Summit Metro Parks Bike and Hike Trail

We spent 3 nights this past weekend in Hudson, Ohio.  We rented the Hudson Home AirBnB.  The location of this AirBnB was ideal for our activities. We went bicycling on trails in and near Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and we visited the Cleveland Zoo.  A food market and restaurants were within walking distance from our rental.

On Saturday, September 21, we went for a morning bicycle ride.  We rode the Bike and Hike Trail to Brandywine Falls, located in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  We started at the northern trailhead at Alexander Road in Sagamore Hills.

The trail began with a climb out of the parking lot. I walked my bicycle up the hill.
This is what the trail looked like, once I had climbed the hill.
More of the trail

Bob used our GoPro camera to document some of our ride on the trail.

In a little more than 6 miles we reached the top of Brandywine Falls.  The Bike & Hike Trail is 34 miles long, so we rode only a little more than one-sixth of the trail. 

Top of Brandywine Falls, looking toward Brandywine Gorge

I walked along a boardwalk and hiked down some stairs to a falls viewing area. 

Brandywine Falls

The falling water was little more than a trickle, compared to other visits.  This visit, by the way, was our first by bicycle.  

Most rail-trails are fairly flat.  The portion of the Bike and Hike Trail that we rode is flat in some parts, but there is a fair number of dips and rises as well.  The approach to Brandywine Falls is one of those dips, and a long stretch at that.  I hit 18 MPH at one point, until I applied the brakes.  

Our initial plan was to ride to Brandywine Falls and back and, possibly, ride a portion of the O&E Canal Towpath Trail in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Not wanting to tackle the hill climb to leave Brandywine Falls, we decided Bob would ride back to the trailhead at Alexander Road and get the car.  I would wait for him at Brandywine Falls.  

Bob called at 11:09 am and said he should arrive in 12 minutes.  Apparently Bob arrived at the car 30 minutes earlier.  He spent 20 minutes having trouble following the GPS.  He discovered that he had the GPS set for travel by bicycle!