Cleveland Metroparks - Bedford Reservation

While located almost entirely within the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, the Bedford Reservation is owned and managed by Cleveland Metroparks.  Metroparks has also been a partner with the National Park Service since 1974.  The organizations coordinate closely on a broad range of visitor services along with protecting and interpreting cultural and natural resources.  Metroparks also owns and manages 4,750 acres including Bedford and Brecksville Reservations inside the park boundary.  Park districts in Ohio such as Cleveland Metroparks and Metro Parks, Serving Summit County are independent political subdivisions of the state and are primarily funded by additional property tax levies.  

The key feature of Bedford Reservation is Tinkers Creek Gorge, a National Natural Landmark.  I started my brief visit by turning off of Canal Road onto Tinkers Creek Road.  After passing through the community of Valley View, I crossed Dunham Road and proceeded up Button Road to the parking area.  Along the way, a small waterfall on Hemlock Creek caught my attention.  Immediately downstream of this waterfall, the creek flows under Button Road and then into Tinkers Creek.  Passengers should have a good view of the falls without having to leave the car, but the better view is to walk down to the creek bank.

Small waterfall on Hemlock Creek

After driving back down Button Road, I turned left onto Dunham Road, crossed Tinkers Creek and then turned left again onto the Gorge Parkway.  The road quickly climbs through a forested area until it is about two hundred feet above the creek.  After passing the intersection with Overlook Lane, there is a small parking area on the left with a wooden platform for viewing the gorge as shown in the picture at the top of this post.

Plaque at gorge overlook

Driving further up the Gorge Parkway leads to the parking lot for Bridal Veil Falls.  The trail head is across both a multipurpose trail and the road from the parking lot.  The sight distances seem to be sufficient to avoid being surprised by traffic.  The round trip to the falls is about one quarter mile and the trail is well maintained.  Visiting in late summer, especially several days after the last rainfall, the falls wasn't very impressive.  We'll have to plan another trip to view the falls during the higher flows of spring. 

Trail to Bridal Veil Falls

Bridal Veil Falls from the viewing platform

I ran out of daylight and vacation days before getting the chance to explore the Great Falls of Tinkers Creek.  Great Falls is outside of Cuyahoga Valley National Park but still within the Bedford Reservation in a section called Viaduct Park.

The Cleveland Metroparks website is http://www.clemetparks.com.
The Cuyahoga Valley National Park website is http://www.nps.gov/cuva/index.htm.