Cuyahoga Valley: Big Creek

+ Big Creek

Big Creek drains a much larger area, and its valley is deeper than the other tributaries that feed the Cuyahoga close to the central city. Big Creek flows through a variety of landscapes including residential, commercial, industrial, and park areas such as the Metroparks Zoo. The lower Big Creek Valley has the potential, through the restoration of the creek and reintroduction of open space and the development of trails, to create a connection between the Zoo and nearby neighborhoods, the Towpath Trail and Metroparks' Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation.

		Together with the steep slopes of the Cuyahoga Valley, waterways are the Valley's defining features. The Cuyahoga River and its many tributaries give structure not just to the natural systems and ecology of the Valley, but also provide the underlying logic which shaped development patterns, including where we live, work, recreate and travel to and through the Valley. The health of the entire system of waterways determines whether the Valley is a place of prosperity and genuine community. The waterways are the foundation for the Valley's renewal.