Brandywine Falls is one of the iconic locations in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The 60-foot high segmented fan-type fall on Brandywine Creek flows year round. To reach the falls from the Boston Mill Visitor Center, you can either hike or drive. The hiking directions are to head east on Boston Mills Road for 600 feet then turn north on the Towpath Trail. After ½ mile turn east on the Stanford Trail and hike 1.4 miles to the Brandywine Gorge Trail junction. Turn right at the junction and hike the remaining ½ mile to the falls. This is a five-mile round-trip hike.
To access the falls by automobile from the visitor center, head north on Riverview Road for two miles, then turn right onto Vaughn Road for 1.8 miles as it changes names upon crossing the Cuyahoga River. Turn right onto Brandywine Road for 1.1 miles and turn into the parking area. The drive is about five miles one way and should take about 10 minutes. Paved parking is available for 90 passenger vehicles including four accessible spots. There is no RV or bus parking. Be aware that the parking area is also used as a trailhead for the very popular Metro Parks Bike and Hike Trail and is often full during the summer and on weekends and holidays any season.
Trailhead
Snow-covered boardwalk
More snow and ice
Over three dozen stairs down to the viewing platform
View from the boardwalk
Viewing platform with informational signage
View from the lower platform
Returning to the upper boardwalk, trees seem to grow out of solid rock
View from the upper boardwalk
Condition of the upper boardwalk
Ruins of the Champion Electric Company
View from near the Champion ruins
View downstream
There is no entrance fee at Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Besides the gift shop in the Boston Mill Visitor Center, there are two free-standing Trail Mix park stores in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Operated by the non-profit Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park, proceeds from sales are used to improve the park. The store in Boston was closed for the season when we visited in November 2019. However, the store in Peninsula was open and is one of the largest national park stores that I've visited. Staffed with knowledgeable and friendly Conservancy employees and park service volunteers, the store is an unofficial visitor center. Public restrooms are located to the right of the information desk.
Parking is very limited near the store, with only a few accessible spots. Some on-street parallel parking may be available on side streets. However, the park has built a large, paved lot at the Lock 29 trailhead about a block north of Trail Mix and across the tracks. It has space for about 35 passenger vehicles, two accessible spots, and three or four RVs.
Entrance
Sales and information
Indoor seating
Clothes, books, and souvenirs
The Cuyahoga River: A Revival of a Waterway
Outdoor seating
There is no entrance fee at Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad operates excursion trains between Akron Northside station and Rockside Station in Independence Ohio. The schedule varies by season and day of the week. The railroad works in partnership with the Cuyahoga Valley National Park as the park owns all of the track, about 20 miles, located within its borders.
We bought tickets and boarded the train in Peninsula for a Sunday afternoon ride to Akron Northside and return during our November 2019 trip to the park. Current schedules and ticket pricing information is available at the railroad's website listed at the end of this post. Our train was led south by Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) RS18 1822 and MLW FP4-A 6771. American Locomotive Company (ALCO) C420 365 led the train back north. In addition to the locomotives, the train consisted of a dome car, eight coaches, a cafe car, a dome observation car, and a head end power car.
Southbound MLW RS18 1822 approaching Peninsula
Cuyahoga River
Crossing the Cuyahoga River
Running parallel to Riverview Road
Everett Ranger Station
Beaver Marsh
Towpath Trail and Riverview Road
Szalay's Farm & Market
Yellow Creek
Botzum Station
Private pond south of Smith Road
Portage Path Monument
Towpath Trail on an elevated boardwalk
Memorial Parkway
Cascade Park
North Howard Street
Akron Northside Station
Train at Akron Northside
Alco C420 365 leading train northbound at Peninsula
There is no entrance fee at Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Blue Hen Falls is a small, single-drop waterfall on Spring Creek in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. A short trail provides access to the falls from the Boston Mills Road trailhead. The gravel parking area at the trailhead has space for only three vehicles, but the overflow gravel parking area on the south side of Boston Mills Road has space for about thirty vehicles.
While the trailhead sign shows the distance to be 1/6th mile or 880 feet, the actual distance from the overflow lot to the falls is about ¼ mile or 1340 feet, yielding a ½ mile round trip. From the overflow lot to the trailhead is relatively flat, the trail does descend 50 feet from the trailhead to the falls.
The parking lot and overflow lot are currently closed due to COVID-19. Parking on Boston Mills Road is dangerous and illegal. Visitors are asked to park at the Boston Mill Visitor Center and hike the Buckeye Trail up to the trailhead. This adds about two miles to the roundtrip hike and an additional 200-foot climb to reach the trailhead.
We hiked the short trail during our November 2019 trip to Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Trailhead parking is very limited
Trailhead trash receptacle and information kiosk
Trailhead
Top of the trail was formerly a driveway
Ice on the bridge
View upstream from the bridge
View downstream from the bridge
Nearing the end of the trail and the safety railing
Blue Hen Falls from the railing
A second view
Social trail down to a lower view
View from the social trail
Icicles
Spring Creek under the bridge
There is no entrance fee at Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
