Just south of Cleveland is the beautiful and unique Cuyahoga Valley National Park. This national park was created in 1974 as part of the federal Parks to People program. This program called for national parks in population centers. CVNP is 33,000 acres nestled in the Cuyahoga River valley and is full of walking and biking paths, parks, small towns, waterfalls and a lot of green space!
When I noticed it on the map not far from Indiana Dunes National Park, and The Ark Encounter in Kentucky, I knew I had to include it in our road trip itinerary.
And, what joy to find there is a B&B on park property! I even reversed my original route in order to find an available room to reserve. The Inn at Brandywine Falls, a historic landmark, was reopened in 2023 as a beautiful bed and breakfast. The home was built in 1848 and is serviced by a private lease coordinated by the National Park Service.
The atmosphere, room accommodations and beautiful breakfast was worth the efforts to be able to experience a little bit of history inside this green and lush national park.
The beautiful inn below:
We stayed in Adeline’s Retreat. The room was lovely!
As we set out to explore the park, our first stop was the Bath Road heronry! Three active nesting colonies of great blue herons nest each year from February to June. Although it was cloudy out, it was still very awesome to see.
Beaver Marsh (we did not see any beavers the day we were there):
Everett Covered Bridge:
Ledges Trail was a very beautiful hike. It was cloudy most of the time (and even rained briefly), but when the sun came through it was quite stunning! A 2.2 mile loop rated as a “moderate” level hike.
Tinker’s Creek:
Bridal Veil Falls:
Brandywine Falls trail:
Sunset along the trail:
Brandywine falls below. The Inn at Brandywine Falls is just to the left of this falls.
Beautifully served breakfast at the inn:
We enjoyed our time in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It is green, gorgeous, and full of multiple beautiful waterfalls along the Cuyahoga River. There is also a train that runs during the summer that I believe would have been a beautiful way to see the park.
“National parks and reserves are an integral aspect of intelligent use of natural resources. It is the course of wisdom to set aside an ample portion of our natural resources as national parks and reserves, thus ensuring that future generations may know the majesty of the earth as we know it today.”
~ John F. Kennedy
peace of life today 
What a beautiful environment! The creek, the birds, the covered bridge…and your accommodation: not bad! 👍
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Thank you! It was a lovely experience all around. Feel very blessed to enjoy these experiences with my hubby!
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What a beautiful place to stay Lisa, and so many birds.
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Thank you Ashley! There were a lot of birds everywhere, and SO MUCH green!
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How beautiful! I used to live near Brandywine Falls. I remember the beauty. The BnB is gorgeous!
Thanks for all the beautiful pictures and information.
Have a great weekend.
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Thank you Nancy! I know we missed a lot with only one day there. But, we had a fun day there!
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Welcome to my state … and (I believe) our only national park. Although I’m at the opposite corner of the state, I’ve been to this park … and it’s a pleasant surprise! Glad you had a good visit … and cheers to the tasty treats!
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Thank you Frank! I’m so glad we added it to the route. And I have the T-shirt and mug to prove I was there!
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I’ve never heard of this national park – it looks lovely! It must be amazing to see so many herons nesting, they’re one of my favourite birds 🙂 And that inn looks like a gorgeous place to stay, no wonder you wanted to plan your itinerary around it! I would do the same 😉
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Thank you Sarah! It was lovely! I have a little book with all the parks, and a page to note when we visit each one. It has a map in the front an I check it out anytime we go somewhere. If I were younger I’d make it my mission to visit them all! 🙂 I loved the herons! We felt very honored to be treated so well at the B&B. I’m starting to love B&Bs!
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That book sounds a great idea! We’re not likely to ever come close to visiting all your national parks in our occasional trips to the US but I do like to make sure some are on our agenda each time. We’re heading to California (for the second time) in September/October and I have several on our itinerary 🙂
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Oh I’m sure you will have a fabulous time in California! I hear they have some fires going on right now though, very sad.
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Yes, and we’re very aware we might have to adjust our plans if there are any when we’re there, but that would be a minor inconvenience compared with what those communities go through 😞
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Very true!!
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Thanks for the beautiful tour, what a lovely place
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Thank you, Ritva! So nice to see so much water and green, coming from the desert southwest part of the country.
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I was so curious to see the inside of the Inn when I visited on my own holiday. Thanks for the peek inside!
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You are welcome! I saw some photos on line, but it was really cool to stay there. The only challenge was getting in and out of the very deep claw foot tub!
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