Ohio & Erie Canalway debuts Web site, Visitors’ Guide
GREATER AKRON — The Ohio & Erie Canalway Association (OECA) announced it has a new Web site, Visitors’ Guide and Canalway Signage plan at a symposium at the Akron-Summit County Main Branch Library April 5.
The symposium marked the 10th anniversary of the OECA, the organization that distributes federal grants and oversees the Ohio & Erie National Heritage Canalway. The canalway runs 110 miles through Cuyahoga, Summit, Stark and Tuscarawas counties from Cleveland through Akron and Canton to New Philadelphia. The canalway, one of 27 National Heritage Areas in the United States, was established by Congress in 1996 to preserve and interpret historic sites, parks and wildlife, cultural assets and recreational areas.
According to Candace Bates, of the OECA, the 36-page Visitors’ Guide and new Web site, www.ohioanderie canalway.org, show visitors the three ways they can experience the canalway: by driving the Ohio & Erie Canalway Byway; riding the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad; or walking, biking or hiking the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail. New signage will be implemented along the byway, which consists of scenic roads along the historic route of the Ohio & Erie Canal.
A unique feature of the Web site includes an interactive mapping page and an itinerary builder. For example, to plan a day along the Canalway, site visitors can search through the hundreds of attractions featured on the Web site, check the ones they want to visit and then build an itinerary.
“This interactive Web site takes visitors on a journey where they can learn, explore and, in a way, actually visit everything that makes up the Ohio & Erie Canalway,” said Rob Heiser, president of WiredViews Inc., the company that created the Web site.
The Visitors’ Guide, available in the April issue of Ohio Magazine and through the OECA features specific places, sites and areas of interest along the canalway.
For details, visit the Web site or call (330) 434-5657.
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