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