Cleveland Foundation Centennial Lake Link Trail

One of the biggest challenges in providing healthy outdoor spaces is lack of access to waterfronts. The public is often blocked off from lakes and oceans due to strictly protected private properties.

In Ohio, there was a vision to change that narrative in relation to Lake Erie while improving the state’s transportation landscape. And with that, what is now known as the Cleveland Foundation Centennial Lake Link Trail was born.

Trust for Public Land worked closely with Cleveland Metroparks and LAND Studio to connect the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the 110-mile Towpath Trail to the shores of Lake Erie. With the opening of the Wendy Park Bridge in June 2021, the vision of a new urban park and trail was complete.

The trail is a powerful example of how communities can transform an abandoned railroad right-of-way and former industrial areas into a vibrant place for people to get outside. What was once neglected space is now lined with green infrastructure and foliage designed to collect rainwater, reduce runoff, and cool the air. The trail provides a safe alternative transportation route for those seeking to avoid the car and truck traffic that characterizes this industrial part of Cleveland.

Now individuals and running groups take advantage of the connectivity from their neighborhoods, birders are drawn to new natural areas in the heart of the city, and Lakeview Terrace residents have walkable access to the shores of Lake Erie for the first time in nearly 90 years.