Environmental Stewardship

Preserving Habitat

Welcome to the Ohio & Erie Canalway with the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail serving as the heart of this National Heritage Corridor from Cleveland to New Philadelphia. Paralleling the trail are two other routes into the Canalway – the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad and the Canalway Scenic Byway.

The Canalway defines a region rich in natural, cultural, scenic and recreational resources.

The Towpath Trail and other places of interest in the Canalway have been developed and are managed by many different communities, organization and park districts, all working cooperatively to preserve and interpret natural and cultural history. The heart of this heritage Canalway is the Ohio & Erie Canal and the first inland waterway connecting the Great Lakes with the Gulf of Mexico.

Lock 38 in Pilgerruh, OH

On the Towpath you are almost always close to water since the trail parallels the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas Rivers. In the Akron and the Portage Lakes area, land parts the waters, sending the Cuyahoga River water north to Lake Erie, and the Tuscarawas River water south to the Ohio River and on to the Gulf of Mexico. The trail also goes through three physiographic regions, unique from the surrounding land: the thin bank of Lake Plains near the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, the glaciated plateau from mid-Cuyahoga County to Navarre, and an unglaciated plateau south of Navarre to New Philadelphia. The unglaciated plateau is the oldest landscape, characterized by rolling hills and steep valleys. Most of the trail is in the glaciated region, with beech-maple forest and ice-age relic hemlock ravines.

 

 

As you walk or ride along the trail you may see great blue heron and kingfishers dining on small fish and amphibians. Look for painted turtles basking in the sun, or signs of beaver that are helping to turn the tide of declining wetlands. Chipmunks and squirrels scamper across the trail and you may see white-tail deer along the edge of fields and forest. Hawks and vultures can often be seen soaring high above, while songbirds sing from perches along trail. Deciduous trees, trees that shed their leaves for winter, like oaks, maples and elms shade the trail in summer and come alive with color in the autumn.

All of this is played out against ancient rocks and geology. The study of nature is endless and satisfying. To learn more about nature along the corridor visit Seiberling Nature Realm in Sand Run Park operated by Metro Parks, Serving Summit County (330-865-8065) or Brecksville Nature Center in Cleveland Metroparks Brecksville Reservation.

 

Cargill Canal Cleanup

 

 

 

How can you get involved?

• Join the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition and help us to do the work to complete the Towpath Trail and Green Space Projects. Go to our membership application on this web site and join with us in this important project for Northeast Ohio.
• Volunteer with us as we complete projects like Buckhorn Creek Steam Restoration Project and annual trail clean-up projects.
• Join us at events like Canoe Adventure where we travel the route canal boats followed to learn about the ecological systems surrounding the Towpath Trail. Visit our events page to find out dates and for registration information.

 

Fishing Derby, October 2009

Canoe Adventure, June 2010