Cleveland surprised me with its impressive zoo and beautiful views along Lake Erie. As a bonus, Cuyahoga Valley National Park is a stone’s throw away from the city and it’s free!
Saturday, May 27 – Sunday, May 28, 2017
Cleveland, Ohio Area Highlights:
- Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
- Cleveland Indian’s Game
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame sign and Cleveland sign
- Lake Erie Sunset
- Cuyahoga Valley National Park – Brandywine Falls, the Ledges Overlook
Cleveland, located on Lake Erie, was not a city I had high hopes for. We woke up early on Saturday morning and drove 5.5 hours from Silver Spring, Maryland to the Cleveland Zoo. My in-laws, who live less than three hours away, made the trek to meet us and explore the city too. We planned the zoo first because animals are generally more active earlier in the day and because there was an early evening baseball game we wanted to catch.
From the moment you walk through the entrance, the zoo is impressive. The zoo has an expansive elephant exhibit with a fairly decent sized herd off to the left. 
Make sure to wear your walking shoes, because the zoo is a bit spread out, yet relatively easy to traverse and see everything without really having to retrace your steps. Also, there’s an indoor wildlife area where you actually leave the entrance to the zoo as if you’re heading to the parking lot and enter the botanical gardens which you don’t want to miss. Some of the highlights included the:
- Elephants
- Sloth
- Anteater
- Kangaroos
[Word of advice: For the Cleveland Zoo, check the prices on your smart phone as I found a discount on their website for purchasing e-tickets as I was approaching the gate instead of buying directly from a gate agent.]
After the zoo, we were ready to see the baseball game at Progressive Field. We drove slightly past the baseball park and found parking about a mile away that was FREE. We 
didn’t want to spend $15 or $20 on parking for a few hours. Once you arrive to the park, there are kiosks as well as the normal will call area where you can buy tickets from a salesperson if you don’t find a good deal for tickets ahead of time. 
As with any baseball park, make sure to spend time walking around to check out the statues, different views of the city and other nuances. The night we went the Frank Robinson statue was unveiled as part of Heritage Park. It’s also fun if you can spot or get a picture with Slider, the pink bird looking mascot for the Cleveland Indians.
After the game, grab your car and drive toward the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum on E. 9th Street. Try to find free street parking so you can check out the “Long Live Rock” sign before catching the sunset on Lake Erie. Make sure to check out the skyline reflecting off the water by the white Cleveland sign. Don’t be surprised to see a line of people waiting to have their picture taken on or next to the sign. Relax, take in the sunset before calling it a night or heading to explore the nightlife.
We woke up after sleeping in an inexpensive hotel ready to explore the great outdoors of Cuyahoga Valley National Park. If you’re looking for an inexpensive hotel, feel free to use my Booking.com link for a $20 discount. This site and Trivago are my two favorites for finding good hotel deals.
Can you believe it – Ohio has a National Park and the best part is, it’s free! We stopped in the Visitor’s Center and got a few maps and advice from the rangers then headed straight for Brandywine Falls parking lot. 
We did this because it’s a small parking lot that tends to fill up fast. It’s definitely worth walking along the boardwalk and stairs to get relatively close to the waterfalls to take some pictures. There are also lots of nice trails (paved and unpaved) to walk along. If you’re on the unpaved paths, make sure to bring your hiking boots in case it’s muddy. I love my Columbia hiking boots* because they’re waterproof and comfortable. If you don’t have Amazon Prime*, you can use my referral link to try it out. The best benefit is free 2-day shipping!
If you’re on the paved path around the waterfall, watch out for bikers so you don’t get knocked over. There are lots of carriage trails throughout the park if you’re interested in going for a bike ride and there isn’t impending rain. I think we will do this next time we visit as we loved our experience biking through Acadia National Park in Maine.
Before heading home for the day, we drove to the Ledges Overlook and man, was it worth it! Parking will be a cinch, but we found it to be a little challenging to find the path. However, after you find it, everything is marked and easy to follow. This area has 
beautiful big rocks and like the woman at the Visitor Center told me, has a feel like something out of Jurassic Park. Take a big loop around after jumping from big rock to big rock at the overlook. Take some goofy pictures peeking out from behind the rocks or like you’re falling off the rocks. Well, there you have it, our weekend in Cleveland and Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Is there anything that we missed and should include on our next trip there? How about any recommendations for nearby cities like Akron?
Treat Yourself to Travel 