Macedonia, OH: June 17-19, 2020 - Cuyahoga Valley National Park

My quest to see the National Parks continues!  As does my quest to find trips that are possible under covid.

I did not know of this park at all before the trip; I had simply opened a map of National Parks and seen that this one was, possibly, within a moderate driving distance, and decided to give it a go.  Actually, that's not the full story.  The thing that sealed the deal was something a bit narcissistic that I'll get to later.

I arrived Wednesday evening and saw that the following day had a threat of rain, so I decided to get the main attraction out of the way: Brandywine Falls.

This waterfall was nestled at the end of a twisty, turny wooden skywalk:

within a picturesque forest.

Next, I took the trail around the waterfall, which made for a pleasant evening hike:

where I also met A Cat:

before returning to the top of the waterfall and driving back to the hotel:

The next morning, I arose bright and early to get a start on that aforementioned narcissistic reason for visiting this park:

The Wetmore Trail!!!!!!!!

This is something I found completely by chance, scrolling through the NPS website about this and other parks.  This trail name came up, and I knew I had to go.

Sadly the trail did not have any big overlooks or points of interest, it was just a nice trail.  The morning light dappled across the wooded landscape, amongst a hush unbroken by animals or other people:

Also there was a lot of horseshit everywhere:

And it was kinda muddy.  So no, my namesake trail did not live up to my wildest expectations.  Ah well.

Next, I went over to the Ledges trail, which was a little more interesting scenery-wise.

It also had an overlook:

and a lodge.  A ledge lodge!

Those were my big trails for the morning.  I returned to town and had lunch, then set out for a more car-centric afternoon.  First I visited the town of Cuyahoga Falls, which was south of both the town of Macedonia and the National Park.  In this town, there was this Episcopal Church:

Which was founded in 1830 by none other than William Wetmore, A.K.A. Cousin William, who is also the namesake of the Wetmore Trail.  

I have no idea how this guy fits into my own family history, if at all, but it felt like family history, and that's what matters.

From the town, I then took the central road north through the park, stopping at a few points of interest along the way.  Points such as Howe Meadow:

Indigo Lake:

This swampy marshland:

Everett Covered Bridge:

This other waterfall with winding wooden walkway:

And yet ANOTHER waterfall, which I was able to get up close and personal to:

And then lastly, the northernmost point in the park, a railway station called Rockside:

This station, like the one above at Indigo Lake, is part of a train ride that is normally available through the valley, which is the best way to sightsee in the park.  Sadly it, like so much, is shut down due to the coronavirus.  

Dinner followed, then some downtime at the hotel.  Then, my final excursion into the park, I went back to Brandywine Falls to get a shot above the falls at sunset: