Summit Metro Parks: Gorge Closes, But There’s More to Explore along the Cuyahoga River

‍

If you’ve enjoyed gawking at the“falls” at Gorge Metro Park, or more accurately, the dam spillway, well, hang on to that memory.

The popular park, with an entrance at 1160 Front Street in Cuyahoga Falls, was expected to close on July 14, 2025 and remain closed for several years as the last dam on the Cuyahoga River is being removed. And - as if one great, big infrastructure project wasn’t enough – the city of Akron will complete construction and installation of a new sewer interceptor connector at the same time. The Northside Interceptor Connector will run 6,600 feet in length, 120 feet beneath North Hill.

Parts of Gorge Metro Park, alongwith the Chuckery Area of nearby Cascade Valley Metro Park, have been closed for several months since the concurrent projects have been underway. Restoration of the river, and park closures, are expected to continue for several years.

As exciting as infrastructure projects are – and, to be fair, some of us find them very interesting! – the most relevant question to address right now is,where do we go to enjoy hiking along the Cuyahoga River?

John Brown Tannery Park in Kent is one great local option. Find the parking lot and entrance at 100 Stow Street. Visitors can walk along the grassy river bank or stick to the paved Riveredge Trail, which follows the river from Gougler Street at Brady’s Leap Park to Tannery Park, and then merges with the Portage Trail as it continues south to connect with the Freedom Trail of Summit Metro Parks’ Bike & Hike Trail.

Brust Park in Munroe Falls is another nearby riverside park. Also a stop along the Summit MetroParks’ Bike & Hike Trail, the stand-alone park has a small gazebo with benches, and the river access area is cited by the Metro Parks as a good fly-fishing spot.

The Valley View Area of Cascade Metro Park has two easy, 1-mile trails, both of which offer river views. The entrance to the parking lot is at 1134 Cuyahoga Street in Akron. The Valley View Area also has a Nature Play Area (behind Himelright Lodge; not along the river).

If you went to Gorge Metro Park to enjoy the rocky ledges and stunning Sharon conglomerate sandstone formations, don’t worry, north Ohio has several options!

The Ledges Trail in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park is probably the best-known and most-visited of those, but less-popular parks boast some impressive views, including the Twinsburg Ledges area of Liberty Park, with parking at 9999 Liberty Road in Twinsburg.

Among the rock formations at the 126-acre Nelson-Kennedy Ledges State Park, 12440 OH-282 in Garrettsville, visitors will find three natural-surface trails and two (small) waterfalls.

I know very well that northeast Ohio is rich in parks, trails, and other natural spaces to enjoy, but I’ll admit I will miss visiting Gorge Metro Park during its extended closure. I’ll take it as a nudge to explore more of our local parks, and look forward to a day – probably several years from now– when a very different version of the park along the Cuyahoga Falls river gorge will open to visitors.
‍

‍

Diane Stresing is the author of 60 Hikes within 60 Miles of Cleveland, Including Akron and Canton. The most recent edition published in September 2024. It is available from local park and nature shops, outdoors stores, and local booksellers.
‍

‍

NOTES & REFERENCES

Summit Metro Parks Alerts Page

Lisa King, executive director,Summit MetroParks, quoted in The Summiteer 5/15/25

Spring 2025 Update on the Northside Interceptor Connector project

Akron’s tunnel boring machine, and background on interceptor project 8/8/2024

Brust Park – fly fishing access

‍