Akron Metropolitan Area
Regions
Map of Akron Metropolitan Area
Includes Portage County and Summit County
Cities
- 1 Akron , the County Seat of Summit County, was formerly known as the Rubber Capital, and has successfully made the transition from the America's tire manufacturing hub to its high-tech Polymers Research Center, now referred to as the Polymer Capital. It is also the home of the All-American Soap Box Derby.
- 2 Barberton
- 3 Cuyahoga Falls just north of Akron sits atop the waterfalls of the Cuyahoga River.
- 4 Fairlawn is the commercial mecca on the northwest side of Akron and was home of many of the pioneers of the rubber industry, such as the Goodyear, Seiberling and Firestone families.
- 5 Hudson is a picturesque Western Reserve town, located between Cleveland and Akron.
- 6 Northfield
- 7 Norton
- 8 Peninsula is a historic town tucked away in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and is one of the stops of the Cuyahoga Valley Rail.
- 9 Richfield
- 10 Stow
- 11 Tallmadge
- 12 Ravenna is the County Seat of Portage County, just east of Kent.
- 13 Atwater
- 14 Aurora has a historic town center and the Aurora Farms Outlet Center.
- 15 Garretsville Village
- 16 Kent home of Kent State University, is a quaint town with a very diverse community (particularly on the liberal to conservative scale) and is home to the annual Folk Music Festival. It is the home of the Liquid Crystal Institute where some of the consumer LCD technology was invented.
- 17 Streetsboro
- 18 Sagamore Hills
Other destinations
- Portage Lakes State Park, 5031 Manchester Rd., Akron. 74 non-electric campsites, 400 horsepower limit on lake, 8 boat launch ramps, boat rentals, fishing, hunting, beach, five miles of hiking trails, volleyball courts, horseshoe pits, basketball court, hunting waterfowl in designated areas.
- 1 Cuyahoga Valley National Park
- West Branch State Park, 5708 Esworthy Road, Ravenna. 29 full service camping sites, 155 camping sites with 50-amp electric hook-ups, 14 non-electric sites, heated showers, flush toilets, laundry facilities, 700-foot sand beach, showerhouse, change booth, snack bar, year-round fishing, hunting, 2,650 acres lake, twelve miles of hiking trails, twenty miles of bridle trails, horse camp, playground and volleyball court
Understand
Summit County was created by an act of Congress on March 3, 1840. It was formed from Medina County, Portage County, and two townships from Stark County. Summit County is named because the highest elevation on the Ohio and Erie Canal was located here. Summit County is the only of Ohio's 88 counties that has a charter government.
Get in
By plane
Akron-Canton Regional Airport (CAK IATA). Fly into (AKC IATA) if you can - small, easy to navigate, quick in-and-out.
By bus
Greyhound in Akron
Get around
Summit County is easy to navigate, considering that four of Ohio's major highways run through Summit County.
- I-77 starts in Cleveland, goes through Marietta, and ends in Columbia, South Carolina. In Summit County, I-77 runs North and South through Richfield, Bath, Fairlawn, Copley, Akron, and Green.
- I-76 begins at its intersection with I-71, near Seville, Ohio, and ends in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In Summit County, I-76 runs East and West through Norton, Barberton, Kenmore, Akron, the Goodyear Heights area, the Ellet area, and Mogadore.
- I-271 starts at its intersection with I-71, in Medina, Ohio, and ends at I-90, near Willoughby Hills, Ohio. In Summit County, I-271 runs Southwest to Northeast through Richfield, Boston Township, Boston Heights, and Macedonia.
- I-80 begins in San Francisco, California, and ends near Fort Lee, New Jersey, outside of New York City. In Summit County, I-80, also known as the Ohio Turnpike for its duration in Ohio, runs East and West, through Richfield, Peninsula (no exit), and Hudson. The Ohio Turnpike is a toll road.
- Ohio State Route 8 begins in Cleveland and ends at the I-76 and I-77 interchange in Akron. Route 8 becomes a highway near Northfield and connects the eastern side of the county with I-77 and I-76. Route 8 runs North and South in Summit County through Northfield, Macedonia, Boston Heights, Silver Lake, Cuyahoga Falls, and Akron.
See
Do
- 1 Sky Zone Boston Heights. - located in Boston Heights