Hiking Hills in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Hiking hills in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park may be the perfect prescription for your mental and physical well being.

There is something about following a path in the woods that a pavement trail just can’t match. You look down at your pristine trainers and think it makes sense to stick to the pavement. But the woods are calling — the road less traveled. And, suddenly, it feels like an adventure instead of a health commitment.

Up, up, up, stepping over knotted tree roots. The path is narrow on the ridge separating the creek bed and the roadway. Birdsong.  Chipmunks startle and scurry.

Back to your childhood, when you lay in the grass watching the leaves dance and sparkle in the late afternoon sunshine. Mindfulness.

Honeysuckle bushes at fragrance to the hike.
Honeysuckle (Lonicera)

It isn’t just the views, but the fragrances that bring calm and evoke childhood memories. Honeysuckle, hawthorne, and wildflowers perfume the fresh cool air.

Spring beauties are small wildflowers but a close look reveals striking pink veins in the white petals.
Spring Beauties (Claytonia virginica)
Hawthorne is another common shrub that blooms with white flowers in spring.
Hawthorn (Crataegus)
Foam flowers are spiked and sprinkled with white puffs of flowers along the upright brackets.
Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia)

Hiking in the park also stimulates your auditory sense.

 

You reach the end of the path and listen as the creek water splashes over the rocks. Doves coo and robins sing.

Time to head back. One last glance up into the blue sky; not just blue, cerulean…

This large American dogwood tree grows wild in the park.
Dogwood (Cornus)

Hiking brings peace to mind and body.

 

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Author: A. JoAnn

Here is where I share the beauty I find in everyday life; and the humor, too!

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