Revisiting Ohio's Chagrin Falls

We've visited the village of Chagrin Falls, just east of Cleveland, multiple times over the years--but we'd never seen the town from a vantage point at the foot of the waterfalls in the center of town until a recent visit.

Visiting Chagrin Falls in the winter or early spring means that you can take some great photos from the top of the falls. Taking photos from the bottom of the falls is another matter because the village closes the steep steps leading down to the river during those times of year.

We didn't have the problem of snow-covered steps last time we were at Chagrin Falls this summer, so we took advantage of the opportunity to check out the waterfalls from a different angle.

There is a nice wooden viewing deck on one side of the falls about halfway down the stairs. You can get a close-up shot of the falls from here or just stay a while to watch the action at the foot of the falls as you enjoy an ice cream cone you got in town at the top of the falls.

The wide wooden stairs with handrails end at the viewing platform, but we took the lower flight of old stone steps right down to the rocky river shore.

Some visitors are even more adventurous and trek out onto the rocks into the middle of the river--something I wasn't quite willing to do with my big DSLR camera!

The village of Chagrin Falls originally grew up around the falls as a busy industrial area with factories, mills and other businesses taking advantage of the ample water supply provided by the falls. Today, the village center consists of businesses like restaurants, small retail stores and a large park bordering the falls.

The village center also has a smaller triangular park surrounded by businesses, many in well-preserved mid-to-late-1800s buildings. This particular park has a beautiful garden and a striking 1877-vintage gazebo constructed largely of grapevines.

I looked around the Web for a little more information about the gazebo and found a personal history of the town by Robert E. Cathan who said his great grandfather, Orrison Cathan, hunted elk (!!) in the area and built most of the gazebo. Check out Cathan's memories and some other tales from long-time village residents at the Chagrin Falls Alumni Association Web page.

There are still a couple of things I've yet to do in Chagrin Falls, though.

One of the readers of my previous Chagrin Falls post left a comment about the Pumpkin Roll, where village high school students smash and roll pumpkins down a hill hear the center of town to use as a gooey base for sliding and sledding down the hill. The Alumni site has a couple of stories about the Pumpkin Roll and its possible origins.

The grapevine gazebo also serves as the starting point for a Ghosts of Chagrin Falls walking tour of the village. The 60- to 90-minute tours sounds like a fun way to learn a little more about the village's history. (Have any of my readers taken this tour?)

© Dominique King 2009 All rights reserved

Comments

[Shelly (Travels with Baby)]

This place looks great! I'm really enjoying your blog as a window on so many places I've yet to go. Can just imagine what fun my kids would have with the pumpkin roll!

[Debi - The California Tourist Guide]

I followed your comment from James' blog post, and just had to tell you about the BIG smile this post brought me. We lived in Shaker Heights, OH before moving to CA about ten years ago, and I've had many a fine time in Chagrin Falls.

There used to be a restaurant there -- it was Leonetti's at the time -- with a picture window that looked out at the falls, and we celebrated several special occasions there. A bit of googling tells me the space was most recently a Blake's restaurant, but it looks like that may be no more. (There was an article about parking issues and then another one about 100 patrons reporting food poisoning, and now the Google Local result for Blake's in Chagrin Falls is a dead end.)

Whoops, caught me rambling! ;-) I just wanted to thank you for the smile and compliment you on your website. I don't travel much in your neck of the woods anymore, but I'll pass the link along to some folks I still have contact with in the Midwest. Nice to make your acquaintance!

[Steve Davis]

I love waterfalls. Something about the sound and mist given off by them. A freshness when you are around them.

Thanks for sharing.
Steve

[Dominique]

Shelly-Chagrin Falls is a nice little town. We've visited several times when we've been in the Cleveland area. I'd love to see the pumpkin roll, too!

Debi-Thanks for stopping by! I think the restaurant you're talking about is now called Jekyll's Kitchen. We were at the falls during the day and thought we'd come back for dinner that night...we couldn't get near the place at night, it was so crowded! We're hoping to try it for a meal another trip down there, though.
I'm glad you liked my site. We have a lot of great places here in the Midwest, and I don't always think the region gets as much attention as it should. Hence...Midwest Guest :)

Steve-I'm with you on the waterfalls. Chagrin Falls are particularly nice because they're in such a nice little town and within a day's drive of home for me. The vast majority of Michigan's falls are in the Upper Peninsula, which entails more than a day trip or overnight to visit.

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1118326356]

does anyone know the date set for the annual Pumpkin Roll?

[Dominique]

Halle-I haven't heard a date for the Pumpkin Roll. It looks like it would be fun to watch in person--I found a couple of short YouTube clips of it. They're usually pretty coy about the date, aren't they?