Deep Lock Quarry Metro Park

About this Location

Within Deep Lock Quarry lies Lock 28, which at 17 feet was the deepest lock on the Ohio & Erie Canal, and an old quarry from which blocks of Berea sandstone were cut for the canal locks and other local structures.

Ferdinand Schumacher, who is credited with introducing oatmeal to America by supplying it to Union troops during the Civil War, purchased a portion of the quarry in 1879. The sandstone found in the quarry was ideal for millstones, which were used to remove the outer hulls of oats processed at Akron’s American Cereal Works (later Quaker Oats). Stone was last taken from the quarry in the 1930s, when the Civilian Conservation Corps used the sandstone to construct several Metro Parks facilities, including Pioneer Shelter in Goodyear Heights Metro Park. Deep Lock Quarry became a Metro Park in 1934.

Today, the park is home to more Ohio buckeye trees than any other Metro Park in Summit County. The old canal bed is home to frogs, turtles, and salamanders. A shallow swamp has developed on the quarry floor, where rose pink (a herb) and the invasive narrow-leaved cattail grow.

Warning: All areas of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park are prone to deer ticks from the early spring until late fall, so prepare accordingly before birding.

Notable Trails

Deep Lock Quarry Metro Park Trails
Hiking trails in the Deep Lock Quarry include:
Quarry Trail – 1.2 miles
Buckeye Trail – 1 mile – shared with the Towpath Trail

A description with a map of a hike in the Deep Lock Quarry Metro Park is on the AllTrails website.

A section of the Buckeye Trail passes through Deep Lock Quarry.

Features

  • Restrooms on site

  • Wheelchair accessible trail

  • Entrance fee

  • Roadside viewing

Content from Official Website