Cuyahoga Valley National Park from Cleveland
A full day in Ohio's national park, half an hour from downtown Cleveland: Brandywine Falls before the lot fills, the Boston Mill Visitor Center, lunch in the canal village of Peninsula with an optional scenic train ride, the Beaver Marsh boardwalk on the Towpath Trail, and sunset from the Ledges Overlook.
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In October the Cuyahoga Valley usually has crisp mornings in the 40s, afternoons in the 50s and 60s, and sunsets that move from a little after 7 pm early in the month to about 6:25 pm by its end. Rain showers are common, and a day of rain can turn trails muddy and the Ledges' sandstone slick; the falls run hardest after rain. September is warmer and greener, and November is cold and gray with most leaves down. Warm, sunny days with cool nights bring the brightest color, while cloudy, wet spells dull it. These are seasonal expectations, not a forecast for your travel date; check the NWS forecast.
Admission and parking are separate. Check current conditions before departure.
A day in Ohio's Amish Country from Cleveland: the Goose Creek valley view at Walnut Creek, Baby Swiss at Guggisberg Cheese, quilt fabrics in Charm, lunch and Main Street in Berlin, the Behalt cyclorama of Amish and Mennonite history, and a Queen Anne mansion in Millersburg, with plain advice on sharing hilly roads with buggies.
A full day in the sandstone gorges an hour south of Columbus: the Old Man's Cave gorge first thing, Cedar Falls, a picnic under the overhang at Ash Cave, the cliffs of Conkle's Hollow and the tunnel-like Rock House, in an order that beats the worst of the parking crush.
A walking day through Columbus from south to north: the brick streets and Schiller Park in German Village, the 32-room Book Loft, a German lunch at Schmidt's, the riverfront parks of the Scioto Mile, a snack stop at North Market and an evening on High Street in the Short North, with a $2 COTA bus back to your car.
A two-night summer weekend on Lake Erie's islands from Cleveland, based in Port Clinton with the car left on the mainland. Saturday takes the Miller Ferry to Put-in-Bay for Perry's Victory memorial, lunch in the village, a crystal cave and the state park cliffs. Sunday crosses to quiet Kelleys Island for the Glacial Grooves and Inscription Rock, then climbs Marblehead Lighthouse before the drive home.