Field NotesOhio
Upper Falls in the Old Man's Cave gorge, Hocking Hills, with visitors on the rocks

An independent field guide · 365 places

The field guide to outdoor Ohio

Parks and forests, ancient mounds, caves, waterfalls and back roads, with the story behind each place and where to eat and fuel up nearby.
Popular:
  • 117parks & forests
  • 64ancient mounds
  • 34waterfalls
  • 40historic sites
  • 33road trips

Old Man's Cave, Hocking Hills · Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0

Explore by type

What are you in the mood for?

See every place →

Plan a trip

Explore Ohio

One map for every park, mound, historic site, beach, cave, waterfall and oddity in the app.

Lake ErieWest Virginia36 places368 places813 places135 places523 places2321 places2124 places2416 places1613 places134 places418 places182 places217 places1710 places1014 places142 places27 places76 places613 places133 places34 places414 places143 places3Harrison Lake State Park2 places22 places22 places26 places64 places4

Tap a symbol for a preview, or search for a place. Open the key to show or hide categories.

Parks, forests & wildlife areas

Find a park

117 parks in 7 regions
Brandywine Falls in Cuyahoga Valley National Park at golden hour

Brandywine Falls

Sagamore Hills · Summit County
Plunge falls over a Berea sandstone caprock into a wooded gorge
60 to 65 ftheight
Easywalk
Yesaccessible overlook

Brandywine Falls, Cuyahoga Valley · Photo: Erik Drost, CC BY 4.0

The tallest waterfall in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, reached by an easy boardwalk with a wheelchair accessible upper overlook.

Height
About 60 to 65 feet
Trail
Short boardwalk to upper deck, plus about 80 steps to lower deck
Managed by
National Park Service, Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Best time
Year round; especially dramatic after rain and in winter ice
Fee
Free, no park entrance fee
Accessibility
Upper boardwalk overlook is wheelchair accessible

When it flows

Flows year round because it is spring and groundwater fed, though volume drops in late summer dry spells. It is one of the most popular winter destinations in the park because the spray builds up into large ice formations.

The story

Brandywine Falls formed where Brandywine Creek pours over a resistant cap of Berea sandstone into softer Bedford and Cleveland shale below. Differential erosion of the soft shale beneath the hard sandstone undercuts the ledge, the classic process behind most of the plunge waterfalls in this part of the Cuyahoga Valley, and glacial meltwater helped carve the surrounding gorge roughly 10,000 years ago.

George Wallace built a sawmill at the falls in 1814 to capture its water power, and the small settlement of Brandywine grew up around it with grist and woolen mills and worker housing. The Ohio and Erie Canal bypassed the village in the 1830s and railroads later drew business away, so the settlement declined; a lightning strike destroyed a later factory, the Champion Electric Company, in 1937. Only scattered foundations remain today, and the 1848 James Wallace House now operates as an inn just outside the park boundary. The site became part of Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area (redesignated a national park in 2000) as the Park Service assembled the valley's parkland in the 1970s.

Stay behind railings and on marked trails. Wet rock at the top and base of a falls is slick in every season, and most Ohio falls do not allow swimming, wading or climbing. Flow depends on rain: many falls are a trickle in late summer and at their best after a wet spell, in spring, or frozen in a hard winter.

Visiting information you can trust

Content last reviewed
September 2026 — this is when Field Notes Ohio's content was last checked, not a live status.
Primary official source
Official page
Location confidence
Verified property location
Published coordinates for the falls or its trailhead
Check current conditions
Official conditions or closures

Prices, hours, closures, campsite availability and trail conditions shown elsewhere on this page are not live — always confirm with the official source before you go.

Getting to the falls

A short paved and boardwalk path from the parking lot leads to an upper viewing platform that is wheelchair accessible, and about 80 additional wooden steps lead down a steeper, unpaved gorge trail to a lower deck closer to the falls.

Status
Open
Hours
Trail open dawn to dusk; the park itself has no gate hours
Cost
Free
Phone
440-717-3890
Managed by
National Park Service (Cuyahoga Valley National Park)
Please note
Stay on the boardwalk and behind railings, no swimming or wading, no climbing on the rocks, dogs permitted on leash
Address
8176 Brandywine Road, Sagamore Hills, OH 44067
Official page →DirectionsShow on the map

Trails close for repairs, ice and high water. Check the official page before a long drive.

More falls nearby

Blue Hen Falls
About 2 miles · 15 ft
Open
Bridal Veil Falls
About 7 miles · 20 ft
Open
Great Falls of Tinkers Creek
About 8 miles · 15 to 20 ft
Open
Chagrin Falls
About 13 miles · 20 ft
Open

Parks nearby

Cuyahoga Valley National Park
The falls is inside this park
Open
Brecksville Reservation
About 4 miles · Adjoining Cleveland Metroparks reservation
Open
Bedford Reservation
About 7 miles · Adjoining Cleveland Metroparks reservation
Open
Tinkers Creek State Park
About 9 miles · Nearby nature preserve
Open
Sand Run Metro Park
About 10 miles · Summit Metro Parks property
Open
Hinckley Reservation
About 10 miles · Cleveland Metroparks reservation
Open
North Chagrin Reservation
About 20 miles · Cleveland Metroparks reservation
Open

Road trips

Ohio & Erie Canalway Scenic Byway
A road trip that passes near this falls
Open

Buckeye Trail

Akron Section
On or near the Buckeye Trail
Open

Details last checked 2026-09-22. Confirm hours and prices before you go.

Know a place that belongs here, or spotted something out of date? Email hello@fieldnotesohio.com.