The east side has some of the region’s best fall color within a short drive of home. If you are looking for fall foliage on the east side of Cleveland, most of it sits in a band running from the Chagrin River valley up through Kirtland in Lake County, with a couple of longer trips out into Geauga and Portage counties.
For the full spread across Northeast Ohio, including the Cuyahoga Valley and Lorain County, see every fall foliage spot near Cleveland on the map. Here the focus stays east of the city, with notes on which stops pair well on a single day out.
Color and trail conditions change from week to week in the fall, so check the park’s own updates before you go, especially for the busier weekend spots.
East of the city
East side places for fall color
North Chagrin Reservation, Willoughby Hills
Squire's Castle
Best for: A classic fall photo close to the Heights
Squire’s Castle is an 1890s stone gatehouse inside the North Chagrin Reservation in Willoughby Hills, and in autumn the woods around it make one of the most photographed fall scenes on the east side. It sits on River Road, a short drive from Mayfield and Willoughby.
Plan for company on peak weekends. A weekday visit or an early start gives you the building and the trees with fewer people in the frame, and the rest of North Chagrin is right there if you want a longer walk.
North Chagrin Reservation, Mayfield Village
A.B. Williams Memorial Woods Overlook Trail
Best for: A short walk under very old trees
The A.B. Williams Memorial Woods Overlook Trail is the other North Chagrin stop worth making in the fall. It is a short, easy trail through old-growth beech and maple forest on the Mayfield Village side of the reservation, and those centuries-old trees turn gold and orange.
Because the walk is short, it pairs well with Squire’s Castle. Do one after the other and you have a full morning in the same park without much driving in between.
Kirtland
Penitentiary Glen Reservation trails
Best for: Free trails for a longer fall walk
Penitentiary Glen in Kirtland is a Lake Metroparks reservation with miles of trails through forest and fields alongside a deep gorge, and it is free to visit. It suits people who want to spend a couple of hours walking under the leaves at their own pace.
The gorge itself is open only on guided hikes, so check the park’s schedule if you want to see it up close. The reservation sits across the road from the Holden Arboretum, which makes Kirtland an easy place to spend a whole fall day.
Kirtland
Murch Canopy Walk and Kalberer Emergent Tower
Best for: Seeing the color from above
At the Holden Arboretum in Kirtland, the Murch Canopy Walk runs 500 feet through the trees at 65 feet up, and the Kalberer Emergent Tower rises 120 feet with views toward Lake Erie. In the fall that puts you at eye level with the treetops across the grounds.
The tower sways a little, which is worth knowing if anyone in your group is uneasy with heights. Admission is paid, so this is the one stop here to set some money aside for.
Chagrin Falls
Chagrin Falls village waterfall
Best for: Fall scenery with lunch and a stroll
The waterfall in Chagrin Falls sits in the middle of downtown, so you can see it and then walk through the village shops and cafes without getting back in the car. Park on the street in the town center.
The village is a short drive south of North Chagrin through the Chagrin Valley, which makes it an easy lunch stop after a morning at Squire’s Castle. It also works on its own for anyone who wants fall scenery without a hike.
Newbury Township
Punderson State Park sledding hill
Best for: Lake views and long walks in Geauga County
Punderson State Park in Newbury Township has about 14 miles of trails around a glacial lake, with overlooks across the water. It is farther out than the Chagrin and Kirtland stops, on Kinsman Road in Geauga County, and it rewards people who want a long walk more than a quick photo.
Give it a half day. The lake loops let you see the color from the shoreline and from inside the woods on the same outing.
Garrettsville
Nelson-Kennedy Ledges State Park
Best for: Rock passages and a small waterfall
Nelson-Kennedy Ledges State Park near Garrettsville is the longest drive here, out in Portage County. Short color-coded trails wind through narrow rock passages, past Cascade Falls and under hemlock and birch, and the rock scrambling makes it feel different from the wooded loops closer to the city.
Wear shoes with good grip. The trails are short, so it pairs well with Punderson if you are making a longer loop through Geauga and Portage counties.
Planning a day
How to pair east side stops in one trip
The simplest fall day on the east side stays in and around the North Chagrin Reservation. Start at Squire’s Castle, walk the A.B. Williams Memorial Woods trail, then drive south to Chagrin Falls for lunch and a look at the waterfall off North Main Street.
A Kirtland day works just as well. Penitentiary Glen and the Holden Arboretum face each other across the road, so you can walk the free trails in the morning and spend the afternoon on the canopy walk and tower. Save Punderson and Nelson-Kennedy Ledges for a day when you have time for a longer drive into Geauga and Portage counties.
Weekend crowds are the main thing to plan around. Squire’s Castle is busiest on peak weekends, and an early start helps anywhere on this list.
Elsewhere in the region
Fall color closer to the west and south sides
The Cuyahoga Valley has the region’s best-known fall stops, including Brandywine Falls and the gorge trail near Northfield, where the loop runs through sugar maples and oaks, and the Ledges Trail and overlook in the Virginia Kendall area near Peninsula. Lots at both fill by midday on warm weekends.
Closer to the west suburbs, the Lake to Lake Trail in the Big Creek Reservation in Parma tends to stay uncrowded, and Whipp’s Ledges in Hinckley has mossy sandstone and views over the lower park from the top. Mill Hollow and Bacon Woods in Vermilion add shale river cliffs and a good chance of spotting bald eagles.
Good to know
Questions before you go.
Which east side stops work for young kids?
Penitentiary Glen is family friendly, with benches along the trails, and the A.B. Williams trail is short and easy enough for small legs.
Which stops work with a stroller or for someone who cannot manage rough trails?
Much of the Holden Arboretum grounds are paved, and the Chagrin Falls waterfall can be seen from downtown sidewalks. Skip Nelson-Kennedy Ledges, where the trails squeeze through rock.
When is peak color on the east side?
It shifts every year with the weather. Check park updates and local color reports in the days before you go.
The full map
See fall color spots across Northeast Ohio
The <a href="/guides/best-fall-foliage-cleveland/">full fall foliage guide</a> covers the Cuyahoga Valley, the Metroparks south and west of the city, Lorain County and more, all on one map.