A Backyard Park

Blue Hen Falls

Northeast Ohio is blessed to have a magnificent National Park.  Sure, it doesn't have geysers, mountains, grizzlies, and canyons, but it's unlike any other National Park in the country.  Why? Because it's accessible and lived in.  People are just as important to this park as its spaces.  Bald eagles fly over farms and people who live in the cities like Akron and Cleveland can hop onto a trail near their neighborhood and walk or ride into forests.  This is a park for people.

Virginia Kendall Overlook

I was blessed to grown up on its border in the Cuyahoga Valley.  I grew up cycling and hiking there and considered the CVNP and the MetroParks to be an extension of my backyard.  While most young people in the suburbs spend their time in the gridded world of housing developments, I had Hampton Hills, the Towpath trail, Virginia Kendall, and Brandywine.

A lot has changed since I was growing up.  Back then, there wasn't a scenic railroad, Szalay's Farm barely sold more than corn, the Towpath only ran from the old Indian Mound Trailhead to Hillside road, and Hale Farm was barely hanging on.  Peninsula wasn't particularly popular except for those doing the World Tour of Beers at the Lizard.

Today, of course, the Park is the place to be.  The railroad is so popular on the weekends that you need to book in advance, you can ride your bike from Harvard road all the way down to Route 172 without ever leaving the towpath trail, Hale Farm has been revived, Szalay's is has become a popular attraction, and little Peninsula is absolutely packed on Saturdays and Sundays.  It's something to see.

The Beaver Marsh

Of course, this phenomenon of National Park popularity isn't unique to the Cuyahoga Valley.  All the National Parks have seen a massive spike in visitation since the Great Recession.  All of a sudden people realized that the simple natural spaces of their own country were worth seeing more than (and were cheaper than) theme parks and cruise ships.  The National Parks are cool now. A little too cool when you look at the implications.  Unlike the more famous parks, the Cuyahoga Valley is unique in that most of its visitors are local.  It's a park that is a part of the local lifestyle.  It's not just a place to spend a weekend.  In many ways it doesn't feel like a National Park, it still feels like a backyard (with a whole lot more people in it).

It was another one of the special things about home that I was reminded of in September.  First thing in the morning, when only deer and those training for the Akron Marathon were out, I could drive 5 minutes down the road and in be in a magnificent landscape.  That isn't normal, folks.  Shots like this one aren't within 5 minutes of most people's homes.  But, they are for people who live in Northeast Ohio.  And, it's another reason why home shouldn't take it for granted.

The Turnpike viaduct.

More photographs from the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the MetroParks Serving Summit County can be seen and purchased on the website in the Ohio Countryside gallery.