The 155-acre Gorge Metro Park has an accessible fishing dock, picnic areas with grills, restrooms, and a picnic shelter for gatherings of up to 64 people. The shelter cannot be reserved; it is available on a first come, first-served basis and offers drinking water, eight tables, and two grills in a rustic, open-air structure surrounded by trees.

In 1759, a 12-year-old girl was captured in Pennsylvania by Delaware Indians and reportedly brought to a cave in present-day Gorge Metro Park, where she lived as a child of Chief Netawatwees. Young Mary Campbell, for whom the cave is named, unwittingly became the first white child in what was then the wild frontier of the Western Reserve. Mary later settled with the tribe in a village on the banks of the Cuyahoga River, not far from the cave. She was released in 1764 after a treaty ended the French and Indian War.

Thousands of years before Mary’s adventures, the Gorge was cut when glacial debris blocked the former route of the Cuyahoga River (near present-day downtown Akron) and caused the river to find a new course. Today, the rushing water flows over a shale riverbed, between ledges made of Sharon conglomerate sandstone. Oak, black gum, tulip, and yellow birch trees are common in the woods that cover the valley walls.

This 155-acre Metro Park was made possible in 1930, when the Northern Ohio Traction and Light Company, the predecessor of Ohio Edison, donated 144 acres of land to Metro Parks. Previously, the area hosted a park of a different sort–the High Bridge Glens Amusement Park, which opened in 1882 and featured a thrilling rollercoaster and a dance hall.

Trails at Gorge Metro Park include:
Glens Trail – 1.8 miles
Gorge Trail – 1.8 miles
Highbridge Trail – 3.2 miles

A description and map of a hike on the Gorge Trail at Gorge Metro Park are on the AllTrails website.