Greenwood Village: Prehistoric Earthwork in Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Sight · Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Greenwood Village: Prehistoric Earthwork

A wooded earthwork whose purpose may have been ceremonial.

Type
Sight
Nearest trail
0.7 mi
Audio stories
7 nearby
  • Exhibit
  • Parking
  • Restrooms

Hear the audio tour

Red Lock Trailhead and Jaite Mill

Overview

About Greenwood Village: Prehistoric Earthwork

Why stop

  • A specific archaeological story changed by later evidence.

Heads up

  • Reaching the site involves a Towpath walk and steep climb.

Map

Where it is

Loading the Cuyahoga Valley map
Full map
SightGreenwood Village: Prehistoric Earthwork41.29871, -81.56640
Keep this map with you offline in the Parkwolf app

Plan your stop

Before you go

Getting there

Start at Red Lock Trailhead. Follow the Towpath north for 0.7 mile to the first Old Carriage Trail junction, then turn right up the hill. The small lot has 15 spaces and cannot accommodate oversized vehicles. Accessible vault toilets are at Red Lock, before the climb.

3 active Cuyahoga Valley alerts

  • ClosureTowpath Trail improvement closureThe Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail from Boston Trailhead to Lock 29 in Peninsula is closed for improvements during the August 24–November 20, 2026 closure period.Official details
  • CautionCuyahoga River paddling closure and hazardsPaddlers must portage the current river-wide closure near river mile 17 and avoid serious river hazards. - The closure is due to bridge demolition and construction.Official details
See all 3 alerts
A park ranger sits on a dash-mounted phone, talking, as Parkwolf’s Tour Guide plays “Army Cutworm Moths: A Grizzly Bear Buffet” on Grand Loop Road below Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone
Parkwolf Tour GuideThe highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.

Cuyahoga Valley Tour Guide

Your drive to Greenwood Village: Prehistoric Earthwork, narrated.

Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Cuyahoga Valley National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.

Recorded for this place

Red Lock Trailhead and Jaite Mill
0:00 / 0:27
“You're nearing Red Lock Trailhead, where I'd choose the short Towpath walk to Jaite Mill for a little industrial history. Follow the level path south for about half a mile, then return the same way.”

Plays as you drive up to Greenwood Village: Prehistoric Earthwork in the Parkwolf Cuyahoga Valley Tour Guide.

More stories near here in the app

  • Brandywine Ski Resort and Polar Blast
  • A Heron’s Sudden Strike
  • The Bird That Follows Its Nose
  • Breathing Through the Skin
  • 97 audio storiesacross Cuyahoga Valley’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
  • Wildlife heatmapsfor Bald Eagle, River Otter, Coyote, and 13 more
  • Works offlinemaps, 63 trails, 88 places, and audio download before you lose signal
  • CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
★★★★★
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
JMJamesApp Store review
Download Parkwolf on the App StoreGet Parkwolf on Google Play

4.7 from 8,600+ ratings

Guide

More about Greenwood Village: Prehistoric Earthwork

What you'll findGreenwood Village is a prehistoric earthwork site on a high, flat plateau ringed by ravines.

Greenwood Village is a prehistoric earthwork site on a high, flat plateau ringed by ravines. Linear earthen walls mark the place, now in deep woods. If archaeology interests you, this is a worthwhile but effortful stop: it takes a walk along the Towpath and a steep climb to reach it.

Why the old fort story changedCharles Whittlesey recorded the earthworks in 1847 and interpreted them as defensive walls.

Charles Whittlesey recorded the earthworks in 1847 and interpreted them as defensive walls. By 1867, plowing had disturbed the site. A stone ramp found in 1983 led from inside the walls to the surrounding plateau; excavations found no dwellings, only a few briefly used hearths, along with large earth ovens. Archaeologists now think people may have gathered here for ceremonies 800 to 1,600 years ago. The purpose is still an interpretation, not a certainty.

Wildlife

Wildlife in Cuyahoga Valley

All Cuyahoga Valley wildlife maps

Sighting maps show where each species has been reported across Cuyahoga Valley. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.

Keep exploring

Near Greenwood Village: Prehistoric Earthwork

See it all on the map

Trails nearby

More stops nearby

Parkwolf’s Cuyahoga Valley ranking

Top sights in Cuyahoga Valley

All 88 places
  1. 1Brandywine FallsSight
  2. 2The LedgesSight
  3. 3Beaver MarshSight
  4. 4Blue Hen FallsSight
  5. 5Hale Farm & VillageSight
  6. 6Everett Covered BridgeSight

Take Parkwolf to Cuyahoga Valley.

The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.

4.7 from 8,600+ ratings

Download Parkwolf on the App StoreGet Parkwolf on Google Play