Mountaineering to Loopy Man’s Hole Falls in Cuyahoga Valley Nationwide Park is a brief however memorable off-trail journey that feels far faraway from the busy Towpath simply minutes away. After leaving the path close to a small footbridge over Chaffee Run, the hike follows the stream upstream right into a narrowing ravine, the place fallen timber, rock cabinets, and twisting bends hold issues attention-grabbing with out ever feeling troublesome. The ravine is lined with mature hemlocks that add colour and character, particularly in winter, and the quiet grows deeper the farther you go. In lower than a mile, the fifty-foot waterfall comes into view, tucked into the steep partitions of the hole and sometimes frozen stable in colder months. It’s a hike that rewards curiosity and a willingness to get your ft somewhat moist, providing solitude and a surprisingly huge payoff for such a brief distance.
Water seasonal from Chaffee Run
Do not miss mountaineering to the falls once they freeze
Mountaineering to Loopy Man’s Hole Falls
Just a few days after mountaineering to Twin Sister Falls and Contour Falls—two waterfalls south of Station Street Bridge—I head again out to revisit Loopy Man’s Hole Falls. It’s been years since my final go to, and after weeks of below-freezing temperatures, I’m anticipating the falls to be in prime winter kind. I attain the Station Street Bridge Trailhead about an hour earlier than sundown and get shifting.
After crossing Station Street Bridge over the Cuyahoga River at Pinery Narrows—the narrowest stretch of the gorge—I flip proper onto the Towpath Path and head south.
About 0.4 miles from the trailhead, I attain a small, snow-covered footbridge spanning Chaffee Run, the stream that feeds Loopy Man’s Hole Falls.
Simply ten ft past it, I flip left and start working my method into the ravine, mountaineering upstream alongside the frozen run.
Just like the ravines resulting in Contour Falls and Twin Sister Falls, this one is suffering from fallen timber, however none current a lot of a problem. And whereas the stream is frozen, it cracks each few hundred ft beneath my ft—one thing I’m not fully thrilled about.
As I proceed upstream, the ravine twists and narrows, pulling me deeper into the valley. Mature hemlocks add a splash of inexperienced to an in any other case stark hardwood forest. It’s one other lovely winter day within the valley, and this ravine stands out as the most scenic—and best to navigate—alongside this stretch of the Towpath. Actually, it is nothing like the 2 falls to the north.
At 0.8 miles in, I attain the fifty-foot Loopy Man’s Hole Falls (AKA Chaffee Run Falls) and discover it frozen stable. I’m shocked to see one other hiker out right here, particularly this late within the day and at such a lesser-known spot. After he heads out, I stick round for a bit, take a couple of photographs, and benefit from the silence.
After about twenty minutes on the falls, I head again the best way I got here, joyful that I might carve out an hour throughout an in any other case hectic day.
After I get again to the trailhead, I toss on a dry pair of footwear, crank the heater as much as full blast, and excessive tail it out of there. With one other snowstorm rolling in, sticking round with these wheels is not value it. Total, the hike was nice and felt very similar to visits to Twin Sister Falls and Contour Falls, each of which lie only a brief distance to the north. When it comes to Winter “wow issue,” Twin Sister Falls in all probability will get the nod, with Loopy Man’s Hole Falls a really shut second. In winter, they’re each fairly particular.
