Had a special visit to a special tree. Although I don't remember, I came here as a child. Revisted with an old family friend on a trip back to Akron.

We had a great time here today with the family. The trails are very nice. There's a bathroom there. The parking was very nicr. There was lots of access to the river that went through the area as you walked on the chuckery trail

The Indian signal tree is located at the Chuckery area of Casade Valley Park. I added a screen shot of the downloadable map. The rest rooms are nicely cared for and a heated on the winter. The 2.4 mile path runs right along the river and is a nice hicking trail. Be prepared for some muddy spots along the trail. We will be taking the kids back again.

This is a old, tall tree within a few yards of the parking lot at the Chuckery area, but it is also so much more. It guided Indians, trappers, and settlers across the Ohio country before GPS was even dreamed of. It is amazing that it formed in such a strange manner. For anyone else out there who was shaped mostly by the 1980's, remember Romancing the Stone? This tree, at least to me, looks a lot like a key symbol on the Michael Douglas' treasure map in that movie , El Tenedor Del Diablo, the Devil's Fork. I thought there was no way a tree would actually grow like that, but here is the Indian Signal Tree to prove it possible! It doesn't help much now as the Cuyahoga River shifted course and now flows a quarter mile or so away but it is still impressive and I hope it survives for another century or two without being loved to death. When we visited, a couple had climbed over the wooden fence around it and were sitting between two of the trunks. Don't do that. The trail is not paved, but you can take a stroller, wheel chair or crutches as it is only about 50 yards from the parking lot (the first one with the rest room building and the signed trail, not the second one at the very end of the road). Also, there currently is no access to the CHuckery area and the signal tree on Cuyahoga Avenue from the south due to road construction closure. Follow the signed detour around to the north side of Cascade Park. Stop at the nature center and the grand canyon of the east overlook high above the oxbow bend, then make a left on Cuyahoga and go down the hill and over the river to reach the turnoff for the tree. There is about a 1/4 mile narrow one lane dirt section at the traffic light but it is not as rough as it looks and even the lowest clearance vehicle will be fine.

Easy to get to in north Akron. The actual tree location is not well posted. Good history lesson regarding the indigenous people of this area. Once you get to the correct parking lot there are signs to lead the way. Fixed plaques educate you and commemorate the tree.