Nationally designated by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, an America’s Byway  provides a route connecting key cultural, historic, recreational and natural sites of interest within an area by way of two-lane roads.

The Ohio & Erie Canalway America’s Byway travels alongside the historic path of the Ohio & Erie Canal, the nation's first inland waterway link between New York and New Orleans. Along the way, the Byway preserves and follows not only the path of the canal itself, but chronicles the evolution of transportation systems and many of the industries which developed in conjunction with these systems.

How it Works

The America’s Byway is not a single road, but a carefully mapped 110-mile route through four counties and 58 communities in the National Heritage Area. More than 600 blue and orange signs provide an off-freeway driving route guiding travelers through the Canalway. It runs from our northern anchor in Cleveland’s Flats to the National Heritage Area’s southernmost point at Schoenbrunn Village in New Philadelphia.

Wherever possible, the Byway follows the path of the old Ohio & Erie Canal from Dover to Cleveland, which is why you’ll often find it traveling next to the Towpath Trail as well as a later form of transportation — the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.

As it works its way south from Cleveland, the Byway passes through a number of towns with canal-era roots: Boston Mills (1811); Jaite (1905); Kendal (1812); Peninsula (1834); Akron (1825); Barberton (1891); Clinton (1816); Canal Fulton (1826); Massillon (1826); Navarre (1834); Bolivar; Zoar (1817); Dover; and New Philadelphia (1804).

Driving the length of the Byway shows the diversity of our region, from a northern frame where an industrial landscape dominates with a complex matrix of bridges, smokestacks and factories to a southern scene of greenery consisting of farm fields, nature preserves and river corridors.

• In Cleveland, the industrial heritage is apparent. You’ll uncover the story of Ohio’s industrial legacy as you pass factories, warehouses and travel past a working steel mill (ArcelorMittal, ranked in 2007 as the most productive steel mill in the world).

• Along the Byway’s midsection, you’ll see evidence of the golden days of the Canal era including Akron, whose roots can be directly traced to the Ohio & Erie Canalway.

• In Stark County, you’ll find preserved canal-era structures, including a working replica of a canal boat in picturesque Canal Fulton.

• To the south, you’ll find traces of the pre-canal era as you travel through the rural communities of Tuscarawas County.

The Ohio & Erie Canalway America’s Byway is officially designated as both an Ohio State Scenic Byway (1996) and an America's Byway (2000).