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Canal Visitor Center Closure
Canal Visitor Center will be closed for construction, starting Monday, May 6, 2013. It will reopen with new exhibits in early 2014.
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Riverview Road Closure
Riverview Rd from the Cuyahoga Falls line north to the Peninsula line will be re-paved, beginning the week of April 22. Expect delays. Flaggers will direct traffic. Work is expected to be completed by Memorial Day weekend.
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Towpath Trail Closure
NPS has closed the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail from Hillside Road to Stone Road in Valley View. A section of the trail is not passable due to hazardous conditions caused by erosion. Towpath is expected to be open by Memorial Day, May 27.
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Bald Eagle Closure in Effect
RR tracks, and 30 foot right of way on either side, are closed to all foot traffic from the Rt. 82 Bridge at Station Rd, north to the RR tracks at. The Cuyahoga R. downstream of the Brecksville Dam to the Fitzwater Rd Bridge is closed to water activities.
Reptiles
Northern water snake slides easily on a wet log. ©JIM SCHMIDT Observant visitors exploring the Beaver Marsh or other wetlands along the Cuyahoga River are sometimes rewarded with the sight of a northern water snake sunning itself on a half-submerged log or a common snapping turtle peering through the duckweed covering its head like a veil. Twenty species of reptiles are found in CVNP including 11 snakes, 8 turtles, and 1 skink. All species are native with the exception of the red-eared slider, a non-native turtle species. No poisonous snakes have been found in the park, although two species—northern copperheads and Massasauga rattlesnakes (an endangered species in Ohio)—have been identified in nearby counties. The stocky, dark-colored Northern water snake is sometimes mistakenly identified as a water moccasin, a poisonous snake not found in the state. 
The painted turtle's shell is used to protect it from its predators. ©JIM SCHMIDT The spotted turtle, a state listed threatened species, was observed in the park in 2008. Two other species of turtles—the eastern box turtle, and Blanding’s turtle—have been designated species of special interest in Ohio. These species, like all species of animals and plants within CVNP, are protected. |
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Did You Know?
November is the time to be on the lookout for bald eagles performing aerial courtship displays. Once eagles have selected each other, they plunge through the air in very high dives, locking their talons and breaking apart just when it looks as though they will crash to the ground.