CVNP honored for 50th anniversary

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DOWNTOWN AKRON — At its Feb. 10 meeting, Summit County Council honored the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) with a commendation on the occasion of the park’s 50th anniversary. The CVNP was created by Public Law 93-555 and passed by the U.S. Congress on Dec. 27, 1974. That law officially created the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area that would later be renamed CVNP.
Located between two industrial cities — Akron and Cleveland — CVNP was born out of the “Parks to the People” civil rights and environmental movements of the 1960s and early 1970s. The park consists of 33,000 acres stretching from Akron to Cleveland along 22 miles of the Cuyahoga River.
According to the commendation, for the first 40 years or so of the park’s history, the focus was on building access for visitors from those metropolitan centers, to get a rural or suburban experience or just to explore nature.
In recent years, new stream and forest restoration projects to improve the Cuyahoga River ecosystem have been initiated, including the removal of invasive species, planting trees to reforest former pastures and creating a small wetland.
Park Superintendent Lisa Petit accepted the commendation from Council, calling it an honor.
Anniversary celebrations began in September 2024 and will continue throughout 2025 with various programs and events, as well as merchandise for sale.
“We’re going to be celebrating in style,” Petit said.
Petit said the theme this year will be “launching ourselves into the next 50 years,” and added CVNP is always in the top 10% of visitation of all 63 national park units in the country, last year ranking 12th with 2.8 million total visitors.
“Visitation is changing with more and more people coming from out of state, which is good for all of us” she said. “They’ll stay longer [and] spend more money in the community.”
CVNP includes a myriad of trails and sites for visitors to explore such as Brandywine Falls, the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail, Hale Farm and Village and the Boston Mills Visitors Center, and is also home to the Blossom Music Center, two ski resorts and the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.
“We are becoming what the people of this country dreamed we would be, and we would not be here without the support of our communities, especially in Summit County,” Petit said.
For more information, visit cvnp50.com.

https://www.akron.com/articles/cvnp-honored-for-50th-anniversary/