Baur - Best Hikes Cleveland: the Greatest Views, Wildlife, and Forest Strolls

Joe Baur is a writer, filmmaker, and author of several books, including three with Falcon Guides and most recently, Talking Tico: (Mis)adventures of a Gringo in and Around Costa Rica about his time living in Central America. He first became interested in the great outdoors when Grandpa Bud took him, his brother Dave, and cousins to the nearby Lake Metroparks Farmpark. He vaguely recalls milking a cow and it being a generally weird experience. Nonetheless, his father continued to push staying active outside with occasional trips to the Holden Arboretum, which naturally led to an obsession with hiking, backpacking, and finding new ways to go off the beaten path. Originally from Northeast Ohio, Joe is now based in Dsseldorf, Germany, where his weekends are often spent riding the train, hiking a trail, and drinking a beer. Life is good.

You can catch up with Joe at both joebaur.com and WithoutAPath.com.

Best Hikes Cleveland

An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
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Copyright 2019 The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

Photos by the author unless otherwise noted
Maps by The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Information available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available

ISBN 978-1-4930-3867-1 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-4930-3868-8 (e-book)

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI / NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

The author and The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc., assume no liability for accidents happening to, or injuries sustained by, readers who engage in the activities described in this book.

Im going to do the right thing and first thank my wife, Melanie. Her constant and uplifting support was instrumental and invaluable in the writing of this book. I say this truthfully and without hope of scoring points (although it certainly doesnt hurt); I couldnt have written this book without her encouragement, joining me on the trails more often than not.

Rob Andrukat, my former downtown neighbor and occasional photographer, was kind enough to lend his camera to a few of the photographs throughout this book. Jarret Boroway, Eric Greene, and Victor Granger were also kind enough to join me on hikes, not to mention they no doubt provided Melanie a much-needed break from being trapped in the forest with me.

I would also like to thank Elizabeth Boltuc of the Northeast Ohio Hiking Club for sharing her favorite hikes early on in the planning process of this book, and Larry Grewe of the Buckeye Trail Association, a key player in mapping out our grand finale hike along the Buckeye Trail.

I cant possibly continue without thanking my family. This includes anyone reading this who shares DNA with me or happened to be so lucky to marry into the family.

Ill also be eternally grateful to Marjorie Thomas of Cleveland Metroparks; Andy Avram and Pat Morse of Lake Metroparks; Sandy Ward, Dottie Drockton, and Diane Valen of Geauga Parks District; Vicki McDonald and Cait Anastis at the Holden Arboretum; Tim Hite of Metro Parks, Serving Summit County; Kathie Pohl at the City of Mentor; Kara ODonnell at the City of Cleveland Heights; Linda Nahrstedt at the City of Stow; and Mary Pat Doorley, Lynette Sprague-Falk, and Rebecca Jones of Cuyahoga Valley National Park for assisting in reviewing the hikes for accuracy. Our park systems are invaluable assets to the region and make Cleveland a truly special place to live.

AllTrails is an app I discovered in preparation for this book. I cant articulate how helpful the app and the AllTrails staff have been. All of the hikes were planned and recorded using their software. Id also like to acknowledge Swiss Gear for the Alpine Peak Tent used on the Buckeye Trail hike and Nikon for the camera used in all photography except for shots from Rob.

Finally, I thank you, dear reader, because if youre reading this, you most likely humored me and bought the book. Good choice! I know youll enjoy what our beloved Emerald Necklace has to offer.

Lets get it out of the way. Cleveland is no longer the Mistake on the Lake. Case in pointJohnny Carson no longer hosts The Tonight Show, Dennis Boy Mayor Kucinich is no longer at City Hall, and the Cuyahoga River has been fire-free since 1969.

No, Cleveland might not be what comes to mind when you think of a place with great hiking. But it should be. Theres a reason our parks system has been dubbed the Emerald Necklace. Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the surrounding Cleveland, Lake, Geauga, and Summit County parks decorate our incredible region with a constantly changing tapestry that can make any hiker fall in love with nature all over again.

This book came about because Cleveland is, unfortunately, often excluded. People know about us for all the wrong reasons, namely sports misery. But there is more to this city, this region, than sports and the latest headline from someone who parachuted in for the week.

While in Chicago for a wedding, I noticed a selection of local books that included a Best Hikes Near Chicago. Curious as to whether a Cleveland book existed, I scribbled a note and vowed to do the necessary research when I returned home. Sure enough, Falcon had published no such book. Other hiking guides exist for the Cleveland area, but none with an emphasis on urban hikes. As young professionals, families, and empty nesters alike continue to refill American cities, I thought it important to offer readers a hiking experience with the heart of the city being covered. Living in downtown Cleveland, I knew what neighborhoods were crying out for an urban hike and which hikes to include outside of the city that wouldnt prove much of a drive. Thats what this book isa hiking guide from the heart of the Forest City.

The trails offered in this book are as diverse as youd find in areas more generally thought of as hiking towns. There are no mountains, but we have plenty of rolling hills, waterfalls, ravines, easy limestone trail, and rugged backpacking terrain to cover. By the end, youll know why we Clevelanders lovingly refer to our humble abode on the shores of Lake Erie as the best location in the nation.

Cleveland experiences all four seasons. In fact, area residents take sadistic pride in the regions ability to welcome all four seasons in a single week. Generally speaking, hikers can expect a little of everything in Cleveland. Summers are generally pleasant, but hot spells can certainly overcome the region. But these are easily avoided with morning or evening hikes. Hikers are welcome to use their smartphones to monitor the weather, but Northeast Ohio is an unpredictable beast. More than a few of these hikes were completed under very wet 0 percent chance of rain conditions. Suffice it to say, it doesnt hurt to keep an eye on the clouds. Fall brings hikers out of the woodwork (no pun intended) to admire the changing colors. Expect crisp mornings and evenings. Afternoons, too, can be quite chilly if under the cover of trees. Come winter, hikers will usually see plenty of snow accumulation, though climate change has made what was once predictable completely unpredictable. Case in point, 2011 2012 (when the first edition of this book was published) saw one of Clevelands least snowy winters on record. The winter of 20162017 managed to beat that record by several inches. Finally, expect plenty of muddy hiking in the rainy Cleveland spring. But its worth it to see the flowers coming out to bloom. Some might not enjoy our constantly changing weather or our often-incorrect weather forecasts; but look on the bright side: hikers can experience all forty hikes in drastically different conditions, offering an entirely different experience. Not bad.