The only National Park to originate as a National Recreation Area, Cuyahoga Valley National Park is unique in that it’s partially urban, containing many smaller county parks, private businesses, and small towns connected by a large network of roads. Located between Akron and Cleveland, it’s Ohio’s only national park and aims to preserve the natural beauty surrounding the Cuyahoga River.

That may not sound like a breathtaking spectacle worthy of a cross-country trek, but the Cuyahoga Valley has its fair share of worthy delights. Ledges Trail offers a hike through mossy forests at the base of sandstone cliffs, Brandywine Falls displays a 60-foot fall from a boardwalk, Blue Hen Falls is the quintessential babbling brook, and you can bike the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath where mules once pulled canal boats back in the day.