A Hike to a Waterfall

Last month, while we were still having some pleasant weather, I took one last excursion to one of our local parks.  I visited another reservation of the Lorain County Metroparks, Cascade Park, which is a piece of nature smack dab in the center of the city of Elyria.  I checked out Google Maps to find the best route to get there.  I took the Ohio Turnpike west and got off at the next exit.  It was about a twenty five minute drive from my house.

The park is located along the banks of the Black River.  

 Earlier this year had visited another Lorain County park along the banks of the Black River.  The Black River Reservation was located downstream just a few miles to the north of here.  On that visit I had made an unexpected discovery of a pretty waterfall.  Obviously, here at Cascade Park, the main attraction was going to be another waterfall.

There was not much in the way of signage here, but from looking at Google Maps, I knew that the waterfall was upstream from the parking lot.  So I headed along a trail following the river southward and hoped that it would take me to the falls.  The trail was unpaved and slightly challenging.  In one spot I had to climb steps carved into the rock, and I had to be careful not to stumble over tree roots in my way.  It was not always clearly marked, and a few times I had to guess where the trail continued.

I was quite surprised by the formations of rock and the large boulders.  It was hard to believe that I was in the middle of a city with a population of 50,000.  

  

I am not geologist, but I couldn't help but wonder if the striations on this rock might be glacial grooves, carved by the movement of an Ice Age glacier.

I came to a wooden observation deck where the river split into two... the West and the East Branches of the Black River.  I had no choice but to continue to my right along the West Branch.

I knew that I was on the right path because after a while I could hear the waterfall.  At last I reached it.

An Elyria city street passes over a bridge directly above the falls.  You have an indication of the size of the cascade from the people walking on the bridge.

Another observation deck provided a view of the waterfall.  There was a lot of mist even from where I was standing.

Unless I decide to take some hikes in the snow, that will probably be my last visit to one of our parks until spring.