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Print Friendly MapThe Brighton Park All Purpose Trail Providing a connection between the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail and the Brookside Reservation/Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.
Across the street from the trail's western terminus, the rookside Reservation All Purpose Trail curves around Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and winds through the Brookside Reservation (3900 John Nagy Blvd, Cleveland).
Cleveland's regional transit system provides access to the trail via several bus stops along the streets surrounding the zoo and the reservation. Visit the RTA website for more information.
Visit the TrailLink map for detailed directions.
The Brighton Park All-Purpose Trail is the middle section of a route that provides a connection between the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail in the Cuyahoga Valley and the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo found in the Cleveland Metropark's Brookside Reservation. It is a short, .4 mile trail that runs through a 25 acre park that once was a construction and industrial dump site. The Western Reserve Land Conservancy acquired the property in 2015 and the site remediation was completed by 2017. In 2021 ecological restoration and park improvements, including a new all purpose trail and natural surface trails, was completed by the Cleveland Metroparks and conservation-minded community members. The western end of the trail connects to the Brookside Reservation All-Purpose Trail which is located at the Zoo’s entrance located across Pearl Road. On the eastern end, some on-street riding on low-trafficked residential streets is needed to reach Harmody Park. In Harmody Park, you can connect to the Treadway Creek Trail which drops into the Cuyahoga River Valley and an additional connection to the cross-state Ohio to Erie Trail (Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail section).
The Brighton Park All-Purpose Trail is in excellent condition owing to its recent construction. It is a very flat trail in contrast to the two trails located at either of its ends. The prairie grass-covered park itself stands atop of the valley wall of the Big Creek Valley. It includes an overlook that looks down upon Big Creek and also allows some views of the industrial mills located in the Cuyahoga River Valley. My one complaint with this trail is that the Cleveland Metroparks has not yet added signs for the on-street route required to connect to the Treadway Creek Trail in nearby Harmody Park.
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