Climbing to Twin Sisters Falls in Cuyahoga Valley Nationwide Park feels a bit like discovering a hidden nook of the park that almost all guests by no means see. For a lot of the 12 months, the falls not often stream in any respect, solely coming to life after sustained rainfall, which might make them underwhelming in hotter seasons. Winter, nonetheless, is when Twin Sisters actually shines. As temperatures drop, the slender ravine transforms right into a frozen hall of ice, with the dual cascades locking into place and making a hanging scene. The path to the falls just isn’t an official or marked path, nevertheless it’s pretty straightforward to succeed in, including simply sufficient sense of journey with out feeling overly dangerous. When frozen strong, Twin Sisters Falls turns into one of the rewarding—and quietly stunning—winter hikes in Cuyahoga Valley.
Water sources water spigot at Brecksville Station
Do not miss mountain climbing after a number of days of under freezing temperatures
Climbing to Twin Sister Falls
With the temperature effectively under zero, Heather and I pull into the Station Street Bridge Trailhead in Cuyahoga Valley Nationwide Park, pull our hats low, tug on gloves, and get transferring. Simply north of the lot, Brecksville Station, one of many many stops alongside the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, sits frozen and empty. We go it, cross the Station Street Bridge over a Cuyahoga River that hasn’t fairly locked into ice simply but, and switch head north on the Towpath Path.
The bridge, a relic of the late nineteenth century, hyperlinks Cuyahoga County to Summit County on the Pinery Narrows—the narrowest part of the Cuyahoga River gorge in Cuyahoga Valley Nationwide Park. Right here, the river pinches tightly between steep, forested hillsides, carving a deep hall by the valley. The world takes its identify from the pine bushes that after clung to the excessive bedrock above the river, lending the Narrows its distinctive character.
About 0.4 miles into our hike, we attain a small footbridge over the Ohio & Erie Canal and a lone bench on the appropriate facet of the path. That is our cue to depart the Towpath.
Between the bench and footbridge, we push by a brief stretch of thorny pricker bushes, hop a slender, frozen stream, and decide up a barely-there path heading north. Having hiked to Twin Sisters Falls a number of instances in spring and summer season, I do know this brush may be depressing when it’s inexperienced and overgrown, however winter strips it down and makes the off-trail part much more manageable.
The slender path gently rises and falls alongside the east facet of the canal, demanding cautious foot placement—one misstep to the left might ship us sliding into the frozen canal. This part is notoriously difficult in hotter months, particularly after rain. Since Twin Sisters Falls solely flows after heavy, sustained rainfall, the muddy footing right here could make the strategy irritating when the bottom isn’t frozen strong or bone dry. In the present day, winter offers us a bonus.
At about 0.6 miles in, we attain the confluence of Gaulley Run—an intermittent stream—and the canal. Off to the appropriate, Mudcatcher Falls, a small man-made cascade, is frozen strong. Constructed within the nineteenth century, the “mudcatcher” was designed to lure soil and particles earlier than runoff might muddy the canal, serving to preserve water ranges steady and clear. In the present day, this often quiet spillway serves as an vital landmark—and the cue to show towards Twin Sisters Falls.
On the far facet of Gaulley Run, the route turns east and into the ravine. It begins large, with frozen stream crossings and a maze of downed bushes to climb over, duck beneath, and work round. In hotter seasons, particularly after rain, protecting your toes dry right here is sort of not possible. In winter, the ice works in our favor.
Snow-covered slopes and darkish inexperienced hemlocks carry life and distinction to an in any other case stark hardwood forest, making this one of many extra scenic winter ravines within the park.
A number of instances the ice offers approach beneath our weight, however our toes keep dry. I jokingly set the over/beneath on what number of instances I’ll slip and fall at two and a half—Heather correctly takes the over. Simply earlier than the falls, we attain a brief however steep slope, possibly six toes excessive. In summer season it’s nothing. In winter, it’s a frozen slide. A number of completely positioned fallen bushes supply simply sufficient grip to get us by.
About one mile into the hike, we arrive at Twin Sisters Falls, precisely as hoped: utterly frozen. At roughly 65 toes tall, it’s one of many tallest waterfalls in Cuyahoga Valley Nationwide Park, even edging out Brandywine Falls. We chat briefly with a handful of different hikers who additionally braved the sub-zero temperatures, and one kindly snaps a photograph of Heather and me to mark the second.
We stick round for a couple of minutes, taking pictures and soaking within the frozen scene. It’s quiet, dramatic, and fleeting—a type of uncommon winter moments few folks ever witness right here. Finally, the chilly nudges us again into movement. We retrace our steps to Mudcatcher Falls, then change issues up—crossing the frozen canal and following the Towpath Path again to the parking space. Heather loses the over/beneath. One way or the other, and really uncharacteristically, I make it again and not using a slip or fall. A win is a win.
The takeaway is easy: Twin Sisters Falls is a fickle waterfall throughout hotter months, not often flowing sufficient to justify the trouble. Even when it does, the muddy footing and slender strategy could make the hike irritating. However in winter, when temperatures keep under freezing lengthy sufficient for the ravine and waterfall to lock into ice, the hike turns into simpler—and much more rewarding. We’ll be again once more, possibly subsequent time chasing dawn at one of the underrated winter waterfalls in Cuyahoga Valley Nationwide Park. However for now, it is heater at full blast and a fast chunk to eat earlier than heading over to the Plateau Path for extra miles.
