Meet the Louisiana Waterthrush

Learn about trail guidebooks available in the Hittin’ the Trail series.

Trail circles 320 million-year-old formation

The Overlook on the Ledges Trail. Photo courtesy of Cuyahoga Valley NPS.

Topo map for Ledges Trail.

Ledges Trail runs 2.8 miles through national park

Families can traipse across rock formed when great coal swamps covered the earth via the Ledges Trail at Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

The Ledges Trail plus the stem to it runs 2.8-miles. Autumn and late spring mark the best times to visit this national park; expect snow in winter and hot, humid weather in summer.

To reach the trailhead, from Boston Heights head south on Ohio Route 8. Take the Ohio Route 303 exit and continue driving south on Akron Cleveland Road. Turn left/west onto Kendall Park Road then right/north on Ledges Road. Park at the lot for the Ledges shelter. This puts you at about the center of the Ledges Trail Loop.

Monument to the chestnut
The Ledges Shelter dates to the 1930s when the Civilian Conservation Corps built the facility from American chestnut cut on site. Though the chestnut once covered large swaths of the East and South, a fungus nearly wiped out the species during the mid-20th century.

These days, the Eastern hemlock with a good amount of yellow birch and yellow poplar dominates the Ledges. If you spot a dead tree, it’s probably an oak killed when drought and gypsy moths struck the area during the late 1990s.

From the end of the road in the Ledges Shelter area, take a dirt path that heads due north; this is not the Ledges Trail proper but a connector trail. In 0.2 miles, you’ll reach a four-way trail intersection; go right/east. In 0.3 miles, you’ll arrive at the main trail. Once there, turn right/south.

For the next half-mile, the largely shaded dirt trail crosses two footbridges and Ledges Road as circling east. One of the bridges goes over a seep that runs from the base of the Ledge to nearby Haskell Creek, whose waters ultimately make their way to Lake Erie.

Several songbirds call the Ledges home. Among them are the Acadian flycatcher, blue-headed vireo, hooded warbler, Louisiana waterthrush, ovenbird, tufted titmouse, and the wood thrush. if hiking near sunset, you may hear the barred owl.

The trail next turns hard south, passing an overlook. As curving east again, you’ll quickly drop about 50 feet in elevation to almost below the ledge.

Ancient estuary
The Ledges sit atop 320 million-year-old sandstone called Sharon conglomerate, which consists of sand embedded with erosion-resistant quartz and pebbles. During the era before the dinosaurs, swamps of tree ferns and primitive conifers covered the landscape. Amphibians and the very first reptiles ruled the earth. Much of the coal used today for fuel was formed in that era.

Fast-running streams likely carried the sand, quartz and pebbles off nearby ancient mountains into a delta or estuary that stood where the Ledges now rises. With each new layer of sediment, the wetlands dried off, and the sandstone cemented together under the pressure.

The trail runs for about 0.7 miles up the west side of the Ledges. Along the way are three more footbridges.

At the loop’s north tip, you’re about 0.4 miles to the Ice Box Cave. The tight passageway that makes up the cave runs about 50 feet deep. The interior is remarkably cooler than the outside, sometimes by up to 20 degrees, hence its name. In years past, the cave marked the highlight of the trail, but the park service recently closed it to protect bats from contracting a deadly fungus that may spread on the soles of shoes.

Just south of the cave is the stem trail used to reach the loop. Turn right/west onto the stem and retrace your steps back to the trailhead.

Learn about other great national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks guidebook.

Trail runs along creek to 65-foot waterfalls

Brandywine Falls

Trail map. Courtesy Cuyahoga Valley NPS.

Cuyahoga falls
400 million years
in the making

A 65-foot waterfall awaits visitors on the Brandywine Gorge Trail at Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Brandywine Falls ranks among the most popular of the park’s several waterfalls. The Brandywine Gorge Trail, with a combination of segments from the Stanford Road Metro Parks Bike and Hike Trail, loops 1.5 miles to the falls then back to the trailhead with several crossings of Brandywine Creek.

Autumn special
The area surrounding the falls is gorgeous in October beneath autumn leaves, but the trail can be hiked any season. It's shaded almost the entire way by red maples with eastern hemlocks and upon the ground green moss once closer to the falls.

To reach the trailhead, from Boston Heights, Ohio, head northwest on Brandywine Road. After driving under Interstate 271, turn west onto Stanford Road, which leads to the parking lot.

From the lot’s northwest corner, take the trail heading to the falls. Rather than go directly to the falls, turn left/west onto the Stanford Road walking path.

The trail parallels Brandywine Creek. Along the way, it steeply descends 160 feet via steps to the gorge floor.

Reaching the falls
The Brandywine Gorge Trail soon separates from the Stanford Road by going right/north. You’ll cross the creek over a high footbridge then follow it toward the falls.

Upon reaching the Metro Parks Bike and Hike Trail, go right/east onto it. As approaching Brandywine Road, the woods gives way to a grassy area. The trail then veers south, passing below the falls and crossing the creek.

Take an immediate right onto a trail that again crosses the creek and offers a close-up view of the falls. A spur boardwalk allows you to look at the falls from a vista point or with a walk down a stairs from its base. After taking in the views, the main trail can be continued back to the parking lot.

Notice that the top layer of exposed stone at the falls is dark; this is a hard cap rock that resists erosion. Below it, however, is softer sandstone and shale, set down some 350-400 million years ago when this part of the world lay under a sea. Because shale is thinly chunked, the water cascades down it, giving it the look of a bridal veil.

Learn more about national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks guidebook.

Best trails to see Cuyahoga NP’s wonders

Brandywine Falls. Photo courtesy of
Cuyahoga Valley NPS.

Among the best ways to see Cuyahoga Valley National Park’s top sights is via a day hike. Just four short trails will allow you to enjoy each of the park’s highlights – waterfalls, rural farms of a century past, a historic canal, and a boulder-strewn cliff.

Waterfalls
Among the most popular Cuyahoga Valley waterfalls is Brandywine Falls, which drops 65 feet. The 1.5-mile Brandywine Gorge Trail loops to the falls then back to the trailhead with a bridge over the rier. The area surrounding the falls is gorgeous in October beneath autumn leaves.

Rural farms of a century past
Historic bridges, homes, and other structures dating to the 1800s dot the national park; among them is the Stanford House and farm, settled in 1806. The Stanford Trail heads 1.1-miles one way through the old farmstead to a scenic pond.

Ohio and Erie Canal
Built during the late 1820s, the canal connected Lake Erie and the Ohio River, opening Ohio to settlement from the eastern states. The Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail follows 20 miles of where mules on the shore pulled boats along the waterway. A number of access points creates a variety of day hiking options.

The Ledges
This boulder-strewn cliff offers the perfect spot to explore and enjoy a sunset over the wooded valley below. The overlook on the Ledges Trail is a mere 200-yard hike, but before settling in to relax, head over to the Ice Box Cave for a 1-mile round trip.

Vista
A spur off the north end of the Old Carriage Trail offers great views of Ohio & Erie Canal. From the Station Road Bridge Trailhead near Brecksville, go south on the Towpath and turn left/east onto the Old Carriage Trail, which heads uphill; in 0.25 miles, take the spur trail to the overlook for a 3-miles round trip.

Learn about other great national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks guidebook.