Feb 7

Feb 7 5+ Trails Near Cleveland to Hike this Winter

You probably think of the summertime when talking about hiking, but imagine this… fewer bugs and people on the trails. That’s what you’ll get in addition to your favorite trails being transformed in the wintertime.

Wintertime in Cleveland is bipolar… it varies between mild to freezing daily. One minute it feels like spring the next it’s 10 degrees. Pretty sure we’ve experienced all four seasons in one day tbh. The moral of the story, check the weather before heading out and wear appropriate clothing and shoes.

I’ll be updating this post as I find more winter trails in the area, so be sure to save this post for later viewing!

Brandywine Falls Boardwalk | Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Plateau Trail

This is a great trail for bird watching and hiking through the woods. You’ll come across some gorgeous spots among the trees. It’s a mostly flat trail (though there are some hills) with some spots you’ll want to watch out for since it can get pretty muddy. I love this trail in the wintertime because there’s this one section of the trail where the pine trees line up perfectly and it looks amazing with a fresh layer of snow.

It also connects to the Oak Hill Trail which is a smaller loop in the middle of Plateau, if you wanted to take a shorter hike (or make the hike a bit longer).

Length: 4.9 miles, loop
Difficulty: Moderate. Moderately trafficked.

Richfield Heritage Preserve

The Richfield Heritage Preserve is one of Ohio’s Hidden Treasures. It’s filled with old historical buildings that the Girl Scouts had bought from an inventor, Jim Kirby. With a fresh layer of snow, this park is just beautiful.

There’s trails throughout the entire park, including the Buckeye Trail and a bridle trail, but I find it’s more fun to just wander around personally since the trails fork off so often.

Length: 3.7 miles (when combining to do an outer loop)
- View my route on AllTrails here
Difficulty: Moderate. Moderately trafficked.

>> Related: Northeast Ohio’s Park History <<

Blue Hen Falls Trail

Definitely the trail you’ll want to hike if you like waterfalls. The hike down from Blue Hen has recently become a longer hike due to some park changes (it used to be a super short hike). The waterfall isn’t impressive by any means when compared to Brandywine Falls, but it is beautiful in its own way. This waterfall is great all year round and is much less busy during the colder months

Length: 2.5 miles, out & back
Difficulty: Moderate. Heavily trafficked.

Ledges Trail

Located on the eastern side of the park, you’ll start at the parking lot and head down past the Ledges Shelter. From there you’ll see the trail markers. Obvious from the name, the Ledges Trail will take you through the massive ledges where you can admire them (don’t climb) and learn some history. It’s a pretty wooded area too. You’ll eventually come across the overlook for stunning views above the trees. It’s not a difficult trail but you will be going up and down steps or rocks on the trail so just watch your footing.

Length: 2.2 miles, loop
Difficulty: Moderate. Moderately trafficked.

>> Related: Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Hiking Guide <<

Brandywine Gorge Trail

This awesome trail will take you all around the Brandywine Gorge and eventually the waterfall. In some of the lower spots, you can find some smaller waterfalls in the creek and some great views of the gorge at the top of it. It’s amazing to see this large waterfall frozen in the wintertime, but my favorite part is the boardwalk leading to the falls when it’s covered in snow. Note: The lower viewing deck of Brandywine will be closed when there’s icy conditions.

You could also start at Stanford House and it’ll connect to this trail, it’ll just be a bit more difficult and longer, definitely worth checking out.