I'm going to be in the Chagrin Falls, OH area the weekend of the 25th (actually few days before and after that) and would love to be able to hit the trail some. Any recommendations??? Also would be interested in meeting some ohio hammock folks if anyone is interested
The camper formerly known as HikingDad...
How far are you willing to go?
There are many hiking options near Chagrin Falls, but few overnight options without a bit of a drive.
Check out geaugaparkdistrict.org and clevelandmetroparks.com for some more local hiking options. Some of the geauga parks offer camping, but it is more car camping than backpacking. There is a fee unless you are a Geauga county resident.
Cuyahoga Valley National Park is not too far away. There are some really beautiful areas there and it does offer some (car) camping for a fee. Also not too far is Nelson-Kennedy ledges state park which is a 1/2 day hike worth exploring.
For backpacking your options are in southern Ohio and western Pennsylvania.
I'd quote a certain book, but that is not allowed.
Not from experience, but just from research from an upcoming trip, I think Cuyahoga Valley National Park has camping somewhere along the Ohio-to-Erie trail that runs through there. The campsites were, I thought, reserved for trail users and required advance reservations.Originally Posted by MacCherokee
If you're from Colebrook, you're probably closer to Nelson Ledges now than when you're in Chagrin Falls. Go Mustangs!
The only camping I found on their website was near the towpath at $10 per night, 3 day adnavce reservations required.
http://www.nps.gov/cuva/planyourvisit/lodging.htm
from the photo I'd say tis a 50/50 for good hang sites.
I'd quote a certain book, but that is not allowed.
Yep, that's exactly what I was thinking of. I have no idea of the hanging potential as I haven't hit that part of the trail, and, yes, the couple of pictures I saw do not clear that up. I think 3-day advance registration is pretty unfriendly to trail users as I generally like to have a little flexibility in my planning, but even though I like the flexibility, I usually have ideal stopping locations planned out well in advance. Still, if you were planning on a one night trip, you could probably plan it to be there at the right time.
Oh, and I was thinking that the OP was in Colebrook, but now I see I misread that. I grew up in Orwell and Windsor, and we made many trips to the ledges to climb around the rocks.
Mohican State Forest & Park is an option for you with an 80-90 minute drive from Chagrin Falls. There are a lot of different hiking options and 10 camp sites set aside for backpackers. All but 1 or 2 of the sites are excellent and offer many options for hanging your hammock and all have established fire rings.
The Wayne National Forest would be a longer drive at 2½-3 hrs., depending on which of the 2 areas might appeal to you (there are 3 separate areas with the 3rd being much too far). If memory serves the Wildcat Hollow Trailhead is the closest and offers a 15 mile loop trail (or 7-8 miles if you take the connector trail) with several campsites established by hikers along the trail as well as the option to camp anywhere you choose on Nat'l Forest Land. The Archers Fork Trail is slightly further and offers hiking options of 9-23 miles. The Archers Fork Loop is 9 miles but has a connector trail (North Country Trail) that leads to the Scenic River Trail and another loop trail. There are established campsites along the trails and the option to camp anywhere on Nat'l Forest Land. Here's a trip report from a small group here that got together there recently.
There is very good info available for all of the above at backpackohio.com.
Last edited by Trail Runner; 04-07-2014 at 14:29.
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