Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Cuyahoga Valley National Park is an American national park that preserves and reclaims the rural landscape along the Cuyahoga River between Akron and Cleveland in Northeast Ohio.
| Cuyahoga Valley National Park | |
|---|---|
IUCN category II (national park) | |
Bedrock outcrops, such as this one, can be found throughout the park | |
Location in Ohio Location in the United States | |
| Location | Summit County & Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States |
| Nearest city | Cleveland, Akron |
| Coordinates | 41°14′30″N 81°32′59″W |
| Area | 32,783 acres (51.2 sq mi; 132.7 km2) |
| Established | October 11, 2000 |
| Visitors | 2,913,312 (in 2022) |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
| Website | Cuyahoga Valley National Park |
The 32,783-acre (51.2 sq mi; 132.7 km2) park is administered by the National Park Service, but within its boundaries are areas independently managed as county parks or as public or private businesses. Cuyahoga Valley was originally designated as a National Recreation Area in 1974, then redesignated as a national park 26 years later in 2000, and remains the only national park that originated as a national recreation area.
Cuyahoga Valley is the only national park in the state of Ohio and one of three in the Great Lakes Basin, with Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior and Indiana Dunes National Park bordering Lake Michigan. Cuyahoga Valley also differs from the other national parks in America in that it is adjacent to two large urban areas and it includes a dense road network, small towns, four reservations of the Cleveland Metroparks, eleven parks of the Summit Metro Parks, and public and private attractions. It was the ninth-most visited American national park in 2022, attracting more than 2.9 million visitors and placing it ahead of Glacier National Park.