Brandywine Falls

After three days of driving on my solo road trip, I was excited to get out on a trail and explore nature on the eastern half of these United States. The plan was to get up early and leave the hotel by 8:00 am, but that didn't happen. (Actually, that was the plan every day, but it only happened once, and that was because I had a breakfast date.) I mean, this was my vacation, after all. So, I slept in a little and then had to deal with a full parking lot when I arrived at the Boston Mill Visitor Center in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. This is a cute little place with a bridge over the river leading to historic buildings, where you can board the train for a tour through the park, or just visit the ranger station and get your National Park Passport stamped, buy some souvenirs, pick up a park map, and get a little guidance.

I have been hiking for about a year now, and I live at a pretty high elevation, so I thought a moderate trail in this area would be easier than what I'm used to. With that in mind, I went up to the Ranger and asked her to recommend a nice, moderate trail with water. She directed me to the Brandywine Gorge Trail, which would take me to the falls, down to the riverbed, and back up through the forest. A Waterfall? Yes, please!

I had read that parking could be an issue for this trail (and I chose to sleep in anyway), so I was not surprised when the lot was full the first time I passed by. Now, the parking lot was in the middle of a neighborhood. But all of the neighbors had at least two acres of land, and I had absolutely no idea if there was another way to access the trail, and there were no other signs toward the park, and we all know that I can get lost while just looking at a map. So, after a few turns, I pulled over and consulted my friend Google about how to get back to the parking lot. (I swear I made about five turns but when I looked at the directions, I just had to turn around, make a left at the stop sign, and then the parking lot was down the road on the right.)

After grabbing a spot, I headed out on the trail with the rest of the people. At the trailhead you can go left on a flat, dirt path, or right and cross a bridge. I chose to go right, which led me down a wooden boardwalk right toward the falls. There were two areas where you can go down the stars to get a better view of the river and one of them takes you down to a viewing platform where you get an eye-level view of the falls. It was really gorgeous.

Heading back along the raised platform and up the stairs to the main path, I realized how much harder the stairs were in the humidity. But, I made it to the top and continued on the path that led me above the falls, through a meadow that reminded me of Little House on the Prairie (you know, when little Laura Ingalls is running through the tall grass with the pretty little flowers - maybe I'm showing my age here), and toward a shady trail in the forest.

The trail varied between compacted dirt and tree roots and patches of rocky shale, so I had to pay attention to where I was walking to make sure I didn't trip. (Why yes, I did trip a few times. Thank you for asking!) The entire path was shrouded in green, which was just beautiful. Although there were a few conifers, most of the trees were deciduous. I bet this area is just breathtaking in the fall with the changing of the leaves.

The first part of the path is pretty high up so there isn't access to the river unless you want to do some rock climbing. I did not, so I continued on the trail leading down to the river. As usual, I was so mesmerized by my surroundings that the slight downhill grade didn't really register. I was just walking along on my merry little way. Saying hello to the people who passed me, thanking the trees for their shade, thanking the rocks and roots for their stability, and commenting (out loud) on all of the beauty. (I think I might understand why people pass me walking kind of fast.)

Eventually I came across a fork in the road leading to the left. This time I was smart and consulted my map before I chose a direction. The path to the left led down to the water, so that's the way I went. Every few feet there were openings that led right to the river. Up at the waterfall it looked like there was a ton of water cascading down, so I was so surprised to see that there wasn't very much water flowing through the riverbed. The families and young people probably prefer the lack of water because there was more of an opportunity to sit on the rocks, enjoy a picnic, and watch as the little ones splash around in the shallow water. Walking along the rocks in the exposed riverbed, I dipped my hands in the water and was surprised to find that it was refreshing but not cold.

Heading back toward the trail, I came to a little stream that drained into the river at a wide, muddy opening. Surprisingly, I ventured across the muddy ground to check out the fallen trees and to see what the river looked like beyond the bend. It was much less rocky, slow moving, and brown like the earth below. A lazy river if ever there was one.

Crossing that little creek, I came to a few steps leading up the path. Then I came to more steps and then, after trudging up a somewhat steep slope, I came to enough stairs to get me to the top of a five-story building. There were a couple of people behind me so I acted like the steps were no big deal, and then I let them pass, thanking them for giving me a reason to stop while trying to breathe normally so they wouldn't be able to tell how much I wanted to just lay down in that dirt and wait for the sun to go down. I didn't do that. (Please, I'm sure there are snakes on that side of the country, too. And there were a LOT of leaves for them to be hiding under.) I kept trudging along, taking a few steps at a time and then stopping to curse the heavy, humid air. Fortunately, there was something gorgeous to look at every few feet, so I had plenty of opportunities to stop and... let’s be real, at this point I just wanted to stop every few steps, so I did.

If there's one thing I learned on this trip, it's that when people say, "but it's a dry heat", they really DO know what they're talking about. I'll take 80 degrees in a dry heat with a moderate elevation change any day over the humidity I experienced on this trail. Humidity aside, this place was gorgeous and absolutely worth the stop. I absolutely want to go back in the fall to see the changing leaves on the trees, and maybe during the winter to see the ice on the falls and take a ride on that train as snowflakes flutter to the ground. I can already picture it; complete with an animated Tom Hanks yelling “All aboard!!”