The Salt Run Path delivers a woodsy, barely rugged hike that feels tucked away from the busier components of Cuyahoga Valley Nationwide Park. This 3.5-mile loop winds by means of a mixture of hardwood and exquisite pine forest, and sloping terrain, with loads of uncovered tree roots to maintain you in your toes. It’s a favourite amongst path runners and hikers in search of a little bit of a exercise with out venturing too far off the overwhelmed path. Quiet and shaded, the path affords an actual sense of solitude, particularly within the early morning or late afternoon mild.
Do not miss taking it sluggish by means of Pine Hole
Mountaineering the Salt Run Path
I arrive on the Pine Hole Trailhead round 6 PM on a moist late-June night, able to hike Salt Run for the primary time in years. The spacious lot is surprisingly quiet—simply two different automobiles—and with a pair picnicking close to the trailhead, it seems like I’ll have the path to myself. Wanting to avoid wasting probably the most scenic stretch for final, I decide to hike the loop clockwise. I cross the broad, grassy hill above Kendall Lake—standard for sledding in winter—and step into the forest.
The path instantly drops, lined with pine needles and tangled tree roots, whereas tall pines tower on all sides.
After crossing a small picket footbridge, the path climbs sharply earlier than leveling out right into a grove of combined hardwoods. Quickly, it begins to wind by means of a sequence of light hills, passing above shaded ravines and descending one picket staircase after one other, weaving deeper into the woods.
At about 1.1 miles in, the path passes White Oak Spring—a tiny seep on the base of a large white oak. It’s by no means held a lot fascination for me, so I maintain transferring.
The night mild filters by means of the bushes as birdsong fills the forest. The latest rains have left the bottom delicate and the mosquitoes relentless. After I descend once more, skunk cabbage seems in massive patches each few hundred ft.
Round mile 2.3, one other staircase results in a picket footbridge crossing Salt Run, the stream that provides the path its identify.
From right here begins the stretch I keep in mind finest—one of the vital stunning within the park—and it doesn’t disappoint. Fern-filled woods, pine-scented air, and a trio of footbridges lead me onward.
The scent of pine grows stronger as I attain an extended, winding staircase. It climbs briefly, then the path dips once more into probably the most gorgeous part of the hike.
Right here, the forest is thick with towering pines and a delicate, springy ground of needles. The path winds and curves in close to silence. The pine scent is sort of intoxicating. To me, this is without doubt one of the most stunning locations in all of Cuyahoga Valley Nationwide Park.
I sluggish my tempo to savor it. “Anybody who visits Cuyahoga Valley Nationwide Park and misses Pine Hole,” I believe, “is actually lacking out.”
Ultimately, one other staircase marks the ultimate descent, then comes a large break within the bushes, and one final uphill stretch—almost as scenic as what got here earlier than—once more surrounded by hovering pines.
The path leads me out of the woods and again alongside the slim path to the trailhead, finishing the loop.
It’s been years since I final hiked Salt Run, nevertheless it gained’t be that lengthy once more. It’s too good to not come again to. With daylight fading, I head over to the close by Kendall Lake Loop to catch the sundown and take a quiet stroll across the water.
