Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Boston, Ohio
Ohio’s only national park, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, spans 33,000 acres of forests and farmland that follow the course of the winding Cuyahoga River. The national park also commemorates the history of the Ohio and Erie Canal, an important route for local industry. Today, it is a popular outdoor destination year-round.
From wetlands to waterfalls, forests to towpaths, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park captures this region of central Ohio—poised between Cleveland and Akron—in all its scenic diversity. Visitors flock to the park for natural highlights like Brandywine Falls and The Ledges, a striking plateau of rock formations. At the same time, artificial interventions, including the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail and the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, offer popular ways to explore the terrain.
No matter your preferred outdoor activity—whether hiking or snowshoeing, golfing, or kayaking—the Cuyahoga Valley National Park offers a wealth of options. Its proximity to several urban hubs makes it a popular destination for day trips or weekend camping excursions.
The park hosts 125 miles (201 kilometers) of hiking trails of various difficulty levels; the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail is wheelchair-accessible.
The Boston Mill Visitor Center, located in a historic 1905 general store, offers a wealth of resources for visitors.
It’s advised to bring water, sun protection, and bug spray with you, and visitors are expected to follow leave-no-trace principles.
Entry to the national park is free.
The Cuyahoga Valley National Park spans 33,000 acres in northern Ohio. It is roughly 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Cleveland via I-77 S and 7 miles (11 kilometers) north of Akron via Riverview Road. The park can be discovered by land, water, and railroad, and there are innumerable ways to explore.
The Cuyahoga Valley National Park is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Select locations, including Brandywine Falls and the Virginia Kendall Ledges, are open from dawn to dusk, while the Boston Mill Visitor Center is open daily from morning to early evening. The park offers outdoor activities all year long but is particularly popular in the summer (and in October, when the fall foliage peaks).
One of the park’s standalone highlights for visiting history lovers is the Canal Exploration Center. Housed in a historic building once a residence, tavern, and a general store, the center chronicles the history of the Ohio and Erie Canal through a series of interactive exhibitions. It is open seasonally from June through Labor Day, with weekend opening hours through October.
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