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photo by Bill Stitt
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photo by David Harrison
Plum Creek Park
Medina County Park District education manager Shelley Tender shares her favorite Medina County hikes.
Plum Creek Park: Tulip Tree Trail
Get a glance at this mature forest’s blooming tulip trees on a 1.5-mile trek. In late spring, the cup-shaped blossoms are bright green and yellow, and in late fall, they turn a golden yellow. “It’s a really nice trail through the woods and has some topography differences,” says Tender.
Letha House Park: Pawpaw Grove Trail
You don’t have to hike far to encounter charming scenery with this half-mile path. “You pass a grove of pawpaw trees and it goes along a creek bed,” says Tender. “It’s really beautiful.”
Killbuck Lakes: Primitive Trail
This fishing and canoeing spot brings you closer to native wildlife. The 0.7-mile trail has an observation blind so you can see trumpeter swans, chorus frogs, star-nosed moles and bald eagles. “It’s not as refined as some of the trails. You’re walking through the wetland area and a successional habitat,” she says. “It’s filled with small shrubs and trees, and it serves as a great habitat for birds and butterflies.”
Can’t Miss Sights
Add these picture-worthy destinations to your summer bucket list.
Brandywine Falls
After it rains, Munroe Falls photographer Rob Blair likes to visit the 60-foot cascading Brandywine Falls. “It’s pretty spectacular because it rages,” he says. “That’s our mini Niagara Falls.” Use Gorge Loop trail accessible via Stanford Trail
Station Road
The view of the Cuyahoga River from the Pinery Narrows area north of the Station Road Bridge trailhead is majestic. Canton birder Scott Watkins makes visiting this section of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park special by looking for nesting eagles along the river and screech owls perched in soaring sycamore trees. “Getting to see an owl sunning itself is a beautiful thing,” he says. Go on a sunny summer afternoon and bring a pair of binoculars to catch a glimpse of the birds. Observe from the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail, Pinery Narrows or Beaver Marsh areas
Worden’s Ledges
photo provided by Cleveland Metroparks, Kyle Lanzer
Hinckley Lake Sunset
Towering 350 feet above Hinckley Lake, the sandstone Whipp’s Ledges get all the acclaim at Hinckley Reservation, but the park is also home to the equally awe-inspiring Worden’s Ledges. “There’s some more ledges that there is a bunch of faces carved into,” says runner Joshua Kinches. “It’s kind of cool.” Though covered in moss, you can still make out the carvings Noble Stuart, the son-in-law of the land’s owner, completed in the 1940s. On the 0.7-mile loop trail, spot a sphinx, George Washington, a schooner and a Bible and cross honoring his church-going wife. Park at Worden’s Trailhead
