Weird, Wonderful Stuff on the Trail
Cleveland-area hikes offer some surprising scenes
At presentations on hiking and sightseeing in Ohio, I especially love fielding questions from people who want to do more hiking in NE Ohio, but they’re looking for something very specific to get them out on the trail.
To that end, I always ask, Where Do You Like to Hike? What Do You Want to See?
Recently, I got an answer that surprised me:
“I like weird things on trails. Where should I go?”
Of course I had a few ideas!1
The first three places I thought of were Worden’s Ledges, CanalWay Center, and Cleveland Nature Preserve. I say “the first three” because I keep thinking of more…
Anyway, before I go on, I want to be clear that I mean “weird” as in interesting, cool, unusual. Good weird.
If that’s the kind of weird that can entice you to explore a bit more of NE Ohio, well, this one’s for you.
Worden’s Ledges: Weird in a Lovely Way
Hiram and Melissa Worden settled in Hinckley in the mid-1800s, where they raised their four children. When the Wordens died, their eldest child, Nettie, inherited the estate. According to a 2017 article in Cleveland.com, “She married a sixty-three year old Nobel Stuart when she was eighty, against the wishes of her friends and family.”
Ah, gotta love those dear, opinionated folks in our lives.
Nettie’s relatives were probably even more peeved when she died a year later, and left the property to Stuart, who was an amateur sculptor.
He really left a mark on the property, creating about a dozen carvings in the sandstone ledges behind the family’s home. There is a sphinx, a bust of Ty Cobb, a ship, Nettie’s first name carved in a lovely cursive, and several other works visible along the short loop trail.
You can find the parking area and trailhead for the Cleveland Metropark at 908 County Hwy 135 in Medina. Enjoy!
CanalWay Center: Are Petroleum Tanks Pretty?
At Cleveland Metropark’s CanalWay Center, you’ll find a number of odd things inside and outside of the nature center. Odd with a positive connotation, of course.
I happen to like toy boats I can climb into, larger-than-life-sized bugs and birds, and industrial items that could be mistaken for modern art. All of which you’ll find inside, or just outside, CanalWay Center.
A little further outside of the nature center, you can marvel at petroleum tanks. Real ones are visible just off the Towpath Trail, and an interpretive area on the trail invites you to imagine that you’re walking around or through one: a circle the circumference of a petroleum storage tank is built into the trail.
Cleveland Nature Preserve isn’t Entirely Natural…
According to ODNR, the 88 acres known as the Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve “began life in 1979 as a confined disposal facility to contain sediment excavated from Cleveland Harbor.”
Translation: The land currently a favorite of birders wasn’t really “land” until after we dredged and dragged and dumped (not a scientific term) detritus from a nearby landfill to creating a strange but natural-looking little peninsula jutting out into Lake Erie.
Since its transformation, almost 300 species of birds have been recorded at the site. Not bad for a former dumping ground! For a look into the preserve’s rather trashy past, read this.
But Wait, There’s More
Have you been to Viaduct Park in Bedford? It’s situated in the middle of a small industrial park, which is only a tiny bit weird. But wait, there’s more!
Agile visitors can walk through the short mill race at the park - more interesting than truly weird - and learn how it functioned when the Great Falls of Tinkers Creek powered industry in the booming town. There are a few other surprises at this small outpost of the Bedford Reservation - and they’re all good!
Plenty of other surprising scenes can be seen on trails all over NE Ohio, but this post is getting long and we both need to get outside, right? Thanks for reading this far!
Cleveland Can’t Claim the “Weird Stuff” Title
Happy exploring! ~ Diane
It’s times like those when I think, gee, maybe I am an expert on hiking in NE Ohio 🥾 😎
I love this! Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge. I'd love to round up the family and go on one of these hikes this weekend. Perfect fall weather--and "weird" stuff is glorious stuff!