If you include the Summit and the Cleveland MetroPark trails that connect to the Cuyahoga Valley, the national park has 174 miles of trails. That could increase by 50 miles if one alternative is adopted.

At the other end is an option that calls for no changes.

Up till now, the park has been working off a plan written in 1985. Judging by visitors, that seems to have worked pretty well. The 33-thousand-acre park routinely ranks as one of the top ten most visited national parks in the country.   Just this week, USA Today ranked it number 7.

 But Superintendent Stan Austin the park’s been getting some pressure over the years to make changes.

"A lot of it’s from public demand and requests and  thoughts.  Now as a new Superintendent  there’s a lot of things I’d like to see in the vision. And that would be multiple uses in the park whether it’s visitors’ centers or services.   We get questions all the time about camping and mountain biking.  Now we’re putting it before the public to help us make that determination.”

Mountain bike trails, water access

Park planners have come up with ten possible launch sites where canoers and kayakers could access the Cuyahoga River.  On most days, the river water is not yet clean enough, but officials say they are thinking ahead.

They’ve also identified six possible campsites, three along the Towpath trail and three along the Buckeye Trail.  Right now the park has just one campsite.

And one plan calls for mountain bike trails – mostly narrow single track lanes, says trail planner Lynn Garrity.

"In the preferred alternative [option 5] it’;s looking at a loop system.  We haven’t really determined the one-way or two-way [traffic].  It would probably be set up as a one way system. That’s one of the logistics that needs to get laid out.

The mountain bike trails would likely connect to the bike-and-hike trail along the eastern rim of the park and be just north of Route 303.

Of the eight options, park officials highlight Number 5 as their preferred alternative.  It would add 37 miles of trails -- 10 miles for mountain bikes -- and more than 30 miles of bike lanes on public roads.   It also would include three public water launches.

The tricky balance for planners is to meet the demand for recreation and the demand for quiet, natural areas.   Deputy Superintendent Paul Stoehr says that’s the challenge of wise stewardship.

"That’s a continual challenge.  It’s important to identify this as something other than a public vote.   We – being the National Park Service-  retain the responsibility for managing these lands in a responsible way based on the policies and the mission of the National Park Service.”

 The public can’t vote but can make it opinions known.   The National Park will hold three public hearings in late July and is accepting written comments on its website.


Public Meetings

Tuesday, July 24, Cleveland Metroparks, Canalway Center, 4524 E. 49th Street, Cleveland 44125 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday, July 25, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Happy Days Lodge, 500 W. Streetsboro Road, Peninsula 44264 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, July 26, Akron Main Library, 60, S. High Street, Akron 44326 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.