Chagrin State Scenic River
While much of its 59-mile length is located within an urban environment, the Chagrin River provides excellent scenery and recreational boating opportunities for paddlers. Located just east of Cleveland in northeast Ohio, the Chagrin river watershed includes portions of Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga and Portage counties.
The Upper Chagrin River, which recently was designated a state scenic river, is a 22-mile upper section of the river flowing from the Woodiebrook Road bridge downstream to Bentleyville. Various woodland cover along the river banks is also shared with magnificent exposed rock formations.
The river then flows through the Bass Lake area in Geauga County’s Munson Township. Rich in history, this portion of the river valley well reflects its former beauty that existed 2,000 years ago. Below Bass Lake, the landscape is diverse and includes steep rocky slopes that overlook these waters as they make their way downstream where paddlers must take out and portage around the fast flowing Chagrin Falls.
Paddlers also must take out and portage around a dam located in Gates Mills that is upstream of the Old Mill Road bridge on Ohio Route 174 and the remnants of the collapsed Daniels Park Dam below the Ohio Route 84 bridge in Willoughby.
Public launch access is good along the river. A road side parking area is located on Dodd Road at the Pleasant Valley Road bridge south of Willoughby Hills. Parking lot pulloff areas are in various locations between Erie Road in Eastlake and the Polo Field at Cleveland’s South Chagrin Reservation located off Ohio Route 87 just north of Chagrin Falls.
A trailer and car top launch ramp is located on Erie Road in Eastlake. Picnic areas and restrooms are located at Rogers Road Field off from Ohio Route 174 north of Mayfield in the North Chagrin Reservation in Cuyahoga County and in Lake County at the Old River Farm off of Ohio Route 174 northeast of Mayfield.
Local preservation efforts continue to be led by the Chagrin Watershed Partners, the Chagrin River Land Conservancy and other affected interests on the local and state level. For more information on boating opportunities along the Chagrin River, visit ohiodnr.com and visit the Boating and State Scenic rivers web pages.
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