonoma Mountain

The Bay Area Ridge Trail across Sonoma Mountain climbs a series of switchbacks at North Sonoma Mountain Regional Park and Open Space before crossing a narrow isthmus of dedicated open space and plunging headlong into the forest at Jack London State Historic Park. The “wall” was purely psychological as we crossed the 80 percent completion threshold on our Ridge Trail trek.

We are hiking the 405-mile Bay Area Ridge Trail. Sign up to follow our progress here.

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Trail to Coyote Peak

A Boot Conundrum at Santa Teresa Park on the Ridge Trail

The Bay Area Ridge Trail at Santa Teresa County Park begins with a steep, mile-long hike up to Coyote Peak and its magnificent view of the South Bay. After returning to the starting point, the trail undulates through the park before exiting down a rocky set of switchbacks and picking up suburban footpaths along the banks of Calero and Los Alamitos creeks.

We are hiking the 405-mile Bay Area Ridge Trail. Sign up to follow our progress here.

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Almaden Quicksilver County Park

Quicksilver Relics at New Almaden on the Ridge Trail

The Bay Area Ridge Trail winds past the remains of California’s oldest commercial mining operation at Almaden Quicksilver County Park. The trail segment runs across land first tapped for its mercury content in 1845. Look for the partially reconstructed ruins of a 20th-century processing plant trailside above English Camp and other buildings in the surrounding hills and valleys.

We are hiking the 405-mile Bay Area Ridge Trail. Sign up to follow our progress here.

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Coyote Lake Harvey Bear Ranch County Park, Gilroy, CA

Boot-sucking Mud above Coyote Lake on the Ridge Trail

The Bay Area Ridge Trail at Coyote Lake-Harvey Bear Ranch County Park rises gently above the 90-year-old Coyote Dam and Reservoir and meanders through a pasture on the ridgeline east of Gilroy. Recent rains left the hills a brilliant green and portions of the trail a cattle-churned quagmire.

We are hiking the 405-mile Bay Area Ridge Trail. Sign up to follow our progress here.

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Bay Area Ridge Trail

Silicon Vistas at Mt. El Sereno on the Ridge Trail

The Bay Area Ridge Trail at El Sereno Open Space Preserve winds down the side of the preserve’s namesake mountain past coastal scrub to a scruffy overlook above the Lexington Reservoir. The views of the Silicon Valley are magnificent.

We are hiking the 400-mile Bay Area Ridge Trail. Sign up to follow our progress here.

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Hiking the Dixie Fire Scar at Lassen National Park

A green meadow frames Kings Creek as it meanders from a forested trailhead, over the namesake falls and into the Dixie Fire burn scar at Lassen Volcanic National Park. Nearly a year after the fire, the meadow contrasted sharply with the gray cinders and blackened conifers that dominated the landscape on the loop trail to Bench Lake. Signs of recovery were sparse.

Kings Creek Falls and Bench Loop Trail (Aug. 6, 2022) – 4.3 miles

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Bay Area Ridge Trail

Moody Oaks at Rockville Hills on the Ridge Trail

The Bay Area Ridge Trail climbs abruptly into Rockville Hills Regional Park into a woodland of gnarled blue oaks overlooking rugged bluffs of volcanic rock. The trail leaves the park just as abruptly, descending to the paved and landscaped Vintage Valley Trail as it passes through suburban Fairfield.

We are hiking the 405-mile Bay Area Ridge Trail. Sign up to follow our progress here.

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Skyline Wilderness Park

Napa to Suscol Ridge via Skyline Wilderness on the Ridge Trail

The Bay Area Ridge Trail at Skyline Wilderness Park begins with a difficult one-mile climb through an oak-studded hillside with views of the city of Napa and neighboring vineyards. The trail continues along canyon highlands and above Lake Marie to Suscol Ridge. The view from the ridge includes vineyards, Suisin and San Pablo bays, the Carquinez Strait, and mountain peaks in all directions. On a clear day, we were told, you can see the Golden Gate Bridge.

We are hiking the 400-mile Bay Area Ridge Trail. Sign up to follow our progress here.

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Vallejo-Benicia Buffer

A Tromp across the Vallejo Highlands on the Ridge Trail

This suburban segment of the Bay Area Ridge Trail extends south from Blue Rock Springs Park to the Benicia State Recreation Area. After tracking two miles of Vallejo boulevards, the trail climbs into the undeveloped highlands along the border with Benicia. The dusty, shadeless highlands include extensive views of Vallejo and San Pablo Bay to the west, and the Carquinez Strait to the south. The trail begins with a short hike up the desolate hill above Blue Rock Springs Park to a dead end at a gap in the Ridge Trail.

We are hiking the 405-mile Bay Area Ridge Trail. Sign up to follow our progress here.

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Vallejo-Benicia Waterfront

Mimosas on the Ridge Trail at Benicia

The Bay Area Ridge Trail doesn’t offer many opportunities for a mid-hike mimosa. We found one at mile eight of the Vallejo-Benicia Waterfront hike along the Carquinez Strait. If we’d hiked in the opposite direction, we might not have finished. We found no mimosas when we returned six weeks later to cross the strait on the Benicia-Martinez Bridge.

We are hiking the 405-mile Bay Area Ridge Trail. Sign up to follow our progress here.

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Lassen Volcanic National Park

A Hike to Lassen’s Bumpass Hell … and Back

The trail to Bumpass Hell at Lassen Volcanic National Park gently rises along a lightly wooded ridge with views of Lassen and other iconic peaks before plunging into a steaming geologic cauldron. Acidic water boils. Mud belches. The stench of sulfur hangs in the air. We brought the grandsons.

Bumpass Hell (Aug. 5, 2022) – 2.7 miles

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