Nature, History, & Charm: Our Journey Through Beaver Marsh, Peninsula, and Everett Covered Bridge in Cuyahoga Valley National Park

This is part six of a travel series of our midwest road trip covering four states and two national parks.  We began our journey in Lake Geneva Wisconsin.  If you missed it, start HERE!

Our last day in Cuyahoga Valley National Park started with a stormy hike on the Ledges Trail, and ended much more peaceably with a walk through a small town, an old covered bridge, and a serene marsh.

Village of Peninsula

Cuyahoga Valley National Park isn't like a lot of other national parks where you enter through a main entrance and you're inside the park.  It is a 33,000 acre green ribbon stretching north-to-south along the winding Cuyahoga River between Cleveland and Akron, Ohio, rather than a single compact wilderness area.  Local highways, train tracks, and historic towns sit right inside or adjacent to park boundaries.

The Peninsula Village  sits right in the middle of the park, perfect for grabbing food, renting bikes, or accessing the trail system.

Speaking of grabbing food, the first thing I did was head over to the Peninsula Coffee House to grab a latte and a blueberry muffin.  Oh, this was the cutest coffee shop ever! I wish I would have taken some photos of the inside and the outside seating area.  I enjoyed my delicious coffee and muffin on the outdoor deck overlooking the Cuyahoga River. 

The Village of Peninsula is a historic 19th century community that operates as an island village completely surrounded by Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  There are restaurants and shops but take note, most aren't open on Mondays and Tuesday...the two days we were visiting the park.  And the train doesn't operate those days either.  That was one thing we didn't know when we planned our visit, but, the park is also less crowded on those days so planning your travel dates depends on what matters to you most:  avoid the crowds or go on a day when businesses are open but less crowded.  

After enjoying my coffee and muffin, we spent just a little time walking the quaint streets and looking at the outside of the closed shops.  

Such a cute bike shop with a colorful garden in front.

I always love an old church.

The parking lot for the town is right next to the train station.  I just love all the cute old train stations in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  This was the third one we saw, and they are all so charming.  

Also right off the parking lot is where you can access the Cuyahoga River to kayak or canoe.  You can also pick up the Towpath Trail here to go biking or hiking.   There are such beautiful views here of the water and bridges.

                     Everett Covered Bridge

Next, we headed to see the Everett Covered Bridge as I love covered bridges!  

This is a reconstructed bridge after a massive storm and flood completely washed away the historic structure in 1975.  The National Park Service rebuilt the red-and-white bridge in 1986.

The 19th-century style follows a Smith truss patent from 1867.

I really wanted to see more of the bridge, but the access made it difficult.  After crossing the bridge, we found a trail down to the water which got us under the bridge.  We then walked a few feet along the river to get a side view of the bridge.

The original bridge was built after a winter storm in 1877 caused Furnace Run to flood, trapping valley farmers.

Beaver Marsh

When planning our trip to Cuyahoga Valley National Park the three must-see spots mentioned repeatedly were Ledges, Brandywine Falls, and Beaver Marsh.  Well, I am a huge bird lover so I always love to visit marshes so Beaver Marsh certainly had me intrigued.

Beaver Marsh is located at the southern end of the park, close to Akron.  The trailhead has the cutest beaver and otter statues!

The most fascinating thing to me was that this beautiful marsh used to be an ugly salvage yard!  I love it when we can turn something ugly into a thing of beauty.  The last time I saw this was years ago when I attended the Orlando Wetlands Festival.  There they created a beautiful wildlife refuge from waste water!  It was amazing!

Seeing how what used to be a salvage yard turned into a beautiful marsh in Ohio was also amazing, but what made it even more incredible was the humans and animals working together! See, it was the humans who cleaned up the yard and removed all the cars and materials from the former business site.  But the BEAVERS flooded the area by building a dam across the Ohio & Erie Canal.  As described below, "The waters awakened long-dormant seeds of wetland plants".  Like I said...AMAZING!

Beaver Marsh is right on the Towpath Trail so if you're hiking or biking the trail, you will run right into it.  The trail from the Beaver Marsh parking lot begins on the Towpath Trail which has forest views on either side.

Soon, you will hit the boardwalk which goes right over Beaver Marsh.  It is only 0.5 miles out and back from the parking lot.  It is a flat trail so it is stroller and wheel chair accessible.

The best time to view the marsh would be early in the morning, but we were exiting the park for the day, so we there late in the afternoon.  We saw our first large bird sitting in a tree:  a Great Blue Heron!  How lucky are we?

There were so many ducks too!

Unfortunately we didn't spot any beavers, otters, or turtles, but I enjoyed the beauty of the area especially the wildflowers. 

It is really cool that the boardwalk takes you right over and into the middle of the marsh, providing ample opportunity to view wildlife.  Most boardwalks I've been on just go around the lake or marsh.

And just like that, our visit to Cuyahoga Valley National Park was over.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park proves that nature can heal, offering a peaceful green escape right between Cleveland and Akron, Ohio.  Whether you come to chase the 60-foot drop at Brandywine Falls, bike the historic Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail, or spot wildlife at Beaver Marsh, this 33,000 acre park turns an industrial past into a thriving natural triumph.

After we left the park we headed over to the town of Fairlawn to grab some ice cream.  We read all about how Handel's is consistently rated the best ice cream in America so we had to check it out.  We never heard of this chain before as we don't have them in Wisconsin.

Handel's offers a four scoop sampler, which was great as we could try a lot of different flavors.  We tested eight different flavors and yes, we agreed with our other fellow Americans...Handel's is the BEST!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

For more posts on our Midwest Road Trip, check these out:

A Gilded Age Getaway:  Our Boat Tour of Lake Geneva's Black Point Estate

The Best of Indiana Dunes National Park:  Tackling Dune Succession and Mt. Baldy

Exploring the Best of Cuyahoga Valley:  Brecksville Reservation and the Towpath Trail 

 

Chasing Waterfalls in the Cuyahoga Valley

Thunder over the Ledges:  A Moody Trek in Cuyahoga Valley

Set Sail for Adventure with a Handmade Nautical Card

Hello crafty friends!  In this week's craft post we are setting sail into a wave of creativity with the gorgeous  Spellbinder's die set "Set Sail" from the Fair Winds Collection (no longer available).  This set is perfect for crafting a delightful, ocean-inspired handmade card for summer greetings, birthdays,  Father's Day and anyone who loves the water!

Also used in this set is  Spellbinder's "Tunnel Clouds"  to create the sun.

I created this card when I saw the Splitcoaststamper's sketch SC1121.  The sketch reminded me of waves so I wanted to create a nautical card with it. 

To make the card I started with a dark blue piece of cardstock then I hand cut a lighter blue for the "wave" and glued it on top of the dark blue.

Once I had the base of the card completed I simply cut out all the die pieces from the two Spellbinder's sets, glued them together, and then adhered it onto the card base to create my nautical scene.  I popped the sun up on dimensionals.

To keep true to the sketch, I added a sentiment from a retired Stampin' Up! set "Live Like You Mean It" and then stuck three epoxy dew drops near the sentiment.

 Whether you're crafting for an avid sailor or just sending a little sunshine, a nautical card is the perfect way to anchor your warmest wishes.  Happy crafting, and may you always have fair winds and following seas in your craft room.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

Thunder over the Ledges: A Moody Trek in Cuyahoga Valley

This is part five of a travel series of our midwest road trip covering four states and two national parks.  We began our journey in Lake Geneva Wisconsin.  If you missed it, start HERE!

Our second day in the Cuyahoga Valley began with a stormy one.  We looked at the radar and it appeared the storm would be over by the time we hit the trail, but to our surprise, it started to thunder and pour right when we started hiking.  Thankfully, we were close enough to shelter and we were able to wait it out until the worst part of the storm was over, but we still ended up hiking in the rain for a little bit.  It actually ended up being kinda cool.  The skies thundered above us and the forest seemed as dark as night.  For a while, I was a little bit concerned as it was so dark I was afraid we'd get lost...and we did! But more on that later, for now let's talk about the historic Ledges Trail in Cuyahoga Valley National Park!

The Ledges Trail is the most popular attraction in the park.  It is a moderate 1.8 to 2.2 mile loop that winds past massive, moss-covered Sharon Sandstone and conglomerate rock formations and has narrow rock passages, and towering cliffs.  The terrain is rocky and uneven, so I recommend walking sticks.  The elevation change is -105 feet and it takes about 1.5 -2 hours to complete if you don't get lost 😆.

Now you're probably wondering how did we get lost if it is a loop?  I don't know, we're idiots I guess.  It always cracks me up how often my husband and I get lost when we're such experienced hikers.  I think I need to pay for the AllTrails app.  I see a lot of hikers use it when we are on trails and they always seem to know their way around.  But in my defense, there were a lot of network of trails and it seemed every sign said "Ledges Loop" so  maybe that's how we messed up.

But getting lost in the woods isn't always a bad thing, as we saw an area we might not have seen if we went the right away.  We ended up seeing a lot more cool rock formations going the wrong way.  We also hiked the most "boring" part of the trail  (if you could even call this part boring, I mean just look at this scenery) in the darkness and the rain, and by the time we reached the best part of Ledges it stopped raining and the sun came out!

Hiking the Ledges Trail in Cuyahoga Valley National Park takes you out of the ordinary Midwestern landscape and plunges you into a prehistoric, moss-covered world.  This trail is widely considered the crown jewel of Northeast Ohio hiking.  Surrounded by towering hemlock trees and massive rock walls, you will quickly forget that you are just a short drive from Cleveland and Akron.

Here is a short video where you can hear the thunder and rain that we experienced in the forest. 

Eventually we came across this map and realized that we hung a right at the start of the trail instead of a left and that is how we missed the most massive interesting ledges seen at the bottom of the map.  I could clearly see the "loop" on the trail map now, but somehow we ended going all the way around till we reached the Octagon Shelter on the top of the map, but we saw more ledges that way as that's the grey color you see on the map.

Once we knew where we were, we decided to head back to the start of the trail, and this time go left instead of right so we could see the most famous ledges. 

First we went back to the very start of the trail and lo and behold I saw the map we missed when we started!  I always take a photo of a trail map before we start our hike, but because of the pouring rain, I think I was distracted.  Oh well, it gave us the opportunity to use the potty again at the shelter before we headed out.

This time, we turned left at the start of the trail and I knew instantly we were exactly where we were supposed to be as I saw lots of pictures of the ledges when planning this trip and the scenery was looking familiar.   By now the rain had ended and the sun was peeking out, so it was the perfect time to be here.  It turned out getting lost wasn't such a bad idea, as if we had been here when it was dark and rainy we wouldn't have seen or enjoyed it as much.

Stepping down the massive rock staircases drops you directly to the floor of the Ritchie Ledges.  They are 30 foot tall sandstone cliffs formed 300 million years ago according to some scientists or thousands of years ago according to creationists.  The air down here feels entirely different-a cool, damp microclimate where green ferns burst from rocky fissures, and thick coats of moss carpet the stone walls. 

Moss always interests me, but after a rain it is truly spectacular as the colors are so vibrant.  Just look at the moss on the rocks!

Every twist in the trail reveals new green ferns and cool microclimates.

If there are too many photos of me in the scenery, sorry but hubby had the camera this time.  I think having a person in the photo is a good thing anyway as it gives you perspective of the size of these rock formations.

The trail is mostly dirt, but there are also stone and wooden steps and bridges that add interest.

The trail goes around the front of the ledges, but you can get off the trail (without getting lost) to get inside these massive rock formations.

I love the ferns growing on this rock.  How do they do that?  Oh, and see little ole me walking on the path in the distance?  Yup, having a person in the photo gives you perspective.  Ledges is amazing! It sure felt like I was walking through a prehistoric forest...especially after it rained!

Look at this narrow gap!  You can squeeze through to see what's inside if you dare!

This opening was a bit more spacious so we went through this one.

And this is what it looked like on the inside.

These cool stone steps led us up and back and out of the Ledges trail.

The Ledges Trail in Cuyahoga Valley National Park offers an unforgettable journey through ancient rock formations and mossy forests that leaves a lasting impression long after you finish the hike. Whether you seek a quiet afternoon in nature or a lost-in-the-forest adventure like us, this loop proves why Ohio's only national park is a true Midwestern treasure.

See you next week with how we finished our day in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

For more posts on our Midwest Road Trip, check these out:

A Gilded Age Getaway:  Our Boat Tour of Lake Geneva's Black Point Estate

The Best of Indiana Dunes National Park:  Tackling Dune Succession and Mt. Baldy

Exploring the Best of Cuyahoga Valley:  Brecksville Reservation and the Towpath Trail 

 

Chasing Waterfalls in the Cuyahoga Valley