Ohio has one true national park, Cuyahoga Valley, and a strong supporting cast of National Park Service sites. Counted honestly, the state holds 10 National Park Service units: 1 national park, 2 national historical parks, 3 national historic sites, 1 national monument, 1 national memorial, and 2 national trails.
I label each below by its real federal designation, because the usual lists blur monuments, memorials, and trails together as “national parks.” Only Cuyahoga Valley is a capital-P National Park. The rest range from ancient earthworks to the homes of two presidents, and I keep the labels honest throughout.
Ohio National Park Service Sites At A Glance
| Site | Federal Designation | Near |
|---|---|---|
| Cuyahoga Valley National Park | National Park | Cleveland / Akron |
| Hopewell Culture National Historical Park | National Historical Park | Chillicothe |
| Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park | National Historical Park | Dayton |
| James A. Garfield National Historic Site | National Historic Site | Mentor |
| William Howard Taft National Historic Site | National Historic Site | Cincinnati |
| First Ladies National Historic Site | National Historic Site | Canton |
| Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument | National Monument | Wilberforce |
| Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial | National Memorial | Put-in-Bay |
| North Country National Scenic Trail | National Scenic Trail | Statewide corridor |
| Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail | National Historic Trail | River corridor |
1. Cuyahoga Valley National Park
The state’s only true national park, threading the Cuyahoga River valley between Cleveland and Akron. It protects forests, waterfalls, and the historic Ohio & Erie Canal towpath, all reclaimed from a once-polluted industrial corridor.
Walk to Brandywine Falls, bike the flat Towpath Trail, and ride the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, which lets cyclists hop on and off. Entry is free, a rarity among national parks, since public roads run through it.
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Cuyahoga Valley Facts | Things To Do
2. Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
A national historical park near Chillicothe preserving monumental earthworks built by the Hopewell culture roughly 2,000 years ago, vast geometric mounds and enclosures of remarkable precision. In 2023 these earthworks were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, though that international honor does not change the NPS designation.
Walk the Mound City Group and other units to grasp the scale of this ancient ceremonial landscape. The visitor center explains a culture whose reach spanned half the continent.
3. Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park
A national historical park in Dayton celebrating the Wright brothers and the birth of powered flight, along with the poet Paul Laurence Dunbar. Sites are spread across the city.
Visit the Wright Cycle Company shop where they built their early machines, see Huffman Prairie Flying Field where they refined real flight, and tour the Dunbar house. Dayton has a strong claim as the cradle of aviation.
4. James A. Garfield National Historic Site
A national historic site in Mentor preserving Lawnfield, the home of the 20th president, James A. Garfield, who ran the first successful front-porch campaign from this house in 1880.
The Victorian house and its memorial library, the first presidential library, are the draw. Garfield’s term was cut short by assassination just months in, which makes the site quietly poignant.
5. William Howard Taft National Historic Site
A national historic site in Cincinnati, the birthplace and boyhood home of William Howard Taft, the only person to serve as both President and Chief Justice of the United States.
The restored Greek Revival house and an education center trace his unusual career across two branches of government. It is free and makes a good Cincinnati stop.
6. First Ladies National Historic Site
A national historic site in Canton dedicated to the history and contributions of the nation’s first ladies, centered on the home of Ida Saxton McKinley.
The Saxton House and a nearby education center hold the National First Ladies Library. It is a distinctive theme found at few other NPS units.
7. Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument
A national monument in Wilberforce preserving the home of Colonel Charles Young, the third Black graduate of West Point and the first Black national park superintendent.
The site honors Young and the Buffalo Soldiers, the Black regiments who served, among other duties, as early stewards of the western parks. It is a small but meaningful unit.
8. Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial
A national memorial on South Bass Island at Put-in-Bay, a 352-foot Doric column commemorating Oliver Hazard Perry’s 1813 naval victory on Lake Erie and the lasting peace between the United States, Britain, and Canada.
Take the ferry to the island, ride the elevator to the observation deck, and on a clear day you can see Canada. It is one of the most scenic NPS sites in the Midwest.
9. North Country National Scenic Trail
A national scenic trail, an NPS-administered corridor rather than a single gated park. The longest trail in the system winds through Ohio on its way from Vermont to North Dakota.
In Ohio it links state forests, the Wayne National Forest, and scenic river valleys. You experience it in day-hike segments rather than at one entrance.
10. Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail
A national historic trail whose 2019 extension recognized the Ohio River segments of the expedition’s early journey, including the stretch where the Corps of Discovery passed through on its way west.
Like the North Country Trail, you follow it through markers and interpreted sites rather than a single gate. It connects Ohio to the larger story of the expedition.
Planning Your Ohio Trip
The sites spread across the state. The northeast around Cleveland and Akron holds Cuyahoga Valley, Garfield in Mentor, First Ladies in Canton, and the Lake Erie ferry to Perry’s Victory. The southwest covers Dayton Aviation, Taft in Cincinnati, and Charles Young in Wilberforce. Hopewell Culture anchors the south near Chillicothe, and the North Country Trail crosses the whole state.
Late spring through fall is ideal, and autumn is especially fine in Cuyahoga Valley. Most of these sites are free, including Cuyahoga Valley itself, though the scenic railroad and the Lake Erie ferry carry fees. There is one national park here, so plan the rest as the historic stops they are.
Parks Near Columbus | Parks Near Toledo | Historic Sites In Ohio
Bottom line: Ohio holds one true national park and nine more National Park Service sites, from 2,000-year-old earthworks to the workshop where the Wright brothers invented flight.
