Deer Run Trail

Deer Run is a 2-mile loop from the main trailhead at O’Neil Woods Metro Park. It rolls through hardwood woods, drops toward Yellow Creek, passes the O’Neil family barn, and climbs back to the start. Allow about 1 to 1½ hours; the hills make this a tougher outing than the distance suggests. It’s a good pick for a short, varied hike, but not a flat stroll.

The route rises and falls under a hardwood canopy before reaching a scenic stretch of Yellow Creek. From there it passes the old barn and loops through the woods toward the north access. The walk also gives you views across the Cuyahoga River Valley. There’s no single summit or long approach; the interest comes from the changing woodland, creek, and farmstead along one compact loop.

The barn is a holdover from the O’Neil family farm. William and Grace O’Neil donated the 242-acre property to the park district in 1972; their son M. Gerald later served on the park board. The former farm barn now shelters a small maternity colony of big brown bats, an unexpectedly wild detail on a short local loop.

Yellow Creek is one of the cleaner tributaries in the Cuyahoga River watershed, and this route follows a scenic section of it. Restrooms and picnic sites are near the starting access, so the loop pairs easily with a picnic. No food vendor or drinking-water source was listed for the park in the material checked.