Tinker's Creek, OH

Tinker's Falls

Tinker's Falls
Photo of Ratt Boy running Tinker's Falls by Ron Whitney (KHCC) taken 9/1996 @ 0.5 ft

Gauge Information

River Description

Runnable after heavy rain. Technical and playful, this is some of the funnest stuff in Ohio when it's running.
AW Article from 5-6/1999, with pictures
Careful on this crick; there are pinning spots and strainers in unpredictable places.
Important: the park rangers are very polite and friendly. They won't give you a hard time if your boat is registered in Ohoho. If you aren't registered, they can deny you access. Registration is a dumb idea, in this humble StreamKeeper's opinion, but it's only $15 bucks for three years. If it prevents a hassle at the putin for the best whitewater in Ohio, it's well worth it.

Directions: to putin: From I-271, take the Exit 23 (Route 14, Broadway Ave). Head West (left, if you're coming from the South) at the light. At the third light on Broadway (Union Ave., 0.5 mi. from I-271), bear right to stay on Broadway. Another half a mile down, take a right onto the park road just after the brick road. Pull into the parking area. If you get to the lights at Union Street, you've gone too far.

To takeout: cross Broadway Ave (onto Egbert Road). The road twists a little, then intersects with Union Street. Cross Union, and take the next Right at the sign saying "Park Entrance, Bedford Reservation" onto Gorge Parkway. Follow this road as it twists and turns around. Don't drive too fast!, especially on that downhill that's marked as 20 MPH. Just before the T intersection with Dunham Road, pull off and park on the right.
Alternate takeout: just before the Canal Road structure upstream of the Ohio Canal. Make sure that you scout this takeout carefully, because you don't want to blunder into the structure. There's a good eddy-beach on river right. To get there, cross Dunham Road and head down Tinker's Creek Road on river right. Hang a left onto Canal Road. This takeout is not preferred, because it adds a couple of miles of flatwater in the floodplain. I've done it once, out of curiosity, and I'm in no hurry to do it again.

To the gauge: On Broadway, continue past the putin road. Take a Left onto Taylor Road. (If you get to the lights at Union St., you've gone too far.) Cross Union Street and park in the lot at the Moonglow Cafe. You can see the gauge clearly through the trees from this parking lot. Stop in at the Moonglow for a beer if you haven't breathed your fill of secondhand cigarette smoke lately.

For historical / local info, check out Tinker's Creek Viaduct Park.

Fun Fact: There are lots of deer here. Many have a mottled "piebald" coat.

Fun Fact II: The First Descent of Tinker's Creek, as near as this author can determine, was by Keelhaulers Chuck Singer and Jon Reising in February, 1972. Because of the Tunnel, and all the strainers, they never ran it again. Tinker's main pioneers were probably Craig and Brian Homberg and Jim and Jeff Snyder, also in the 1970's.

Other related nearby streams:
Lower Cuyahoga (Class I-II)
Lower Cuyahoga Gorge (Class III)
Upper Cuyahoga Gorge (Class V)
Chagrin River, Aurora Branch (Class III-IV)
Chagrin River (Class I)
Chagrin River, East Branch (Class II)

Conservation Organization: check out the Friends of the Crooked River, who've been working on cleaning up the Cuyahoga (and its tributaries) and educating the public for 11 years.