Byway Driving

The nationally designated route is not a single road - but a carefully mapped route taking you to key cultural, historic, natural and recreational destinations. Blue and orange signs bearing the “Ohio & Erie Canalway America’s Byway” name guide you on this driving journey.

America‘s Byway Fast Facts - Cuyahoga County

     North: Three routes loop through city of Cleveland. They interconnect and circle back south.
     Starting Points: Canal Road - N of Granger - West, Central and East Routes begin
     South: Canal Road - S of Granger - One continuous route to New Philadelphia 

Changing Viewsheds

The National Park transitions seamlessly to Cleveland Metroparks as Canal Road passes Rockside Road. Upon leaving the National Park, heading north on Canal, you’ll experience a sharp contrast in the landscape. Although the historic canal and Towpath are still very evident, the landscape reflects the heritage of a working valley. Overhead train trestles, interstate pipelines, fields of oil tanks, and more tell the story of industrial might created by the marriage of Great Lakes iron ore & Appalachian coal - brought together by the transportation links first created by the Ohio & Erie Canal.

As you continue north on Canal Road towards Cleveland, you’ll have three routes to explore.

Travel the Central route through the heart of a working steel mill - the ArcelorMittal Steel Mill, ranked in 2007 as the most productive steel mill in the world. On this route, you’ll also pass through the Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation, a 300-acre Cleveland Metropark, that houses Leonard Krieger Canalway Center, dedicated to telling the Cuyahoga Valley’s story.

Further north, there’s a trail connection to nearby Washington Park Reservation, and its par three golf learning center. You’ll then enter the Cuyahoga Valley’s industrial section, occupied by the massive steel mill infrastructure & remnants of the historic Rockefeller Standard Oil Refineries.

You’ll also pass the site of Cleveland’s infamous 1969 Cuyahoga River Fire, which sparked a national environmental movement that created not only the Clean Water Act but also the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The Eastern Route leaves the Cuyahoga Valley and follows a Cleveland “Main Street” – taking Broadway Avenue heading north through downtown. It passes by Cleveland’s only waterfall, Mill Creek Falls, which provided water power for Cleveland’s early milling operations. This branch also brings travelers through the area of downtown Cleveland that existed during the canal era: Public Square and the Warehouse District, Cleveland’s 19th century central business district. 

• Lights, Camera, Playhouse Square! Just east of the Public Square leg, turn east on Euclid Avenue and at E. 14th you’ll be in front of Playhouse Square - the “world’s largest theater restoration.” It’s also the country’s largest performing arts center outside New York City - drawing one million attendees annually. Free Saturday morning tours provide an inside look at the theaters. Remaining 2011 dates: July 9, Aug. 6, Sept. 10, Oct. 1, Nov. 5. http://www.playhousesquare.org
  

The Western Route leaves the Cuyahoga Valley to follow the beach ridge Schaaf Road as well as Broadview, Pearl, and West 25th Street. You’ll pass through an historic greenhouse district, the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo & Rainforest, the historic West Side Market and four National Register Historic Districts: Brooklyn Centre, South Brooklyn, Ohio City, and Tremont.

The Central, East and Western branches converge in Cleveland's Flats at the location where the Ohio & Erie Canal entered the Cuyahoga River. In this location, our Management Plan calls for a new gateway park, Canal Basin Park, to serve as the northern anchor for both the America’s Byway and the Ohio & Erie Canalway National Heritage Area. 

How to get there

Map Your Trip! - Use the map to find the route the America’s Byway takes through this section of the Canalway. The roads above can act as potential starting points.

Canal Basin Park site: You can exit I-90 at US 422 (exit 171B) in Cleveland. Proceed west on US 422, turn left onto W. Eagle Avenue and travel west to Carter Road. Turn right onto Carter Road, where the northern end of the historic canal begins. 

How to follow the routes

• Byway Signs - are posted along both directions of each route - to guide you north and south - and in this area - East, Central and West!
• Follow the signs - Keep an eye out & simply follow any left, right directionals
• The three routes loop and interconnect with one another - ultimately leading you back south again. There is no Northern Terminus to the Byway.
• Haven’t seen a sign in awhile? That’s OK - signs appear occasionally on straightaway sections of the route - but primarily occur prior to intersections where a turn is needed.  

More On the America’s Byway

To learn more - we invite you to read the Ohio & Erie Canalway America’s Byway Management Plan Update - a 77-page comprehensive Byway guide.