Lanterman's Falls

Youngstown / Mill Creek Metropark, Ohio, USA

About Lanterman’s Falls


Hiking Distance: 1/2-mile round trip
Suggested Time: 30-45 minutes

Date first visited: 2015-10-04
Date last visited: 2015-10-04

Waterfall Latitude: 41.06675
Waterfall Longitude: -80.68219

Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Lantermans Falls (I’ve also seen it referred to as Lanterman’s Falls) seemed to give me Sleepy Hollow vibes for some strange reason.

Perhaps its appearance right next to the historic Lanterman’s Mill with an attractive covered bridge further upstream made this place seem like it ought to be associated with some kind of lore or legend.

Lanternmans_Falls_097_10042015 - Lanterman's Falls with Lanterman's Mill and the Covered Bridge
Lanterman’s Falls with Lanterman’s Mill and the Covered Bridge

At the same time, I keep thinking that the name of this waterfall was Lanternman’s Falls so the “lantern man” misnomer got me thinking about the Headless Horseman himself!

I couldn’t help but envision this place during twilight or in the evening hours with the mill illuminating just enough to see the silhouette of the Headless Horseman riding through the covered bridge.

Indeed, this place could pass for Sleepy Hollow though the original setting of that story was said to have occurred in the Dutch settlement of Tarry Town roughly 25 miles north of New York City.

In any case, as you can see in the photo above, this waterfall had a scenic allure that combines all of these heritage elements with a pleasing 20ft waterfall to boot.

Experiencing Lantermans Falls

Lanternmans_Falls_005_10042015 - Walking on the East Gorge Walk towards the Canfield Road Bridge en route to the Lanterman's Falls and Lanterman's Mill
Walking on the East Gorge Walk towards the Canfield Road Bridge en route to the Lanterman’s Falls and Lanterman’s Mill

From the signposted parking area for Mill Creek Park or Lanterman’s Mill (see directions below), we followed a well-defined trail towards the road bridge.

The trail followed alongside Mill Creek (part of the East Gorge Walk) beneath the road bridge (Canfield Road) before we immediately started to get our views of the mill and waterfall once we emerged on the other side of the bridge.

A few paces further, we reached a junction where we had the option of going up the stairs to the bridge spanning Mill Creek on Canfield Road or continuing to descend to Lanterman’s Mill.

Going up to Canfield Road, we were able to peer down at the Lanterman’s Mill and Falls from various angles.

Lanternmans_Falls_029_10042015 - Context of Julie and Tahia going underneath the Canfield Road Bridge with the Lanterman's Falls and Lanterman's Mill already visible
Context of Julie and Tahia going underneath the Canfield Road Bridge with the Lanterman’s Falls and Lanterman’s Mill already visible

Perhaps the most satisfying angle was towards the far end of the bridge where we also got to see the covered bridge immediately upstream from the mill and falls (see picture at the top of this page).

It was a little bit nerve wracking up at the bridge due to the quantity of cars whizzing by at the same time there was a sheer drop right down into the gorge on the other side of us.

Still, I figured that this was the best spot for photographs.

Going down the steps all the way to the bottom brought us face-to-face with the entrance to Lanterman’s Mill.

Lanternmans_Falls_125_10042015 - Right in front of the Lanterman's Mill, we noticed these gears or grinding stones on display right
Right in front of the Lanterman’s Mill, we noticed these gears or grinding stones on display right

There were a few display items showing some grinding stones or wheels outside, but we had to pay $2 to tour the inside of the mill itself.

The mill was said to still be in operation like it had been back when it was first built in 1845-1846 by German Lanterman and Samuel Kimberly.

The mill used the power of Mill Creek to grind corn, wheat, and buckwheat.

There was a trail going further downstream towards the Canfield Rd bridge where it dead-ended at yet another lookout peering back towards Lantermans Falls and Mill at an angle near the creek level.

Lanternmans_Falls_120_10042015 - Looking back at the gorge walls beneath the Canfield Road Bridge and just downstream of the Lanterman's Mill
Looking back at the gorge walls beneath the Canfield Road Bridge and just downstream of the Lanterman’s Mill

There were also some gorge walls here hinting at the geological forces allowing for this waterfall to exist.

Walking further upstream to the left of the mill, there was a restroom facility as well as a viewing area adjacent to the mill allowing us to view Lantermans Falls from its brink.

As we continued a little further upstream, that was where we saw the attractive covered bridge spanning Mill Creek.

The trails continued both further downstream as well as across the creek, but the bridge was our turnaround point.

Lanternmans_Falls_046_10042015 - This was the attractive covered bridge just upstream from Lanterman's Falls
This was the attractive covered bridge just upstream from Lanterman’s Falls

Nevertheless, we saw many locals on their morning jogs so I’d imagine this was a popular park for Youngstown residents looking to chill or for a bit of exercise.

Overall, we spent about 50 minutes away from the car.

Authorities

Lantermans Falls resides by the Lanerman’s Mill near Youngstown in Mahoning County, Ohio. It is administered by Mill Creek Metroparks. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.

Lanternmans_Falls_004_10042015 - Following the East Gorge Walk towards the Canfield Road Bridge on the way to Lanterman's Mill with some hints of Autumn foliage showing up in the neighboring trees
Lanternmans_Falls_015_10042015 - Nice contextual view of the Lanterman's Mill and Falls from beyond the bridge
Lanternmans_Falls_042_10042015 - Looking back at the stairs going up to the bridge supporting both a pedestrian walkway as well as Canfield Dr
Lanternmans_Falls_086_10042015 - Looking down towards both Lanterman's Mill and Lanterman's Falls
Lanternmans_Falls_092_10042015 - Tahia on the pedestrian part of Canfield Rd Bridge
Lanternmans_Falls_037_10042015 - The stairs descending all the way down to the entrance of Lanterman's Mill as well as the continuation of the East Gorge Walk
Lanternmans_Falls_054_10042015 - Looking across the attractive Covered Bridge upstream from Lantermans Falls
Lanternmans_Falls_060_10042015 - Looking downstream from the Covered Bridge over Mill Creek towards the brink of the Lantermans Falls
Lanternmans_Falls_069_10042015 - Looking upstream from the Covered Bridge at some hints of fall colors alongside Mill Creek
Lanternmans_Falls_071_10042015 - Looking over the brink of Lantermans Falls towards the Canfield Rd Bridge
Lanternmans_Falls_078_10042015 - Looking upstream from the brink of Lanterman's Falls towards the covered bridge
Lanternmans_Falls_123_10042015 - Looking ahead towards the dead-end and lowermost of the lookouts for Lanterman's Falls, which was right underneath the Canfield Road Bridge
Lanternmans_Falls_139_10042015 - Julie and Tahia walking beneath the attractive trees with fall foliage back to the parking area for Lanterman's Mill


We based ourselves in Cleveland, which seemed to be a pretty central location to do a mix of city stuff as well as the waterfalling excursions in its surroundings.

Driving from Cleveland to Lanterman’s Mill

If we were to drive to Lantermans Falls directly from Cleveland, we would go south on the I-77 for about 17 miles to the I-80 (Ohio Turnpike toll road) heading east.

We would then drive about 52 miles east on the I-80 eventually merging onto the I-680 south.

Next, we would follow the I-680 south for a little over the next 5 miles before leaving the freeway on exit 5 to High Street.

We would then continue on High Street for about 0.3 miles to Glenwood Ave.

Turning left onto Glenwood Ave, we would drive south for about 2 miles before turning right onto Canfield Rd (Route 625).

Lanternmans_Falls_002_10042015 - The parking area closest to the Lanterman's Mill, which was on the other side of the Canfield Road Bridge
The parking area closest to the Lanterman’s Mill, which was on the other side of the Canfield Road Bridge

After another 0.5 miles on Canfield Rd, we would then turn right onto Cohasset Dr (there’s a sign here indicating Lanterman’s Mill and Covered Bridge), where after some 400ft, we would see the parking area for Lanterman’s Mill.

Driving from Paine Falls to Lanterman’s Mill

We actually drove to Mill Creek Park from Paine Falls.

The route we took from the Paine Falls Metropark followed Paine Rd south for just under 4 miles (becoming Brakeman Rd along the way) before we turned left onto Route 86 (Painesville-Warren Rd).

Then, we followed the Route 86 for a little over 15 miles before making another left onto the US Highway 322.

Next, we followed the Hwy 322 east for about 11.5 miles to the Ohio State Hwy 11.

We then drove south on the Hwy 11 for about 26 miles before transitioning onto the Hwy 711.

After about 3.3 miles on the Hwy 711, we then interchanged onto the I-680, where we then drove for about 2 miles to the exit 5 onto High Street.

Once we got onto High Street, we then followed the directions as stated above to reach the Mill Creek Park.

Overall, our drive between Paine Falls and Lantermans Falls took about an hour and 15 minutes.

I’m sure this drive would be comparable in duration for the route straight from Cleveland to Youngstown then to the waterfall.

For some additional geographical context, Cleveland, Ohio was 39 miles (under an hour drive) north of Akron, Ohio, 169 miles (over 2.5 hours drive) south and east of Detroit, Michigan, 133 miles (over 2 hours drive) northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and 142 miles (over 2 hours drive) north of Columbus, Ohio.

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Upstream to downstream sweep of the brink of Lanterman's Falls before showing the context of the lookout ending at Lanterman's Mill


Movie showing all the different ways we were able to view the falls from its front starting at the road bridge then working my way down to the lowermost overlook from beneath the road bridge itself

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Tagged with: youngstown, mill creek, metropark, mahoning, ohio, waterfall, pennsylvania, pittsburgh, autumn, fall colors, sleepy hollow, lantermans mill,lanternmans mill, east gorge walk



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Johnny Cheng

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Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
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