Summit Lake NorthShore Park Update: December 5, 2025

The Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition as part of Akron Civic Commons will be releasing regular "hard hat" video updates on the development of the Akron Civic Commons 2.0 Summit Lake NorthShore Park, coming Spring 2026!

Summit Lake's North Shore, currently owned by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, is located near the center of the 101-mile Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail, and was the highest point (summit) of the 308-mile canal. The Summit Lake NorthShore will be transformed into a natural and recreational destination for community members and visitors with accessible amenities like a canoe and kayak share, new boat ramp, lakeside seating and firepits, covered pavilions, floating boardwalk, and more.

The structure of the boathouse is nearly complete, and the grand pavilion that overlooks the lake is taking shape along with the pathways and landscape framework around the park. The floating fishing pier has been installed, and details will be added in the spring like the double gangway and rail posts.

Through the vision of our Summit Lake residents and the support of our generous funders like the City of Akron, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, GAR Foundation and individual donors, we are reconnecting residents and visitors to Summit Lake by creating an attractive civic commons space that is accessible, equitable and welcoming to all. A special thanks to the Akron/Summit Convention & Visitors Bureau for their grant support for our hard hat update videos, and to the Cavanaugh Building Corporation for providing the updates and their hard work on the development of the Summit Lake NorthShore Park.