Why Ohio?
A short, 3-day weekend excursion in mid-May, prior to the summer rush, took me to my 52nd of 63 US National Parks in Cuyahoga, Oh. Nothing I enjoy more that an excuse to spend my time off hiking in the backcountry.
Despite my unexpected flight change from 7am to 7pm, touching down during a fierce downpour, slipping into my accommodations at the ungodly 1am hour to less than mediocre reviews, nothing could contain my excitement in getting lost in the unknown territory ahead.
Over the next 48 hours, I logged 29 glorious miles and had the perfect weekend of solitude. I love hitting numerous 2-5 mile trails, so that I can maximize my day with lots of different terrains. There were a plethora of waterfalls to explore and around every bend my smile grew wider. The Ledges Trail was epic, a bouldering playground with countless crevices leading to stunning moss covered hidden labyrinths.
Based off of rave reviews, I also made the 3 hour drive to the amazing Hocking Hills State Park and it didn’t disappoint. My short beginner trek turned into a 7.5 mile marathon of trails because I was having too much fun. Besides a few mishaps involving deep mud, I reveled in ridiculously fun caves, cliffs and more cascading falls. Definitely my idea of a perfect day!
And en route back to the Cleveland airport, I even carved out time to visit my 101st National Monument (James A. Garfield home) and a classic holiday movie set in A Christmas Story. Score!
So with an additional 69K steps logged on my Garmin watch, I successfully jump started my summer of weekend trips and am so thankful to have explored this underrated part of our country.
Opt outside…. you won’t regret it!
FearlessAdventures 