Cuyahoga Valley National Park is an American national park that preserves and reclaims the rural landscape along the Cuyahoga River between Akron and Cleveland in Northeast Ohio. Cuyahoga Valley is unusual among American national parks being adjacent to two large urban areas and including a dense road network, small towns, and private attractions.
The 32,572-acre (50.9 sq mi; 131.8 km2) park is administered by the National Park Service, but within its boundaries are areas independently managed as city parks or private businesses. Cuyahoga Valley was originally designated as a National Recreation Area in 1974, then redesignated as a national park 26 years later in 2000, and remains the only national park that originated as a national recreation area.
Cuyahoga Valley is the only national park in the state of Ohio, one of seven Midwestern national parks, and one of two in the Great Lakes Basin, with Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior.