Fall Hiking Spree

Brust Park north towards Kent and back

2.0 miles - Rating: 1 (Easy)
Download Trail Map
130 N. Main St., Munroe Falls 44262

Beginning at Brust Park, this paved roundtrip hike allows visitors to experience a particularly scenic section of the Cuyahoga River where a variety of wildlife can be observed, including great blue herons, Canada geese and several duck species.

Big Bend south to Little Cuyahoga and back

1.8 miles – Rating: 1 (Easy)
Download Trail Map
1337 Merriman Rd., Akron 44313

This trail will take hikers out and back along the Cuyahoga River to its confluence with the Little Cuyahoga. At the turnaround point, visitors will enjoy views of the future Valley View Area of Cascade Valley Metro Park, where grant funding is allowing park staff to restore the historic barn, 200 acres of land and 5,000 feet of the Cuyahoga.

Wilbeth Road north to Summit Lake and back

2.2 miles – Rating: 1 (Easy)
Download Trail Map
392 W. Wilbeth Rd., Akron 44301

Hikers will enjoy a roundtrip trek to Summit Lake, which feeds into the Cuyahoga River watershed and is a little-known member of the Portage Lakes. This trail will allow hikers to view construction work on the future Summit Lake Nature Center, a facility made possible through grant funding and which is expected to open to the public in 2020.

Chuckery Trail

2.4 miles – Rating: 3 (Strenuous)
Download Trail Map
837 Cuyahoga St., Akron 44313

This hike begins and ends at the Signal Tree, one of Akron’s most well-known landmarks. The trail travels alongside the river before making a steep climb and stairstep descent back to the river’s shores. Once there, visitors can sit on a bench to take in the view.

Overlook Trail

0.5 miles – Rating: 1 (Easy)
Download Trail Map
354 Sackett Ave., Akron 44313

Everyone will enjoy this flat, paved hike to the best view in town of the Cuyahoga River. The Overlook Deck is a half-mile roundtrip walk from the parking lot and offers a spectacular panoramic vista of an oxbow located 125 feet below.

Quarry Trail

1.4 miles – Rating: 2 (Moderate)
Download Trail Map
5779 Riverview Rd., Peninsula 44264

This trail provides glimpses of the Cuyahoga River, Towpath Trail and Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, as well as a former stone quarry once owned by a founder of Quaker Oats. Named for what was once the deepest lock on the Ohio & Erie Canal, the park is a noted Important Bird Area (IBA) offering excellent wildlife viewing opportunities.

Willow Trail

1.6 miles – Rating: 1 (Easy)
Download Trail Map
2620 Harrington Rd., Akron 44319

This trail loops past Little Turtle Pond, wetlands, the Tuscarawas River and the Tuscarawas Race.

Old Mill Trail

1.4 miles – Rating: 1 (Easy)
Download Trail Map
4955 Townsend Rd., Richfield 44286

This trail travels near Furnace Run, one of the Cuyahoga's healthiest tributaries. Visitors will also enjoy hiking through beech-maple woods and viewing a marker describing the 1929 donation of the surrounding land to the park district.

Alder Trail

1.4 miles - Rating: 1 (Easy)
Download Trail Map
550 Frazier Ave., Akron 44305

Hikers will enjoy walking through the woods to Alder Pond, where a newly renovated and accessible boardwalk travels through a cattail marsh.

Glens Trail

1.8 miles – Rating: 2 (Moderate)
Download Trail Map
1160 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls 44223

This moderately challenging hike features dramatic views of the Cuyahoga River and the gorge that gives this park its name. Located nearby is the Gorge Dam, one of the last remaining significant water quality impediments on the river today. Summit Metro Parks is working with a large group of partners to leverage federal funding to remove the dam.

Black Bear Trail

2.1 Miles - Rating: 2 (Moderate)
Download Trail Map
9999 Liberty Rd., Twinsburg 44087

Earn spree credit on the park district's newest trail! Along the trail's west rim, hikers can view evidence of several large uprooted trees that have left large depressions in the ground and huge root systems on display. Three freshwater springs are also visible in this section of the trail. The east rim of Black Bear Trail skirts Liberty Park's famous ledges, where picturesque sandstone is covered in a living skin of moss, ferns and lichens.

Deer Run Trail

1.8 miles – Rating: 3 (Strenuous)
Download Trail Map
2550 Martin Rd., Bath 44333

This challenging trail follows a path worn by white-tailed deer and provides scenic views of the Cuyahoga River Valley. It travels along Yellow Creek, one of the Cuyahoga River's healthiest tributaries.

Chippewa Trail

2.0 miles – Rating: 1 (Easy)
Download Trail Map
5000 Hametown Rd., Norton 44203

Hike Chippewa Trail to see mature trees grown from thousands of seedlings planted decades ago by Girl Scout troops.

Any Metro Parks Trail

Hike any Summit Metro Parks trail to earn spree credit. Only one Hiker's Choice trail hike will count.