Meandering Through Canal Country

(ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: MARCH/APRIL 2002)

Take a drive on one of the Midwest's National Scenic Byways, and you'll appreciate more than just the scenery. Culture, history and outdoor fun combine with beauty for memorable weekend outings. On these three diverse routes through the Heartland, you'll see what we mean.

Brawny, black horses strain against their harnesses, lifting one mighty hoof after another, pulling the canal boat St. Helena III at a leisurely 4-mph pace on the Ohio & Erie Canal. The canvas-topped craft glides the mile and a quarter between the community of Canal Fulton and Lock 4 to the south. But on this short trip, you slip back more than 170 years into Ohio history.

Canal Fulton and its replica canal boat make up the centerpiece of the CanalWay Ohio Scenic Byway. The route meanders through 110 miles of northeast Ohio between the rolling farmland around the sleepy town of New Philadelphia and the faster pace of Cleveland to the north. Recently designated a National Scenic Byway, the two-lane blacktop connects tiny villages and mighty cities, linked through the lore of the Ohio & Erie Canal.

"Once we're away from the Canal Fulton Village Park, it's all woods, and we're out in the middle of nowhere," says Tom Shuman, captain of the St. Helena III. "Canal travel is so smooth and quiet, and there's nothing to worry about," adds Tom, wearing the boatman's shirt, suspenders and straw hat of the era. "People like to get away from the hustle and bustle. It feels very much like it did in the 1800s."

The byway follows an 87-mile segment of the old canal, with plenty of pull-over spots for photos, waterside hikes, and excursions such as the ride on the St. Helena III. Corn and soybean fields give way to beech and maple trees. Along the drive north toward the Lake Erie shore, the tree-lined byway travels through green hills, tracing some of the earliest commercial connections between Ohio and the rest of the country.

After seeing the prosperity of New York state and its Erie Canal, the young state of Ohio, struggling with escalating debt, decided it needed a "Big Ditch," too. The Cleveland-Akron section of the new canal opened in 1827, the rest in 1832. Freighters boosted the economy by carrying Heartland produce to the Northeast and then returning to Ohio with fresh loads of manufactured goods.

Dozens of settlements developed along the canal -- places for passengers to dine, drink, shop, even gamble. As they have for more than 150 years, travelers still find bed and board at Zoar Tavern and Inn (12 miles north of New Philadelphia). Both are remnants of Zoar Village, a communal settlement that German emigrants seeking religious freedom founded in 1817. Today, you can tour 10 of the original homes and gardens, as well as a greenhouse, bakery, school and blacksmith shop, at this Ohio Historical Society site.

Driving north through busy Akron, travelers enter Cuyahoga Valley National Park. This 33,000-acre swath of green space and heritage protects 19 miles of the Ohio & Erie Canal Corridor. Wildlife -- including beavers, foxes, deer and herons -- live in the forest.

In Cleveland, the most urban stretch of the byway, the route weaves through early immigrant neighborhoods to the revitalized downtown. After crisscrossing the serpentine Cuyahoga River several times, you finish your journey at the mouth of the Ohio & Erie Canal on the Cuyahoga River.

You can toast the end of this odyssey at one of the waterfront pubs in The Flats, a district of old docks, warehouses and factories transformed into an entertainment hot spot. From a sun-dappled terrace, watch modern-day boats -- rather than horse-powered craft -- traveling Ohio's waterways.

By Betsa Marsh Photographs by Tony Walsh

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