OH > Buckeye Trail - Suggestions

[sparky32]

I am planning a last-minute trip to Ohio. I plan to do several days backpacking on the Buckeye Trail in the Cuyahoga National Park. I have never been to this trail or even the park. I am looking for suggestions and information such as anyone who has been there in the last few weeks and can comment on trail conditions, bug activity, good places to hang a hammock (campsites or off-trail / stealth), is there easy access to water, best trailheads to begin and end, etc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am just beginning my research for the hike. I will be leaving next Monday (July 8th - July 12).

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[Marmaduke]

I live about 3 minutes from CVNP. There is only one "campground" in the park and it has absolutely no hanging possibilities. It's a travesty. There's no backpacking on the BT in CVNP either. I hike there almost every day, and it makes me sad that I have to drive elsewhere when I want to camp. There's a campsite on the buckeye trail in Brecksville Reservation, just north of CVNP. You have to call for a permit, and that can take up to two weeks according to their website. As for stealth camping, there are spots where I've thought about doing it, but I haven't done it. As for parking, the towpath parking lots are open 24 hours a day so you could theoretically stash a car at one of them. CVNP is not an "overnight" park though so even though rangers have told me that the lots are open 24/7, I have not done this. CVNP is right in the middle of two metropolitan areas so while there are plenty of spots that feel pretty "wild", youll be walking in spots where you may see houses, farms, etc. Consider this if you decide to stealth camp. My favorite trails in CVNP are Wetmore and Langes Run, but there are tons of other greats.

TL/DR: You're going to have a tough time legally "backpacking" in the park. I wouldn't be too quick to filter and drink water in the park, either. Tons of farm runoff. I'm not trying to discourage you, it's doable, but it's not going to be like your average NPS experience.

[sparky32]

Thanks for the great advice. I began looking more closely after my buddy made reservations for the site at Stanford House (this was very last minute planning for us) and I found a couple photos online and realized there would be no way for us to hang our hammocks. And when I discovered how this area seemed to be in the middle of a metro area I realized we probably would not have much of a quiet, backcountry backpacking experience. Those issues and a few more caused us to change our minds for a second time. We ended up making reservations on Grand Island in Lake Superior one-half mile off the coast of Munising in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. We backpacked there several years ago with two friends from work. We were hoping to backpack somewhere new but this will have to do, especially since this trip was so last-minute and were are dealing with two time-constrained family schedules.

Thanks again for the great information.

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[Marmaduke]

Sure. CVNP is worth visiting for the hiking alone, it's sad that there's nowhere to camp. I suggest spending an entire day at CVNP on the trails then driving west to Findley State Park to camp for the night. The sites have tons of trees so you could roll in late and find a place to hang a couple hammocks. Punderson State Park is to the North. There are places to hang there, too.

[sparky32]

Thanks a lot! I will have to keep that in mind for the future.

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[Obiecamper]

Backpacking in northern Ohio is lacking. Lots of trails thouĺ. I haven't been able to string anything with camping to b a decent "backpacking" trio together

Marmaduke have you found anything?

[sparky32]

Backpacking in northern Ohio is lacking. Lots of trails thouĺ. I haven't been able to string anything with camping to b a decent "backpacking" trio together

Marmaduke have you found anything?

That is pretty much what I have recently discovered.

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[Marmaduke]

Backpacking in northern Ohio is lacking. Lots of trails thouĺ. I haven't been able to string anything with camping to b a decent "backpacking" trio together

Marmaduke have you found anything?

Yeah....... I've found that I have to go to the Allegheny National Forest to backpack. Haha. Northern Ohio is awful for backpacking, sadly. There are some sites within Lake Metroparks that are "hike in" but the hikes are very short.