The last stop on our November 2019 trip to Cuyahoga Valley National Park was to watch the sunset at the Beaver Marsh. Located near the southern end of the park, the marsh is bisected by a boardwalk section of the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail. Located ¼ mile north of the Ira Trailhead, the trail surface to the boardwalk consists of packed fine gravel that is ADA compliant. The trailhead has paved parking for about 30 passenger vehicles, but no parking is available for RVs or busses. A pair of vault toilets are also located there.
Quoting from the trailhead informational kiosk entitled From Salvage Yard to Beaver Marsh:
Follow the Towpath Trail ahead to Beaver Marsh—one of the best places to view wildlife in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Only a quarter-mile north, a boardwalk crosses this 70-acre wetland, transformed from an old salvage yard.
Humans and beavers turned this site back into a marsh in the 1980s. Volunteers organized by a local Sierra Club removed cars and materials from the former business site. About the same time beavers flooded the area by building a ddam across the Ohio & Erie Canal. The waters awakeened long-dormant seeds of wetland plants—a stunning example of nature recovering an area if given a chance.
You may see a beaver nibbling on a willow branch, turtles sunning themselves on logs, and, if you are fortunate, otters at play. In spring and summer, frogs and songbirds sing in an exuberant chorus.
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| Vault toilets and informational kiosk at Ira trailhead |
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| View south from the canal |
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| View north from the canal |
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| Towpath trail |
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| Frog on the pathway |
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| Stagnant water at Lock 26 |
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| Northern end of Lock 26 |
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| Lock 26 and towpath |
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| Canal and beaver marsh north of Lock 26 |
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| Looking back at Lock 26 |
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| Beginning of the boardwalk over the marsh |
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| View east from the boardwalk |
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| View west from the boardwalk |
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| Wildlife viewing deck |
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| View to the southwest |
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| Another view of the wildlife viewing deck |
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| Sunset reflections |
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| View southeast |
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| A last view of the park |
There is no entrance fee at Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
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