CVNP-the Ledges Trail

Welcome back to hiking the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, edition 3 😂. Today we explored the Ledges Trail. We saved this particular hike for a time that Elijah could join us. He has ALWAYS loved anything to do with rocks and this hike has so much to see. 

From the CVNP website: 

"The Ledges Trail circles a plateau of striking rock formations and provides stunning views along the way. The trail is rocky and unpaved, with at least 80 feet of elevation change over its length.  To protect this fragile habitat, the national park does not allow any climbing on the rock formations. (not true, there were no signs posted and everyone was climbing on the rocks)

To begin, park at the Ledges Trailhead and consult the trail map on the bulletin board by the gate. The trail system is complex (VERY true), so watch the signs. Follow the Ledges Trail to complete a 1.8-mile loop (nope it is 2.32 miles according to the GPS on my watch, and we did more than that because we went off trail multiple times) or use the network of connector trails to take a shorter hike. "

Like the website said, it is not a paved trail. The path starts out really wide, but gets narrow in places (never so narrow that passing is difficult). You walk on gravel, tree roots, sand, and rocks depending on where you are on the path. Because some of the sand gets on some of the stones,
you have to be careful not to slip no matter the weather. I slid a few times today (not bad) and it hasn't rained in weeks.

There is a restroom at the parking lot and there is one mid-way on the trail, although there is quite a bit of brush around that one, so not sure how often it is used! It was not very buggy, and it was another path that was mostly shaded, so need to bother with sunscreen either. We always go in the morning, and this was a pretty happening trail today. We were never crowded but we did encounter more people on this trail than the Blue Hen Trail, but less people than the Brandywine Falls trail. Most of the time it was more of a nature hike, but because you cross a road, and go by several parking lots, occasionally you will hear some road noise. However, overall, it is a great place to hike and be in nature. We would love to see this one again when all the leaves have changed, it will be gorgeous.

Even Elijah enjoyed the hike, I think we spent 2 and a half hours exploring, and hiked 3.4 miles with our little excursions off the trail. I appreciate how clear all the signage is in the park, because otherwise it would be really easy to get turned around. You can download an app that has the trails on it, or just take a picture and go by that if you are not comfortable relying on the signage. I don't remember if I said this in previous posts or not, but the visitor center does have hiking/walking sticks for those who might need them for free, on a first come, first serve basis. We saw several people with them today. We don't have pets, but pets are allowed on this trail as well, we saw quite a few.

Enjoy our pictures!

One of the things that struck us was the different textures of the rocks. Some looked like honeycombs!

"To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen." Philippians 4:20

 "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17