Description NATIONAL PARK SERVICE • U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Cuyahoga Valley National Park encompasses 33,000 acres habitat provides a refuge for an assortment of plants and wildlife along the Cuyahoga River between Cleveland and Akron, including rare, threatened, and endangered species. Ohio. Its setting in a metropolitan area and its combination of scenic, natural, historic, recreational, and education The valley’s human story began when the modern landscapes Foundation Document Overview values make it a well-loved gem in the national park began to evolve after glaciation, and American Indian peoples system. Established by Congress on December 27, 1974, as left their mark through archeological sites and earthworks. Cuyahoga Valley National Park Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area, the area was Today, the park contains hundreds of cultural assets, including renamed Cuyahoga Valley National Park in 2000. the Ohio & Erie Canal, the Valley Railway, and historic Ohio communities and farms. The Cuyahoga River drains into Lake Erie, part of the Great Lakes ecosystem. Some of the largest remaining forest Visitors have numerous opportunities to enjoy the park. Park tracts in northeast Ohio, stunning exposed rock ledges, and staff work closely with partners to provide educational and waterfalls contribute to the park’s natural scenery. Its natural cultural programs, arts and crafts demonstrations, recreational ! ! and ranger-guided programs, and other special Brooklyn 490 ¨¦§42 ¨¦§ events. Recreational activities are available year- !Garfield Heights SOM CENTER RD BROADWAY Maple Heights round and include hiking, excursion rail tours, PEARL RD ! Bedford Heights SNOW RD ! ROCKSIDE RD fishing, running, bicycling, horseback riding, ¨¦§422 Bedford Parma Rockside Station ! Solon golfing, skiing, sightseeing and picnicking, bird- ! Seven Hills ! ! AURORA RD ! RD RIDGE ¨¦§271 watching, and nature study. Canal Visitor Center Station Canal Visitor Center The park’s open space is vast for a metropolitan PLEASANT VALLEY RD setting, contributing to the quality of life within the region while protecting the resources within ¨¦§77 its boundaries. Twinsburg North Royalton RD BROADVIEW Broadview Heights ! ! ! Brecksville Station ROYALTON RD 480 ROYALTON RD Brecksville ¨¦§ ! NORTHFIELD RD Cuyahoga Valley National " Park Headquarters ¬ ¨¦§80 Boston Mill Station Boston Store Visitor Center JAMES W SHOCKNESSY OHIO TPKE Hudson Peninsula Station ! Streetsboro Rd y Peninsula Depot e ll d a a Visitor Center V o r 271 l ¨¦§ a i g a o R h c © Tom Jones a DARROW RD DARROW y ni u e c C S Hunt Farm Visitor Legend Indigo Lake Information Center ¬" Park Headquarters Station Stow Railroad Boarding Stations ! ! City Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad ¨¦§8 Botzum Station Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail GRAHAM RD Ohio & Erie Canal Byway !Cuyahoga Falls Major Roads SMITH RD Local Roads W MARKET ST © Tim Fenner Streets HOWE RD Streams Lakes AKRON CLEVELAND RD TALMADGE AV WEST AV NORTH AV Ohio & Erie Canalway Tallmadge ¨¦§21 ! Park Boundary Contact Information Akron-Northside Station MARKET ST 0 1 2 4 Miles I For more information about the Cuyahoga Valley National Park Foundation Document, Akron SOUTH AV Produced by: NPS Denver Service Center Planning Division AIN !ST contact: Park Headquarters at [email protected] or (330) 657-2752 or write to: M Superintendent, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, 15610 Vaughn Road, Brecksville, OH 44141 • Cuyahoga Valley National Park is an island of high ecological • Park as a Classroom – The diverse array of natural Purpose integrity within a densely populated urban region. Situated Fundamental Resources and Values and cultural resources in the Cuyahoga Valley offers along a major river system at the southern edge of Lake Erie, opportunities for learning, discovery, and revelation. and bordering the edge of Ice Age glaciation between the Lessons of conflict, adaptability, ingenuity, and interdependence illustrate broader trends in many Appalachian Mountains and the Great Plains, the park’s Fundamental resources and values are those features, systems, disciplines, including sustainability, ecology, agriculture, location supports a high biological diversity and provides a processes, experiences, stories, scenes, sounds, smells, or and U.S. history. vital habitat corridor for migrating species. other attributes determined to merit primary consideration during planning and management processes because they are • Cultural and Natural Interplay – The wide variety and essential to achieving the purpose of the park and maintaining • Rooted in national environmental and social movements wealth of natural and cultural resources in Cuyahoga of the 20th century, the establishment of the park was a its significance. Valley National Park exist singly, but also meld into a community-driven response to urban sprawl and ecological mosaic of pastoral landscapes that were created and • Cuyahoga River Ecosystem abuses epitomized by fires on the Cuyahoga River. The continue to be transformed by the interplay of geologic, park continues to lead in restoring degraded landscapes, • Forest Ecosystem ecological, and cultural forces. Understanding human perpetuating environmental awareness, and promoting the • Ohio & Erie Canal interaction with the valley environment from American Indian to present times can serve to inspire and ethic of stewardship and sustainability. • Valley Railway encourage discussion of land stewardship. • Resources in the Cuyahoga Valley illustrate a continuum • Agricultural Resources and Rural Landscape © Ted Toth • Watershed Connections – The Cuyahoga River connects of transportation corridors from early American Indian to • Virginia Kendall State Park Historic District Cuyahoga Valley National Park with the Great Lakes, modern times. Of national significance, the Ohio & Erie Canal • Trail, Water, and Rail Network the largest system of fresh water in the world. This “river was part of the first interstate transportation system in lands • Place-based Education that burned” gave international attention to water quality known as the U.S. interior to the East Coast. This opened up issues and encouraged action through the passage of The purpose of CUYAHOGA VALLEY the entire region for industrialization and contributed to the • Community Engagement environmental legislation, especially the Clean Water Act. NATIONAL PARK is to preserve and protect growth of the economy at a critical time in U.S. history. Understanding the watershed connections demonstrates for public use and enjoyment the historic, the potentially far-reaching impacts of land preservation, scenic, natural, and recreational values • Cuyahoga Valley National Park protects a large and diverse community engagement, and individual daily decisions of the Cuyahoga River and its valley; collection of cultural resources in the Midwestern United Interpretive Themes on environmental health. to maintain the necessary recreational States, consisting of more than 600 examples of historic • Natural Diversity – Cuyahoga Valley National Park structures, cultural landscapes, and archeological sites. open space in connection with the urban provides refuge for a surprisingly rich natural diversity This exceptional assemblage conveys themes that include environment; and to provide for the Interpretive themes are often described as the key stories of plants and animals, including rare, threatened, and American Indian and later settlement, transportation, recreational and educational needs of or concepts that visitors should understand after visiting endangered species whose survival depends on park agriculture, industry, and recreation. the visiting public. a park— they define the most important ideas or concepts protection. This unique species composition is a result of the park’s location in a transition zone between major • Cuyahoga Valley National Park came into being in 1974 as communicated to visitors about a park unit. Themes regions of the country, combined with its glacial history a unified patchwork of land ownership sewn together by an are derived from — and should reflect — park purpose, and varied topography. unprecedented grassroots effort of community partners. As significance, resources, and values. The set of interpretive an outgrowth of this partnership origin, the park has become themes is complete when it provides the structure necessary • Evolution of Transportation – Representative of national Significance an innovator and a national leader in shared stewardship for park staff to develop opportunities for visitors to explore trends in transportation, people used the Cuyahoga models through its dynamic community engagement, and relate to all of the park significances and fundamental Valley as a transportation corridor from pre-contact to modern times, taking advantage of its topography nationally recognized partnerships, and one of the largest resources and values. while overcoming its obstacles. Through changing volunteer programs in the country. Significance statements express why Cuyahoga Valley National • Parks to the People – In keeping with Cuyahoga Valley’s transportation technologies, people have sought Park resources and values are important enough to merit • Located within a one-hour drive of over three million long history as a place for retreat from urban areas, opportunities for economic growth, recreation, freedom, and communication with the outside world. Evolving national park unit designation. Statements of significance people, Cuyahoga Valley National