Cuyahoga Valley National Park United States

Legendary

The park protects the Cuyahoga River area in Northeast Ohio.

Photo by Tim Evanson

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In 1969, the river running through this park caught fire. Not the land beside it. The water itself.

Factories had dumped waste into the Cuyahoga River for over a century, leaving oil and debris floating on the surface. It had actually burned more than a dozen times before, but the 1969 fire made national news.

People across the country were horrified. Within a few years, the United States created the Environmental Protection Agency, passed the Clean Water Act, and held the very first Earth Day.

Today the river is clean enough for fish, herons, and paddlers. Its comeback is one of the biggest environmental success stories in the country.

The name comes from Native American languages and means "crooked river." Look at a map and you'll see why, since the river bends into a wide U-shape before reaching Lake Erie.

People have lived in this valley for roughly 13,000 years. Many nations called it home, including the Wyandot, Ottawa, Shawnee, and the Lenápé Nation.

The Lenápé are known as the "Grandfathers" of many Algonquian-speaking peoples in this region. They used an eight-mile trail called the Portage Path to carry canoes between two rivers, linking the Great Lakes to waterways heading all the way south.

In the 1800s, workers dug the Ohio and Erie Canal through the valley. Mules walked alongside it, pulling boats loaded with grain and goods.

The canal opened in 1827 and helped Ohio grow fast. Railroads eventually replaced it, and the canal fell out of use.

Congress protected the valley as a national recreation area in 1974. It became a full national park in 2000, covering more than 33,000 acres between Cleveland and Akron.

Walk or bike the Towpath Trail, following the same route the mules once took. Ride the scenic railroad that runs right alongside the river. Hike to Brandywine Falls, where water drops about 60 feet over layered rock into a shady gorge.