Hart Family Vacation 2024 (Day 1 - Cuyahoga National Park)

Day 1 of our 2024 vacation - we got a bit of a later start than originally planned (we woke up at the time we had planned to hit the road, oops!). We were still fortunate to drive through Illinois before the main morning rush (Chicago traffic, yuck) and got to witness an amazing sunrise as we crossed into Indiana. 

This day had 2 things on the agenda - driving to Cleveland, Ohio and spending time at Cuyahoga National Park. Our drive to Cleveland was uneventful - a few stops for lunch, gas & restrooms - just a little construction and great weather. Nothing to complain about for sure. 

Once at Cuyahoga National Park, we pinpointed a few stops that we wanted to visit. We had never been to this park and didn't know what to expect. We weren't disappointed! A beautiful park with lots of history and natural beauty. 

1. Boston Mill Visitor Center

We stopped at the Visitor Center to grab a map, look at their gift shop, take a few pictures and use the restroom. We ended up spending at least an hour at this spot - we crossed the bridge, the twins skipped rocks and we took lots of pictures!

The Cuyahoga River runs through the park.

There is a scenic railway through the park - one of the stops is at the visitor center. We didn't have time to do the train ride on this trip, but definitely will plan to do so if we ever go back. 

2. Brandywine Falls

Before heading to Brandywine, we tried to locate Blue Hen Falls Trailhead, with no luck. We were on the right road but there was a lot of overgrowth, so we decided to continue to our next stop, Brandywine Falls. Due to construction/road closure on a bridge right beside the parking lot, we ended up detouring 2 or 3x, causing some frustration. We did get to see some beautiful estates while detouring though...so that was a bonus. 

Once we arrived at the parking lot, we followed the boardwalk (there is a loop trail) down to the falls/Brandywine Creek and then back to the parking lot. The boardwalk was nicely done, making the hike just as scenic as the falls!

3. Everett Covered Bridge

As we walked up to the bridge, we realized that the foot path to the Furnace Run (which feeds into Cuyahoga River) was very overgrown. The twins & Matt opted to trapse through the green while Kaitee and I stayed on the path above. There wasn't much water, just enough for some more rock skipping and puddle jumping.

4. Lock 29, Peninsula

This cute little town was really busy at the time we drove through. It was dinner time so the streets and parking lots were full...and it was a beautiful (a bit on the hot side) evening with bikers and hikers. We circled the parking lot a few times with no luck so Matt dropped us girls off at the trailhead so we could go to the bridge and take some pictures/enjoy the scenery. 

We were quickly losing daylight and had a few more stops left on our list for the day. We decided to forego the Tinker Creek area & the Ledges Trail and headed to our last stop.

5. Canal Exploration Center

The Canal Exploration Center was once a rest stop along the Ohio & Erie Canal. There was a tavern & store located in this building in the mid-1800s. 

We also got to meet "Blossom" and got a quick history of how animals (in this case, mules) were used along the canal.

We left the park and headed towards our hotel, stopping for dinner along the way. Once we got to our hotel, Matt & Kaitee headed back out to find a few letterboxes - one was near this bridge (ironically very close to our last stop of the day!). 

It was a long day of driving to Ohio and exploring at the park. We would highly recommend a visit to Cuyahoga National Park. If we are ever back in that area, we will definitely explore the park some more (the cute towns, historic buildings, trails & waterways). I had found a handful of spots to stop at (knowing that our time here would be very limited), but didn't map them out until we were at the park. We ended up doing a lot of unnecessary driving/turning around & back-tracking (the park is huge and interspersed with cities/towns so lots of traffic, stoplights, etc). It's all about the planning!

Favorites for Day 1

Matt - Walk to Brandywine Falls, Letterboxing at night

Becki - the bridge/water at Boston Mill Visitor Center
Kaitee - Letterboxing at night

Will - Skipping rocks along the water (multiple stops)

Maddie - Everett Covered Bridge