Nelson-Kennedy Ledges State Park: An Ohio Geological Wonderland
Nelson-Kennedy Ledges State Park is located in rural northeastern Ohio, about 45 minutes from Cleveland.
The park is said to have been important to the Delaware, Shawnee, Miami, Seneca, Mohawk, and Cayuga Native American Tribes. Nelson-Kennedy Ledges has been locally popular for decades and became an official Ohio State Park in 1949.
I was not sure what to expect. I had seen a few pictures online, but information about Nelson-Kennedy Ledges State Park is relatively limited. Most pictures showed awesome rock formations, but that was about it. We pulled in a cool fall morning on a long weekend to explore some Buckeye State sites. The parking lot was empty, which was not a surprise, given the sun was barely coming up.
“Ready to rock and roll?” I asked the wife. “Yeah, but let me snap a picture of the map here, ” she said. This would turn out to be a bit of a blessing. The park has around three miles of trails, but as we would discover, they are not always the best marked and can be slightly confusing.
Hiking Nelson-Kennedy Ledges State Park
We crossed the road and got on the trail at the northernmost access point. Immediately entering towering sandstone cliffs, the temperature dropped what felt like ten degrees. “I am so glad we have coats,” I said out loud. This place was fantastic from the get-go. We came to Cascade Falls and Gold Hunter’s Cave first. The waterfall was not raging, but it certainly was beautiful. Next, we walked past “Old Maid’s Kitchen” and ducked and crawled through “Dwarf’s Pass.”
A short distance later, we hopped on the Red Trail and worked through “Fat Man’s Peril” before approaching the appropriately named “The Squeeze.” We saw other areas, “Devil’s Hole, Devil’s Icebox, Shipwreck Rock, and The Narrows,” as we marched around. I’m not quite sure how far we hiked that morning. We looped around most of the trails more than once over for more than an hour. I was stunned by how beautiful this place was, but little did I know the best view had yet to happen.
Sunrise in the Park
After a while, we’d thought we’d seen everything at least once and were getting hungry. So we decided to head back to the car and make snacks. As we walked out, the sun had risen high enough to send rays of light peaking through the thick forest canopy above. We both were in awe of just how stunning this was. There are moments spent outside when you get lucky and experience something special. This was one of them of use. We sat down on a rock and let light warm our chilled faces. We simply enjoyed soaking in the sunshine and the moment.
If you are ever in northwestern Ohio, plan a trip to Nelson-Kennedy Ledges State Park; this little-known gem is truly a wonderful place to visit.
Where is Nelson-Kennedy Ledges State Park?
The park is less than an hour from Cleveland, or about 44 miles. It’s about the same distance from Akron and Youngstown, Ohio. Nelson-Kennedy Ledges is also an easy day trip from Pittsburgh; it’s only about an hour and a half.
How long does it take to visit Nelson-Kennedy Ledges?
We spent about two hours in the park in total. Most of that time was spent hiking and exploring, but we were not in a hurry and took plenty of breaks and photos. If you are limited on time, you could see most of everything in about an hour if you hike fast.
