Field Notes Ohio

Ohio's parks, forests and wildlife areas with camping, the ancient mounds beside them, and the Buckeye Trail that links them. Stories, trails, wildlife, and where to eat and fuel up nearby. Book campsites on ReserveOhio.

Try:

Explore Ohio

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

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

117 parks in 7 regions

Falls of Nelson-Kennedy Ledges State Park

Garrettsville · Portage County

Small ledge and cascade falls set among massive Sharon conglomerate rock formations and crevices

10 to 50 ftheight

Moderatehike

Yesaccessible overlook

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.

Waterfalls tucked among towering conglomerate rock walls and slot like crevices, including a new glass walkway overlook, in a small state park near Garrettsville.

Height: Minnehaha Falls about 10 feet; Cascade Falls reported around 50 feet
Trail: Color coded trails, roughly half a mile to a mile
Managed by: Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Best time: Spring and after rain; can run dry in late summer
Fee: Free
Feature: 137 foot glass walkway overlook opened 2025

When it flows

Both falls depend on small headwater creeks and can shrink to almost nothing in a dry summer; they run best in spring and after rain, and the deep, shaded crevices in the park hold ice and even snow well into spring.

The story

The ledges are made of Sharon conglomerate, a coarse, pebbly sandstone laid down by ancient braided rivers roughly 300 million years ago. Later stream erosion and rockfall opened up the deep, narrow crevices, caves, and rock corridors the park is known for, including formations nicknamed Devil's Icebox and Old Maid's Kitchen, and the same erosional process created the park's small waterfalls where headwater creeks drop over the resistant conglomerate.

The land that became Nelson-Kennedy Ledges State Park was assembled from the separate Nelson Ledges and Kennedy Ledges properties and established as a state park in 1949. The deep, cool crevices are noted for holding ice and unusual microclimates that support plants more typical of colder regions, and the park has long been popular with local families and rock scramblers; a glass walkway added at the Falls Edge overlook in 2025 gave visitors an easier, accessible way to view the gorge and Minnehaha Falls.

Sources differ on whether the park has one named falls or two. Minnehaha Falls, near the new glass walkway, and Cascade Falls, on Crystal Creek elsewhere in the park, are treated here as one combined entry because they sit inside the same small state park and are usually visited together. Cascade Falls in particular is reported by only a few informal sources and its 50 foot height figure is not confirmed by ODNR.

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.

Getting to the falls

A network of color coded trails from about half a mile to a mile in length winds through narrow rock crevices and past formations like Devil's Icebox and Old Maid's Kitchen to reach the falls; a newer 137 foot glass walkway at the Falls Edge overlook gives an accessible view toward Minnehaha Falls without a full hike.

Status

Open

Hours

Half hour before sunrise to half hour after sunset

Cost

Free

Phone

330-235-0030

Managed by

Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Watercraft

Please note

Stay on established trails, no off trail hiking, no glass or disposable beverage containers, carry in carry out, wear sturdy footwear