Tour de Parks: Lock 39 – Ohio & Erie Canal (Part 1)

I planned something else for this week’s Tour de Parks but I went to the G.R.I.N. membership meeting on Saturday in Independence, Ohio and Lock 39 was close, so I changed plans and I’m glad I did.

The Ohio & Erie Canal (link to Wikipeida article about the canal – including a picture from Lock 39) stretches from Cleveland, Oh to New Philadelphia, Oh.

I walked a 1/2-mile stretch of the towpath trail from the Lock 39 Trailhead to Stoney Road and back to the Trailhead. It was a trip back to another era where mules pulled packet boats (60 – 80 feet long and over 14 feet wide) along the canal, but reminders of the modern world were all around. So join me on a trip down the towpath.

C’mon, let’s step through the entrance and journey back in time.

lock 39 entrance — How a picture of the entrance to Lock 39 Trailhead – Ohio & Erie Canal might have looked in its golden days.

Lock39_blog1 — The entrance in full, living color.

First Stop

Our first stop is the information booth on your right.

Basic Facts:

Opened in 1827 connecting Cleveland to Akron

Completed in 1832 and connected Cleveland to Portsmouth, OH (308 miles) which linked the Ohio River to Lake Erie.

Now that you’ve read a brief history of the canal, it is time to set off on our journey. One foot in front of the other as we head south on the canal’s towpath trail. Don’t worry, I am not going to make you walk the 1 3/4 miles to the Canal Exploration Center – at least not today. 😉