Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation

We had a Trail Ambassador meetup this morning at the Canalway Center.  The naturalist who led us on our hike was very informative.  This park is in the heart of an old industrial area but is surprisingly lush.

The Ohio and Erie Canal was built in the early 1800s to connect Lake Erie in the north to the Ohio River in southern Ohio.  It was used to transport goods and people by boat until railroads made it obsolete. The towpath trail follows the historic route, and is currently 90 miles.  It will be 101 miles when complete.  It runs through Cleveland Metroparks, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and several counties.


The thistles in the extra were beautiful surprises along one of the paths.  The way to differentiate poison hemlock from cow parsley and cow parsnip is by looking for the purplish dots/streaks on the stem.  Last week in Wisconsin, we saw cow parsnip with yellow flowers.  Signs were prominently posted to warn about their toxicity.