National Parks › Great Plains & Midwest › Cuyahoga Valley

Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Ohio · Established October 11, 2000

A river valley reborn between Cleveland and Akron

Area: 32,572 acres
Established: October 11, 2000
Recreation visits: 3,025,325 / yr
State: Ohio
Highest point: Upland ridge near Brush Road
Lowest point: Cuyahoga River

Cuyahoga Valley Weather Forecast

Loading the National Weather Service forecast for Cuyahoga Valley…

Seven-day outlook at the park's reference point (41.261, -81.571). Elevation changes everything in the mountains — expect colder, windier and wetter conditions on high ground.

Map of Cuyahoga Valley National Park

The Park

Cuyahoga Valley National Park follows the Cuyahoga River through a green corridor between Cleveland and Akron, Ohio. In a single day a visitor can walk the towpath of a 19th-century canal, watch herons return to a restored marsh, climb among mossy sandstone ledges and stand beside a 65-foot waterfall. It is a park of renewal as much as wilderness, where forests have reclaimed farmland and wildlife has returned to a river once infamous for pollution.

The Cuyahoga caught fire in 1952 and again in 1969, and the images of a burning river helped spark the modern environmental movement. Protected first as a national recreation area in 1974, the valley became a national park on October 11, 2000. Today it ranks among the most visited national parks in the country, with more than three million visitors a year.

Geography

The Cuyahoga River rises in northeastern Ohio, flows south toward Akron and then makes a sharp U-turn north to empty into Lake Erie at Cleveland. The park protects a long reach of the river's northbound stretch as it winds through a broad valley cut into the Allegheny Plateau.

Elevations rise from the river floodplain to the upland ridges. Tributary streams, including Brandywine Creek and Tinkers Creek, plunge over resistant rock layers into deep ravines, creating waterfalls and gorges.

The Ohio and Erie Canal, completed in the 1820s and 1830s, once carried boats through the valley, and its towpath is now a 20-mile trail through the park. Historic villages such as Peninsula and Boston sit along the river, surrounded by forests, wetlands and farms.

Landmarks

Brandywine FallsWaterfallA 65-foot bridal-veil cascade spilling over sandstone and shale layers.
Blue Hen FallsWaterfallA secluded waterfall where a small creek spills over a sandstone ledge into a wooded ravine.
Ritchie LedgesAreaTowering, mossy cliffs of Sharon Conglomerate with cool crevices and a sunset overlook.
Beaver MarshAreaA former junkyard transformed by beavers into a wetland teeming with wildlife.
Kendall LakeLakeA quiet lake in the Virginia Kendall area, popular for winter sledding and skating.
Tinkers Creek GorgeCanyonA deep, wooded gorge carved by Tinkers Creek, a National Natural Landmark.
Everett Covered BridgeAreaA reconstructed 19th-century covered bridge over Furnace Run.
PeninsulaAreaA historic canal village at the center of the park.
Boston Mill Visitor CenterAreaThe park's main visitor center, set along the river in the village of Boston.

Geology

The rocks of Cuyahoga Valley record a history of more than 380 million years, beginning when much of Ohio lay beneath a shallow sea. During the Late Devonian Period, fine muds settled on the seafloor and hardened into the dark Ohio Shale. Above it lies the Bedford Shale and then the Berea Sandstone, deposited as rivers carried sand into the sea from rising mountains to the east near the start of the Mississippian Period.

Later seas deposited the siltstones and shales of the Cuyahoga Formation. Then, about 310 million years ago in the Pennsylvanian Period, fast-flowing braided rivers carried quartz sand and pebbles into the region, forming the Sharon Conglomerate. This tough, pebbly rock now caps the highest hills and forms the dramatic cliffs of Ritchie Ledges.

The valley itself is much younger. Before the ice ages, rivers in the region flowed in different directions. During the Pleistocene, continental glaciers advanced from Canada, blocking old drainage routes and burying the landscape under till and outwash. As the last ice retreated more than 10,000 years ago, meltwater and the reorganized Cuyahoga River carved into the soft sediments and underlying shale, creating the valley we see today.

Erosion continues to sculpt the landscape. Where tributary streams cross the resistant Berea Sandstone above softer Bedford Shale, they undercut the shale and form waterfalls such as Brandywine Falls. Along the river, frequent floods and landslides keep reshaping the valley floor.

Deep time

About 380–360 million years agoIn the Late Devonian, muds settle in a shallow sea to form the Ohio Shale.
About 360 million years agoRivers carry sand into the sea, depositing the Bedford Shale and Berea Sandstone.
Mississippian PeriodMarine siltstones and shales of the Cuyahoga Formation accumulate.
About 310 million years agoBraided rivers deposit the pebbly Sharon Conglomerate in the Pennsylvanian Period.
Pleistocene ice agesContinental glaciers repeatedly advance over northeastern Ohio, rerouting old river systems.
Last 10,000+ yearsAs the ice retreats, the Cuyahoga River cuts its modern valley through glacial deposits and bedrock.

The rocks

Ohio ShaleLate Devonian
Dark, organic-rich shale exposed in the deepest ravines.
Bedford ShaleLate Devonian to Early Mississippian
Soft, easily eroded shale that underlies waterfalls.
Berea SandstoneEarly Mississippian
A resistant sandstone that caps waterfalls and was quarried for grindstones.
Cuyahoga FormationMississippian
Interbedded marine shale and siltstone forming much of the valley walls.
Sharon ConglomerateEarly Pennsylvanian, about 310 million years
Pebbly sandstone forming the cliffs of Ritchie Ledges and capping the highest hills.
Glacial till and outwashPleistocene
Clay, sand and gravel left by glaciers, blanketing uplands and filling old valleys.

Trees, Plants & Ecosystems

1,157vascular plant species recorded

Floodplain forest and riverValley floor
Sycamores, cottonwoods and silver maples line the Cuyahoga, where herons, eagles and otters feed.
Wetlands and marshesValley floor
Beaver-created marshes and ponds support muskrats, turtles, frogs and wetland birds.
Hemlock ravinesShaded gorges
Cool, moist ravines where eastern hemlock and yellow birch grow among ferns and mosses.
Mixed hardwood forestValley slopes and uplands
Beech, maple, oak and tulip trees dominate, with spring wildflowers carpeting the floor.
Fields and meadowsFormer farmland
Grasslands and old fields that attract bobolinks, bluebirds and butterflies.

Trees

Eastern hemlockTsuga canadensisShades the cool ravines and ledges, a relic of colder post-glacial times.
Sugar mapleAcer saccharumA key tree of the hardwood forests, blazing orange in October.
American beechFagus grandifoliaRecognizable by smooth gray bark, it thrives on moist slopes.
Northern red oakQuercus rubraIts acorns feed deer, squirrels and turkeys.
White oakQuercus albaA long-lived oak of drier ridges.
TuliptreeLiriodendron tulipiferaA tall, straight tree with tulip-shaped flowers.
American sycamorePlatanus occidentalisIts mottled white bark stands out along the river.
Eastern cottonwoodPopulus deltoidesA fast-growing floodplain tree that sheds cottony seeds in early summer.
Ohio buckeyeAesculus glabraOhio's state tree, with glossy brown nuts.
PawpawAsimina trilobaBears large, custard-like fruit in the understory.
Yellow birchBetula alleghaniensisA northern tree growing in the cool hemlock ravines.
Black walnutJuglans nigraA valuable timber tree of rich floodplain soils.

Wildflowers, shrubs & other plants

Large-flowered trilliumTrillium grandiflorumOhio's state wildflower carpets the woods in white in spring.
BloodrootSanguinaria canadensisOne of the first spring flowers, with red sap in its root.
Virginia bluebellsMertensia virginicaNodding blue flowers fill the floodplain in April.
Trout lilyErythronium americanumYellow flowers above mottled leaves.
Spring beautyClaytonia virginicaPink-striped flowers covering forest floors.
Dutchman's breechesDicentra cucullariaWhite flowers shaped like upside-down pantaloons.
MayapplePodophyllum peltatumUmbrella-like leaves hiding a single white flower.
Jack-in-the-pulpitArisaema triphyllumA hooded flower of moist woods.
Christmas fernPolystichum acrostichoidesAn evergreen fern that stays green all winter.
Cardinal flowerLobelia cardinalisBrilliant red flowers along streams in late summer.
Wild bergamotMonarda fistulosaLavender flowers attracting bees and butterflies to meadows.
New England asterAster novae-angliaePurple autumn flowers in fields and meadows.
Common milkweedAsclepias syriacaHost plant for monarch butterfly caterpillars.
White water lilyNymphaea odorataFragrant flowers floating on marsh ponds.

Wildlife

42mammals
241birds
19reptiles
20amphibians
64fish

Mammals

American beaverCastor canadensisReturned to the valley and created the Beaver Marsh.
White-tailed deerOdocoileus virginianusAbundant in fields and forests.
CoyoteCanis latransA widespread predator of the valley's fields and woods.
Northern river otterLontra canadensisReintroduced to Ohio and now seen in the Cuyahoga River.
MuskratOndatra zibethicusBuilds lodges of cattails in the marshes.
RaccoonProcyon lotorForages along the riverbanks.
GroundhogMarmota monaxCommon in meadows and along trail edges.
Eastern chipmunkTamias striatusScampers among the ledges and forest floor.
Red foxVulpes vulpesHunts mice in open fields.
Long-tailed weaselMustela frenataA slender predator of fields and woodlands.
Southern flying squirrelGlaucomys volansA nocturnal glider of the hardwood forests.
Little brown batMyotis lucifugusOnce common, it has declined due to white-nose syndrome.

Birds

Bald eagleHaliaeetus leucocephalusHas returned to nest in the valley, a symbol of the river's recovery.
Great blue heronArdea herodiasNests in colonies, called rookeries, in tall trees near the river.
Red-tailed hawkButeo jamaicensisSoars over fields and perches along roadsides.
Pileated woodpeckerDryocopus pileatusDrums loudly on dead trees in the forest.
Cerulean warblerDendroica ceruleaA sky-blue warbler nesting high in mature forest canopies.
Wood thrushHylocichla mustelinaIts flute-like song echoes through summer forests.
OvenbirdSeiurus aurocapillusBuilds dome-shaped nests on the forest floor.
Hooded warblerWilsonia citrinaA bright yellow warbler with a black hood in shrubby woods.
Eastern bluebirdSialia sialisNests in boxes along meadow edges.
BobolinkDolichonyx oryzivorusNests in the park's hayfields and grasslands.
Wood duckAix sponsaNests in tree cavities near wetlands.
American woodcockScolopax minorPerforms spiraling courtship flights at dusk in early spring.
Belted kingfisherCeryle alcyonRattles along the river as it dives for fish.

Reptiles & amphibians

Snapping turtleChelydra serpentinaA large turtle of ponds and slow waters.
Painted turtleChrysemys pictaBasks on logs in the Beaver Marsh.
Northern water snakeNerodia sipedonA harmless snake often seen in wetlands.
Common garter snakeThamnophis sirtalisThe valley's most familiar snake.
Green frogLithobates clamitansIts banjo-like call rings from ponds.
Spring peeperPseudacris cruciferTiny frogs whose chorus signals early spring.
Spotted salamanderAmbystoma maculatumMigrates to vernal pools on rainy spring nights.
Eastern newtNotophthalmus viridescensIts red eft stage wanders the forest floor.

Fish

Smallmouth bassMicropterus dolomieuiA sport fish that has returned as water quality improved.
White suckerCatostomus commersoniA bottom-feeding fish common in the river.
Creek chubSemotilus atromaculatusA hardy minnow of tributary streams.
Rainbow darterEtheostoma caeruleumA brightly colored darter of clean, riffled streams.
Western blacknose daceRhinichthys obtususA small minnow of cool, clear creeks.
Southern redbelly dacePhoxinus erythrogasterA colorful minnow of small, spring-fed brooks.

Species totals are the park's certified NPSpecies checklist (occurrence: present).

Climate & When to Visit

Cuyahoga Valley has a humid continental climate with four distinct seasons. Summers are warm and often humid, with temperatures ranging from the 50s °F at night to occasional highs in the 90s °F. Winters are cold, with temperatures from the mid-30s °F to below zero, and weather can change rapidly.

Proximity to Lake Erie strongly influences the valley's weather. In late fall and winter, cold air flowing over the relatively warm lake picks up moisture and dumps lake-effect snow, sometimes heavily, on the higher ground. The lake also delays spring warming and extends autumn, with fall foliage typically peaking in mid-October.

Spring
Rain and warming temperatures bring wildflowers, leafing trees and returning migratory birds.
Summer
Warm to hot and humid, with thunderstorms; a lush time for hiking and biking the towpath.
Autumn
Crisp days in the 70s °F and freezing nights, with brilliant foliage often peaking in mid-October.
Winter
Cold with lake-effect snow; popular for sledding, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.

Weather hazards

Flooding: The Cuyahoga River and its tributaries can flood trails and roads after heavy rain.
Icy trails: Ledges, stairs and waterfall overlooks become slippery with ice in winter.
Lake-effect snow: Sudden, intense snow bands can make roads hazardous with little warning.
Ticks: Check for ticks after hiking through tall grass and woodland edges.
Cliff edges: Stay on trails near the ledges and gorges, where drops are steep.

Cuyahoga Valley Questions

When is the best time to visit Cuyahoga Valley National Park?

Autumn is a favorite, with fall color typically peaking in mid-October. Spring brings wildflowers and waterfalls at full flow, and winter offers snowy scenery and sledding.

What is the weather like in Cuyahoga Valley?

Expect four distinct seasons: warm, humid summers; crisp autumns; cold, snowy winters shaped by Lake Erie; and wet springs. Dress in layers, as conditions can change quickly.

Did the Cuyahoga River really catch fire?

Yes. Oil and industrial debris on the river caught fire several times, including in 1952 and 1969. The 1969 fire drew national attention and helped inspire the Clean Water Act and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.

What wildlife can you see in the park?

Beaver Marsh is a great place to see beavers, herons, turtles and muskrats. Bald eagles, deer, coyotes and many songbirds can be seen throughout the park.

How did Brandywine Falls form?

Brandywine Creek flows over a layer of hard Berea Sandstone that sits on top of softer Bedford Shale. The water erodes the shale beneath, undercutting the sandstone and creating the 65-foot waterfall.

Can you ride a train through the park?

Yes. The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad runs through the park, and hikers and bikers on the Towpath Trail can ride it one way through its Bike Aboard program.

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Sources: www.nps.gov · www.nps.gov · www.nps.gov · irmaservices.nps.gov · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · Official NPS site