My Visit to Nelson's Ledges, Near Cleveland, Ohio

I finally got home from my whirlwind of a trip to New York, Cleveland, and London, and you may have noticed I didn't update the blog in a bit of time. My stateside trip was super busy, and then I took the time in London to have a real vacation, to just enjoy myself and explore, and wait with my writing until I get home. So now that I'm home, I wanted to tell you about the next amazing thing I did on my trip to the US, specifically on my trip to Cleveland. 

I shared about my visit to Camp Hi Canoe and Kayak, a place where I had really fond memories as a kid, and that I took my friend and her kids there. But since I didn't have much time in Cleveland, especially since Sunday was my only free day where I could adventure with a car, since the other days my hostess was working and her kids were in school, I decided to do two things on that one trip. Right next to Camp Hi, officially in Hiram, Ohio, is a place called Nelson's Ledges State Park, officially in Garretsville, Ohio (even though its only a 5 minute drive from Camp Hi). This is less than an hour drive from the suburbs of Cleveland where I grew up, and is another place where I have very fond memories from. I'll be honest, I don't really miss living in the US... in most ways. But what I really, really miss is the nature I grew up with. And when I think of Cleveland nature, the places that come to mind are places like Nelson's Ledges. We'd go here relatively often, and it is such a unique and special place.

Nelson's Ledges is called that way because of these enormous rock ledges that are found within the forested area of the park. What are these ledges? Well, pictures can explain it better than my words possibly could.

This.

These are ledges.

Giant stone boulders that form cliffs and crevices and caves.

 Nelson's Ledges has different paths you can take, ranging from easier to harder...

And they involve walking above and below the rock ledges...

And in a beautiful forest...

But you also climb up through these ledges.

Basic, kid friendly, safe rock climbing, where you don't need special gear... But a pair of hiking boots helps.

You also walk below the rock ledges...

Some places have a tight fit...

But fortunately wasn't too tight for me to get through...

There was even one part where we had to go in what looked like a closed up cave... where we needed flashlights to see, and it was muddy, but then we came out to the other side, to open air. 

Oh, and did I mention the waterfall?

We took the shortest trail, the one that ended with a waterfall.

 I know everyone has different tastes as to what nature they like or dislike...

But in my books, this is one of the most picturesque places, so beautiful, relaxing, and gorgeous.

If you're ever in the Cleveland area, or especially if you live there...

 I highly recommend a trip to Nelson's Ledges.

It was everything I remembered...

And more...

Simply perfect.

Oh, and did I mention it's totally free? Duh.

Not a penny for this amazingness.

Nature rocks. (Pun intended.)

If you're from Cleveland or have visited the area, have you ever been to Nelson's Ledges? Do you like it as much as I do? If you aren't from the Cleveland area, do you have anything like this where you live? What's it called? Does this sound like a place you'd like to visit?