Beaver Marsh is located in Cuyahoga Valley National Park near the Cuyahoga River. Years ago it used to be a junkyard with a small stream flowing through it. A local group cleaned up the junkyard in the mid ’80’s and then some beavers dammed the stream creating the marsh.
The marsh is on a bike / hike towpath through Cuyahoga Valley National Park that extends 110 miles from Cleveland to Akron and beyond. At the marsh, the gravel towpath changes to a boardwalk with small observation areas for viewing the marsh.
We visited on a warm sunny Saturday morning early May during the height of Spring migration. The marsh was bustling with both human and bird traffic. People were walking, bicycling, jogging by, or wielding binoculars or cameras with large lenses watching birds. Oblivious to the humans, the birds were going about their business, eating, fishing, or making nests.
We observed a mix of waterbirds, migrating birds, and an oriole building a nest near the marsh, as well as a number of turtles.
If you decide to go, the towpath is very popular with both hikers / joggers and cyclists. You even have the option of hiking / cycling one way and taking the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad train on the way back!
Additional information
- Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Itinerary for Half-day visit to Cuyahoga Valley National Park, including Beaver Marsh
- Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad
- Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Towpath Trail Map
- TrekOhio: Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Brandywine Falls
- TrekOhio: Bogged down by wetland terminology
- TrekOhio: Summit County Parks & Preserves
- TrekOhio: Cuyahoga County Parks & Preserves
Location
Address: 3801 Riverview Rd, Peninsula, OH 44264 (Parking – Ira Trailhead)
The above address is a parking area by one of the trail-heads for the towpath. The trail-head is located at the end of the parking lot by the kiosk and restrooms. Follow the short path to the towpath and turn left. You’ll pass an old lock from the Erie canal and after about a 1/4 mile you’ll reach the boardwalk for Beaver Marsh.
Below is a trace of this short walk to Beaver Marsh along the Towpath Trail.
More on Summit County
Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Brandywine and Blue Hen Falls
Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Scenic Railroad
Gorge Metro Park
Tinkers Creek State Nature Preserve
Nice to see you are exploring the area(CVNP) where I live . I commute 1 hr. to work but don’t want to move because the Metroparks and CVNP are my playgrounds. Have you ever been to Sandy Ridge ? North Ridgeville I think it is. I won’t babble on about it unless you are not familiar with it. It is a whole different experience.
Glad you liked the article, there’s more in the queue. We’ve not been to Sandy Ridge – looks like a great spot for birding.
Great shots! What lens do you use for your bird shots? Love the green heron… 🙂
Karen, thanks! I’m using this point-and-shoot camera for the bird photos: Canon PowerShot SX50 HS. It has 50x optical zoom, but the camera can go to 100x on a bright day without getting too pixelated. I’ve been so happy with mine, Bob just got one, too.