Situated on the west border of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau and about 40 miles south of Cleveland is the city of Akron, the county seat of Summit County and Ohio’s fifth largest city.
Paul Williams and Simon Perkins Akron founded it in 1825 at the Erie and Ohio Canal summit near the Little Cuyahoga River.
Akron earned the title “Rubber Capital of the World” due to its long history of producing rubber and tires, a legacy that is still continued up to this day by The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.
The city is teeming with gorgeous parks with the help of Summit Metro Parks, the second-oldest park system in Ohio, which oversees 15,000 acres across 16 parks, over 150 miles of trails, and three nature centers.
The city is a paradise for active visitors and is a desirable place to live, surrounded by abundant greenery, numerous outdoor venues, and a vibrant arts scene.
Explore the city’s appealing blend of urban comfort and rural charm with these best free things to do in Akron, Ohio:
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Lock 3 is the center of family-friendly activities in downtown Akron, situated close to the Akron Civic Theatre.
More than two million people have visited Lock 3 since it opened in 2003.
Lock 3 holds weekend outdoor concerts, large festivals, a regular farmers market, numerous community events, and Akron’s official Fourth of July fireworks show during the summer.
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Winter is also a delight with fun attractions such as Ohio’s biggest seasonal outdoor ice rink, the Reindeer Run sledding hill, the Polar Cub Rink, the Polar Putt-Putt, and the Downtown Holiday Lighting Ceremony that kicks off the season.
Most activities, concerts, and movies in Lock 3 are free to the public, so be sure to drop by and see what’s in store for everyone!
The Dr. Robert Smith House, locally known as Dr. Bob’s Home, was the home turned historical museum of Dr. Bob Smith and his wife, Anne Ripley Smith.
The house, built in 1915, was where they resided for 34 years until Anne’s passing in 1949, followed by Dr. Bob a year later.
Dr. Bob began his remarkable journey in this house, where he co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous, now a global mutual aid program for alcoholics committed to recovery through their Twelve Step program.
It was in this humble home where hundreds of individuals recovered from alcoholism; among them was Dr. Bob himself.
In 1985, the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and in 2012 it received National Historic Landmark status.
The Dr. Robert Smith House is owned and managed by the Founders Foundation devoted to the history of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Summit Artspace is home to five galleries, artist studios, and creative businesses in downtown Akron’s Historic Arts District.
With affordable studios open to artists and art organizations, it is a hub for connecting and exchanging ideas between artists and arts supporters.
Summit Artspace rotates exhibits four times a year, giving the public free access to amazing works of art!
The building where Summit Artspace is housed has been recognized as a landmark since it was commissioned in 1927 by James L. Knight and John S. as the Akron Beacon Journal’s headquarters.
The structure, which is 55,000 square feet and stands three floors tall, has been the center of excitement and innovation for almost a century.
Many of the building’s original elements, including the opulent art-deco facade and a manually-operated cargo elevator, are still present.
F. A. Seiberling Nature Realm on Smith Road features 104 acres of outdoors with three hiking trails (Cherry Lane Trail, Fernwood Loop, and Seneca Trail), a Rock and Herb Garden, an arboretum with over 300 species of plants and trees, and more.
The Nature Realm is a tribute to Frank A. Seiberling, a former Metro Parks commissioner and co-founder of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.
Seiberling owned the land that is now the Nature Realm from 1920 to 1948 before it was bought in 1964 by Summit Metro Parks; he also donated over 500 acres to create Sand Run Metro Park.
The Nature Realm’s 10,000-square-foot Visitor Center has seasonal exhibits, kid-friendly areas, live animals, and a gift shop.
On the grounds, you will find a suspension bridge that crosses a ravine that’s about 45-foot deep, observation decks, wetlands, hiking routes, and tall-grass prairies.
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The famous Ohio and Erie Canalway Towpath Trail, which passes through the center of the Ohio & Erie Canalway, attracts millions of Americans each year.
Journey along the route that mules used to pull canal boats loaded with people and goods across the Ohio & Erie Canal from 1827 to 1913.
The Towpath Trail follows the original historical path closely based on old maps and the remains of the trail.
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Named the “Best of Ohio” Bike Trail for 2015 by the Ohio Magazine, the Ohio and Erie Canalway Towpath Trail stretches over 90 miles of mainly flat and ADA-accessible trails.
The Towpath Trail begins at Canal Basin Park in Cleveland (Cuyahoga County) and heads down into Cuyahoga Valley National Park, passing through the Summit Metro Parks (Summit Country), including Akron, towards Canal Lands Park in Dover (Tuscarawas County).
Visitors can learn more about the historical, cultural, environmental, and recreational treasures protected along the Towpath Trail at significant visitor centers.
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The Glendale Steps on Glendale Avenue is a historic sandstone stairway built from 1936 to 1937 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to put people back to work through infrastructure to help rebuild the economy during the Great Depression.
With 242 sandstone steps and a 200-foot incline, the Glendale Steps connects two Akron neighborhoods, allowing residents to walk from South Walnut Street down to Glendale Avenue.
Unfortunately, the stairs were covered in trash, graffiti, and vegetation for many years before locals came together to clean up the area.
The Glendale Steps was brought back to the public eye as a historical landmark that even tourists get to experience.
Walk the steps and admire the craftsmanship that transpired during the Depression Era while also enjoying a fantastic view of downtown Akron.
Cascade Locks Park on Ferndale Street depicts Akron’s history from its early frontier to the canal period through the city’s economic growth.
The park is the southernmost section of the Cascade Valley Metro Park which was once an abandoned urban landscape.
The Cascade Locks Park Association (CLPA), established in 1989, helps preserve, protect, and promote the park’s legacy along the Ohio & Erie Canal’s locks 10 through 16.
The park’s major attractions include the gushing and cascading waters of the waterway and the Mustill Store Museum, a canal-era structure believed to have been constructed in the 1850s.
Access to the Mustill Store Museum is free for all ages, but if you get hungry, snacks and beverages are available for sale, as well as locally-made goods and souvenirs.
Visitors can have free self-guided tours or group tours during the museum’s operating hours; however, donations are always appreciated.
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Lock 2 Park, one of 19 locks that originally moved canal boats, is situated across the renowned Ohio & Erie Canal.
It’s between Canal Park Stadium and Akron Children’s Hospital and is only about a three-minute walk from the Akron Children’s Museum.
After several renovations, Lock 2 Park is now an open public space and an intimate setting for small group gatherings.
Overhead string lights, bright colored chairs and tables, and the rush of the canal water set up the delightful park ambiance.
Since Lock 2 Park runs through the Towpath Trail, many walkers, runners, and bikers stop by to take a break before continuing on the trail.
Goodyear Heights Metro Park in Newton Street was founded in 1930 on donated land by Akron’s Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and acquired land by the Metro Parks from local Gilbert Waltz.
Through natural progression, tulip trees, oaks, beech, sugar, red maples, pin oaks, and black cherries have outgrown the many pine trees once planted in the park.
There is space for sports, sledding, walking, hiking, and wildlife with the park’s ball field and wooded areas.
There are two trails ready for you to explore, one of which is the Alder Trail which leads to Alder Pond, where you may go fishing and also offers cross-country skiing.
An enclosed pavilion can also be rented out for private activities.
The Charles Goodyear Memorial Pavilion was built in 1957 where it used to house the park district’s office until it relocated to Sand Run Metro Park in 1974.
The Glendale Steps on Glendale Avenue is a historic sandstone stairway built from 1936 to 1937 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to put people back to work through infrastructure to help rebuild the economy during the Great Depression.
With 242 sandstone steps and a 200-foot incline, the Glendale Steps connects two Akron neighborhoods, allowing residents to walk from South Walnut Street down to Glendale Avenue.
Unfortunately, the stairs were covered in trash, graffiti, and vegetation for many years before locals came together to clean up the area.
The Glendale Steps was brought back to the public eye as a historical landmark that even tourists get to experience.
Walk the steps and admire the craftsmanship that transpired during the Depression Era while also enjoying a fantastic view of downtown Akron.
Nick81aku, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Akron-Summit County Public Library offers tools for education and recreation, meeting spaces, information services, and activities for all ages that support and enhance daily life in the City of Akron and the entire Summit County.
The public library on South High Street was established in 1874 and consists of the Main Library, a Mobile Services division, and 18 local branches.
The Akron-Summit County Public Library is dedicated to providing inclusive access to resources and services for those with dementia and sensory-processing needs; it also welcomes customers with disabilities accompanied by service animals.
Whether you’re searching for book recommendations, electronic books to download, audiobooks to listen to, or resources to aid with homework, they have the staff and resources to help you find exactly what you’re looking for.
Various classes and events are also available for people of all ages, such as book discussions, arts and crafts, gaming, food and cooking, and more!
The 987-acre Sand Run Metro Park has over 14 miles of hiking trails and areas for cross-country skiing, ice skating, and sledding in the winter season.
Although Sand Run Metro Park was established in 1929, the region has long welcomed visitors, including Native Americans, Mingo Indians, and even Revolutionary War General Elijah Wadsworth.
Today, visitors can take advantage of the wonderful views of the outdoors and enjoy numerous hiking opportunities with numerous routes to choose from, such as the Jogging Trail, Towpath Trail, and the more challenging Parcours Trail.
A popular attraction for nature lovers is the small wetland close to Merriman Road and Sand Run Parkway, home to amphibians’ breeding areas.
The park is inhabited by various rare species, such as butternut trees, native orchids, and sharp-shinned hawks; the tall forests are nested by owls, red-tailed hawks, pileated woodpeckers, and squirrels.
No matter the season, Sand Run Metro Park at Sand Run Road offers diverse wildlife and enjoyable activities perfect for the whole family.
The Emily Davis Gallery on East Exchange Street is well-known across the country.
It often hosts bold contemporary exhibits and events highlighting critical thinking and the most up-to-date expressions in visual arts today.
It’s located inside The University of Akron; however, it’s open to students and the public as well.
The Emily Davis Gallery, under the Myers School of Art, provides inspiration and support to the students, the faculty, and community.
The Gallery is inside the Folk Hall, a facility that houses 28 studios, faculty offices, an auditorium, the Student Projects Gallery, the William Hogarth Seminar Room, the Graphic Services Center, and the Visual Resource Center.
In addition to showcasing artworks by the faculty and students, the Emily Davis Gallery features lectures and works by contemporary artists that are highly respected in the national and global scene.
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Another park worth visiting is the 526-acre Cascade Valley Metro Park on Cuyahoga Street which has over seven miles of hiking trails.
The Chuckery Area, one of five park areas in Cascade Valley Metro Park, has various distinctive features, including a meadow and a prairie, both with unique and rare plant species.
It’s in this area where hikers can see the Indian Signal Tree before reaching the Cuyahoga River, traversing the parkway, and ascending a hill.
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The Indian Signal Tree is believed to be a special marker used to point to important locations, similar to when American Indians wandered the lands of present-day Northeast Ohio and used this kind of marker for directions.
Some people think the possibly 300-year-old bur oak tree’s branches were formed by an odd accident; others believe that American Indians shaped the sapling of the tree to create its peculiar three-tonged form.
A 1986 plaque at the park indicates that the Indian Signal Tree marked the way from the Cuyahoga River to the Portage Trail.
Despite some parts having fallen throughout the years, the Indian Signal Tree’s three branches remain intact.
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If you’re searching for a fun, fast, and free way to explore the city and neighboring areas in Summit County, Summit Bike Share has you covered.
Summit Bike Share is a free bicycle-sharing program in Summit County, where 40 bicycles are available for borrowing, spread across nine stations in Summit County.
This program, run by the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition, provides Summit County residents and visitors with access to a sustainable, practical, and healthy mode of transportation.
The bike stations are close to businesses, restaurants, shops, and the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail in the downtown areas of Akron and Barberton.
All you have to do is go to a Summit Bike Share station within their operating hours, ask for a bike from the front desk staff, ride around the area for a maximum of three hours, bring the bike back to the station from which you started, and return the helmet and bike key to the front desk.
Using a bike at any Summit Bike Share location requires a valid driver’s license.
Springfield Bog Metro Park on Portage Line Road is well-known for its gorgeous blooms in the late summer and is a stunning destination for walks and picnics in the fall.
It’s a pet-friendly park with picnic tables and a 1.6-mile Prairie Trail–an easy trail leading through thriving prairie grasslands.
Opened in 2011, Springfield Bog Metro Park has changed in the past several years.
Over 40 different types of prairie plants have transformed the area from farmland into an important habitat for wildlife such as grassland birds.
There are two viewing areas, one for Young’s Bog, which are bog remains named for the Young family who lived in the area in 1877, and the other for the man-made “baby bog.”
These bogs or wetlands were originally abundant in huckleberries, attracting pickers from Akron and Canton; however, commercial harvesting ceased sometime during the 1950s.
Cascade Locks Park on Ferndale Street depicts Akron’s history from its early frontier to the canal period through the city’s economic growth.
The park is the southernmost section of the Cascade Valley Metro Park which was once an abandoned urban landscape.
The Cascade Locks Park Association (CLPA), established in 1989, helps preserve, protect, and promote the park’s legacy along the Ohio & Erie Canal’s locks 10 through 16.
The park’s major attractions include the gushing and cascading waters of the waterway and the Mustill Store Museum, a canal-era structure believed to have been constructed in the 1850s.
Access to the Mustill Store Museum is free for all ages, but if you get hungry, snacks and beverages are available for sale, as well as locally-made goods and souvenirs.
Visitors can have free self-guided tours or group tours during the museum’s operating hours; however, donations are always appreciated.
Parks, museums, and historic sites are usually good choices for free activities, and Akron is brimming with these!
It demonstrates how Akron emphasizes its citizens’ welfare through history, the arts, and nature.
Check out these free things to do in Akron and enjoy the city’s rich, vibrant past and marvelous beauty!
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