Lock 37 and Flood Gate

Lock 37 is a surviving lock paired with a flood gate on the Ohio & Erie Canal beside the Towpath Trail. Stop if you want to see canal infrastructure up close; it is a small interpretive stop rather than one of the park's headline attractions.

Boats had to pause at locks to pass between canal water levels. Engineers struggled to keep a steady four feet of water in the canal, and this gate lets excess water flow into the nearby Cuyahoga River.

A tavern and store once served boat traffic at Lock 37. In the mid-1800s, the Alexander family built a mill across the canal; it later passed to the Wilson family. The Wilson Feed Mill is a separate historic building across the water, not part of the lock itself.

Use the unmarked Fitzwater Parking Lot on Fitzwater Road, west of Canal Road, then walk south on the Towpath Trail. The site has historic interpretation and audio description and is listed as wheelchair accessible, though the walk distance and path surface are not specified.