Physical / Mobility

A visitor rides a wheelchair along the Towpath Trail north of Ira Trailhead.

© Arrye Rosser

If You Have Mobility Needs

• All visitor centers are accessible. Our park map shows exact locations and specific features.
• Many of the park's most popular attractions are fully accessible: the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail (including the Beaver Marsh near Ira Trailhead), Canal Exploration Center, the Everett Covered Bridge, Brandywine Falls (upper boardwalk), and the heronry along Bath Road.
• Begin your adventure at Boston Mill Visitor Center. Pick up our seasonal Valley Guide and check the park's calendar of events. Ranger-led program descriptions include trail surface, presence of stairs and hills, distance, and pace.
• Ask a ranger at Boston Mill Visitor Center about borrowing hiking poles to use while hiking in the park. First come, first served.
• We have loaner wheelchairs available at Boston Mill Visitor Center and Canal Exploration Center. The phone number to call is posted in the accessible parking spaces. Call and someone will come out with the wheelchair. First come, first served.
• The Towpath Trail is bike and wheelchair friendly, we have a list of short towpath trail walks available on our website and app.
• The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad has a car with a wheelchair lift and handicap-accessible restroom. Select the "ADA Coach Car" when buying tickets. If you have train questions, call 330-439-5708.
• Our Restrooms and Drinking Water page has detailed information and photo galleries designed to help wheelchair users and others know what to expect at each location.
• All children can earn a badge using the park's Junior Ranger Handbook or Junior Ranger, Jr. Activity Cards.
• Horseshoe Pond has an accessible fishing pier close to the parking lot.
• The picnic shelters at Octagon and Ledges are accessible rental facilities. Book them at recreation.gov. For a list of picnic areas with accessible tables, visit our picnicking page.
• The national park and its partners offer self-guided Canalway Quests. Rhyming clues tell a place's special story. Quests list mobility considerations;several are wheelchair accessible.
• Stanford House offers an accessible room for overnight lodging.

 

Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park / Elizabeth Tipton

Wheelchairs and Hiking Poles

We have loaner wheelchairs available at Boston Mill Visitor Center and Canal Exploration Center. The phone number to call is posted in the accessible parking spaces. Call and someone will come out with the wheelchair. First come, first served.

Boston Mill Visitor Center also has hiking poles that you can borrow to explore the park. First come, first served.

The Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park has an all-terrain wheelchair that you can reserve for 2-4 hour time blocks. It is a self-propelled chair that uses mountain bike components to roll through mud and over uneven terrain. The chair has rear handles so a friend or family member can assist if needed. The program is free. For details visit the Conservancy's website.

E-Bikes

The park allows the use of class 1 and 2 e-bikes where traditional bikes are allowed, for all people. E-bikes may be used in pedal mode only, no use of throttle. Only class 1 e-bikes are allowed on mountain bike trails.

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act however, persons with disabilities may use an "Other Power Driven Mobility Device" (OPMD) such as an e-bike.

• Persons with disabilities may use e-bikes rated at 1 horsepower or 750 watts (generally class 1 or 2), or similar OPMDs in areas open to pedestrian use wherever possible.
• People with disabilities using OPMD may do so without needing to obtain a permit or otherwise explain the nature of their disability.
• Cuyahoga Valley does have a 15 mph speed limit on all bicycle trails with a limit of 5 mph in blind curves and while crossing bridges and boardwalks.