Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Cuyahoga River Valley National Park, dubbed “A National Park for All People”, is one of a growing number of urban recreation areas established to bring national parks to people living in cities. Set along the Cuyahoga River, the park is a natural treasure bounded by the suburbs of Cleveland and Akron, Ohio. Cuyahoga (or Ka-ih-ogh-ha, the American Indian name) means Crooked River -  an apt description, as it turns out. The river twists and turns for 90-miles, but as the crow flies, only covers 30-miles from the mouth of the river in Cleveland to the base of the escarpment in Akron.

The park consists of 33,000 acres along 22 miles, with more than 125 miles of hiking, skiing, bicycling, and horseback riding trails. There is something for everyone here, and truly a four seasons park. Picnicking, golf, canoeing, kayaking, and hiking in the milder seasons; sledding, skiing, and snow-shoeing are available in winter. The Blossom Music Center within the park offers summer evening classical and pop music concerts, the Porthouse Theater features summer stock performances, and there is even a Saturday Farmer’s Market from May through October. There are multiple visitors centers, lodging options, and interpretive programs provided by park service personnel.

The RV Park where we stayed in Streetsboro, Ohio is just 15-miles from Cuyahoga, very conveniently located for our visits. Our initial trip to the park was to the Boston Store Visitor Center to pick up brochures and hiking maps, and to get a lay of the land. That day was off-and-on rainy, so we didn’t want to commit to anything too lengthy lest we get caught in a downpour. We were able to get to a couple of waterfalls, though, ones with short trails from the parking lot so we could easily get back to shelter if necessary.

By the next day, the rain had moved on, so we decided to plan a more lengthy hiking adventure. With so many trails to pick from it was hard to narrow our choices down, but ultimately we decided to spend the day hiking the Ledges and Pine Hollow trails. We spent the morning wandering through 5-miles of forest with gently rolling hills, interesting rock formations, an active bat cave, valley overlooks, and gurgling streams. At the end of our hike we picnicked along the trail before wrapping things up. It was just coincidence that we ended up staying in Streetsboro at all, so being able to visit yet another of our nation’s beautiful National Parks was definitely a bonus.

The Wild and Scenic Rogue River

Western Oregon is one of my favorite places on this planet. I cannot get enough of the lush greenery, raging rivers, abundant waterfalls, and hiking trails that wind through magical ancient forests. When we selected Prospect, Oregon, as the place we would stay for our Crater Lake visit, I had no idea we would be in the midst of such majestic beauty. Prospect is located on the Rogue River, known for its salmon runs, whitewater rafting, and rugged scenery and is one of the original eight rivers named in the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968.  Beginning near Crater Lake, the river flows about 215 miles in a generally westward direction from the Cascade Mountain Range to the Pacific Ocean.

From our RV Park, we were practically walking distance to the Rogue, and nearly everywhere we turned, we saw the river crashing through gorges, spilling over rocks, tumbling out of lava tubes, and swirling in ancient black rock lava beds, all surrounded by lush and beautiful trees, ferns, flowers, and moss. Hiking trails winding throughout the area allowed us to see and experience the river in even more detail. As often happens, our short visit here gave us just a taste of what the area is all about, and has been added to our list of places to come back to for an extended visit sometime in the future. 

Crater Lake National Park

One of the rewards of living life on the road is finding ourselves in proximity to this country’s glorious National Parks. Sometimes they just happen to be “on the way” to somewhere we are headed; other times we only have to tweak our route just slightly to build in a visit. Such was the case with Crater Lake National Park. While it wasn’t on the most direct route to our eventual stopping place in Maine (come July), it was close enough to where we were staying in Redcrest, California that it was a short one day drive in more or less the right direction. We had planned a two night stay in Prospect Oregon, forty miles southwest of Crater Lake, then decided to extend it by one more day in order to take in more of the surrounding area.

Crater Lake was formed by a massive volcanic eruption 7700 years ago which left a deep basin in the place where a mountain peak once stood. Centuries of rain and snow filled the basin, forming a deep blue lake whose waters are of unmatched color and clarity. It is the deepest lake in the United States, measuring 1943 feet at the deepest point, and holds 4.9 trillion gallons of water. The great depths of this lake, and the fact that there are no streams or rivers feeding it, combine to create the deep beautiful blue color Crater Lake is so famous for.

As luck would have it, our visit coincided with a not so unusual mid-June snowstorm. It is typical for June weather here to alternate between sunny warm days, rain, and snow. (The week before and the week after we were there, were warm and sunny). Timing is everything…still, we were able to visit the park briefly before it started snowing and the lake became obscured by clouds. We will try to schedule a return visit later in the summer next time!