Bringing National Parks to the People

“Thank goodness my parents were able to do it” was my refrain last fall as my husband and I retraced the highlights of my family’s 1968 Chevy Impala station wagon ride to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.

“How many people never get to Montana and Wyoming?” I wondered. Indeed, my well-traveled husband hadn’t been before. Many Americans assume visiting a national park is a privilege reserved for those fortunate enough to afford a trip out West. But the reality is I grew up (and still live) in a city ringed by one of Frederick Law Olmsted’s “Emerald Necklaces” and the pendant on these gemstones is Ohio’s only national park, Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP).

Situated between the cities of Cleveland and Akron, the CVNP is one of the National Park Systems’ newer additions. The park covers 33,000 acres along the banks of the Cuyahoga River—“the crooked river” as American Indians called it. The river passes through lush upland forests, steep valley walls and ravines plus marshland and meadows. The park is a mecca for hikers and bikers because 22 miles of the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail run through it. The Towpath is part of the 110-mile Ohio & Erie Canalway, a National ­Heritage Area, running from Cleveland to Zoar, Ohio.

Parks to the People
When President Ford signed legislation creating the park it was the culmination of efforts to make national parks more accessible to urbanites forged during the Nixon years. Nixon felt strongly about urban national parks because he was from modest circumstances and realized many Americans couldn’t afford the trip to see the great national parks of the West. As a result of Nixon’s “parks to the people” policy, in 1972, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in San Francisco and Gateway National Recreation Area in New York City became the first urban national parklands outside Washington, D.C.

Since its inception in 1974, the CVNP has become one of the country’s most visited national parks (it ranked 8th last year). And not because of any federal policy underpinnings; but because it’s a magnificent woodland oasis with cascading waterfalls and a myriad of landscapes tucked between two metropolitan areas. It permanently created the best backyard any city slicker could hope for.

Local Hallmarks
“There’s so much to do here. That catches people by surprise,” said Deb Yandala, chief executive officer of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park Association, the park’s educational, advocacy and fundraising arm. She recommends visitors map out their strategies at Park Place in the idyllic town of Peninsula.
Park Place serves as a welcome center with refreshments, park information and a store. Peninsula could easily be mistaken for a New England hamlet (especially when fall foliage is in full regalia) with its Victorian homes and a parsonage steeple dominating its rooftops. It’s in the center of the park and is a popular refueling stop on the Towpath. The Winking Lizard Tavern and Fisher’s Café & Pub serve burgers, sandwiches and ice cream and offer patio dining in temperate weather. The town is also an artists’ colony where galleries highlight local works. One of Yandala’s favorites is Elements Gallery where visitors can view Stephen Bures’ “exquisite pottery,” she said. The Peninsula Art Academy showcases local artists in all media and offer classes and workshops.

While Yandala believes the park will attract more out-of-state tourism as this “hidden jewel” is discovered, she realizes nearby accommodations need to grow. Currently public accommodations in the park are limited to the Inn at Brandywine Falls, an upscale bed and breakfast, and primitive campsites behind Stanford House, a 19th century farmhouse that formerly operated as a hostel. The Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center offers reserved group lodging when schools are not using it. Yandala and her colleagues, however, are most excited about the renovation and reopening of Stanford House, slated for next January. “The hallmarks of Northeast Ohio are family friendliness and reasonable costs. Stanford House will allow families to experience the beauty of this Valley at an affordable price,” she said. Embassy Suites in Independence and Sheraton Suites in Cuyahoga Falls also offer lodging along the park’s borders. Yandala believes the best things in life are still free and so is admission to the CVNP.

A Railway Runs Through It
“We started in Peninsula, biked north to Brecksville and returned by rail for $2 per person. After two weeks at grandma’s house, the kids liked that best,” said Steve Wait, president and chief executive officer of the Cuyahoga Scenic Valley Railway (CVSR). Wait was talking about his grandchildren’s appraisal of their Northern Ohio holiday last summer and marveled that glitzier, more expensive activities ­didn’t get top billing. The CVSR runs classic passenger cars on 51 miles of track from Independence (a suburb of Cleveland) through the park to Canton. These excursions serve three purposes: providing alternative transportation to and through the park; historic preservation of vintage equipment and educational programs about the history and culture of the Valley.

Railroads were built through the Valley in the 19th century primarily to haul coal from Southern Ohio to northern industrial port cities. Wait believes park visitors who only have a few hours or a half day should ride the rails or risk missing the essence of the park. “Our excursions connect visitors to the river, the Towpath and the [Ohio & Erie] Canalway, plus the forests and trails that intersect with them,” he said. Although the park’s annual Polar Express trips to the North Pole departing mid-November to December 20th draw 34,000 passengers (many of them little people in pajamas), Wait is especially proud of the CVSR’s Bike Aboard program where visitors can ride the train for a portion of its route; get off, bike the trails and then hop back on at eight different stations in the park. Other popular CVSR programs include a “Day Out with Thomas the Tank” and Underground Railroad excursions where school children re-enact helping slaves get to “Hope.” (Hope was the Underground Railroad’s code name for Cleveland, where fugitives could catch boats to Canada and permanent freedom.)

Wait believes the scenic railway actually provides a fourth dimension for the park—time travel. “Name two other cities within 40 miles of each other that have a preserved valley in between? It’s like traveling back through time. Bring your bike; park your car and experience this Valley. It’s pretty spectacular.”

My folks didn’t have a lot of money and I’m still amazed they pulled off our trip of a lifetime. They drove for hours at a stretch with two kids to a row and my little sister snugly tucked into the slot between the second and backward-facing third seats (this was before mandatory seat belt use.) Someone was usually fighting, crying or throwing up. Not much of a vacation for them. But they believed their kids should know and love their country’s natural beauty. I am grateful every day to Presidents Nixon and Ford that some of it can be witnessed right here in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

IF YOU GO
For more information on Cuyahoga Valley National Park, visit www.nps.gov/cuva/index.htm.
For information and to purchase tickets for the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, visit www.cvsr.com.
For daily events and park programs, visit www.dayinthevalley.com and www.cvnpa.org.

Sarah Jaquay is a freelance writer based in Cleveland, Ohio. She writes frequently about food, wine and adventure.