Days 57 and 58 Ohio and Pennsylvania

It was a long boring drive across the top of Indiana on Friday to reach Ohio, and then a similar drive across northern Ohio past Toledo to reach the eastern side. My first stop was the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, alongside the Cuyahoga River between Cleveland and Akron. It sits within the Ohio and Erie Canalway, which is designated a National Heritage Area, celebrating the canal area from Cleveland to New Philadelphia, responsible for the growth in the area in the early days of the country.

At the Boston Mill Visitor Center, I had to unhook the trailer to be able to reach some of the other sights in the park. The highlight was Brandywine Falls. I took a hike with the dogs to reach the falls and take a few pictures. I then retrieved my trailer and drove a short distance to the Stow Silver Springs Campground, administered by the local town. It was one of the worst parks on the trip, very muddy with few amenities. With it not being a national park, I could not use my lifetime national senior discount, so it was also far more expensive than it deserved to be.

So, I quickly left at the crack of dawn on Saturday and fed the dogs at a more convenient place, then started towards Pennsylvania. However, I first stopped at Chagrin Falls and Look About Lodge near Cleveland for a short hike.

In Pennsylvania, my first stop was Presque Isle State Park just north of Erie. I’m not sure why it’s called an “isle” as it’s clearly a narrow peninsula, stretching out at least ten miles. This is a terrific park, well maintained, with a paved hiking/biking path running east-west between Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay. Since it was Saturday, it was very busy, with many hikers, bikers, swimmers, kayakers, and fishermen. From the southern (bay) side, you can see the city of Erie across the bay. On the Lake Erie side, there are ten separate beach areas, advertised as “the only surf swimming in Pennsylvania.” There is also a lighthouse, constructed in 1872, and still maintained and operated by the Coast Guard. The park includes an obelisk-shaped monument to Commodore Perry, commemorating the 1813 victorious Battle of Lake Erie against the British. Because of harsh winter conditions for the sailors stationed there, the small inlet bay where they stayed was named Misery Bay and retains the name to this day.

I took the dogs for a long walk on the bay side. Gipper was very anxious when he saw the water, so I let him take a short swim.

I left Erie and continued east towards the Dewdrop Campground in the Allegheny National Forest. For a 20 mile stretch on this trip, I drove alongside the Allegheny River, including a stop to see the Kinzua Dam, which was constructed in the 1960s, primarily for flood control on the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers. Although controversial at first (because a few towns were wiped out when the dam created the reservoir), it apparently proved necessary when tropical storm Agnes in 1972 dumped heavy rains in the watershed area.

The campground is within a few hundred yards of the river and not far from the lake, so it is a popular spot, and far nicer than my Ohio campsite. It also would have been cheaper, but there is a requirement to book at least two consecutive nights. This is apparently typical of the Northeast, as I have the same situation coming up in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

I have ten states left to reach the full 48, and less than two weeks remaining in the trip!

Photos include Brandywine Falls, Gipper swimming in the bay, the Presque Isle Lighthouse, and pictures of the dam and the Allegheny River.