Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Station Road Bridge Trailhead · Cleveland
Ohio's national park needs no entrance pass. Its Cuyahoga County end is close to Cleveland: start at the Station Road Bridge Trailhead in Brecksville, the Canal Exploration Center in Valley View, or the Lock 39 Trailhead in Independence. Most of the park, including Brandywine Falls and the Ledges, lies farther south toward Akron. The park is open every day; some areas close at dusk.
One of the country's great art museums never charges for general admission. Wander the permanent collection, from ancient Egypt and medieval armor to Impressionists and contemporary art, plus the ArtLens Gallery's interactive displays. Open Tuesday through Sunday, with late hours on Wednesdays and Fridays. Some special exhibitions may be ticketed; parking in the museum garage is paid.
James A. Garfield Memorial, Lake View Cemetery · Cleveland
The 180-foot tomb of President James Garfield, dedicated in 1890, has a mosaic-domed Memorial Hall, the Garfields' caskets in the crypt below, and a balcony with views of Lake Erie and the Cleveland skyline. Open daily 10am to 4pm until it closes for the season on Friday, Nov 20. The cemetery grounds stay open year-round.
Tue–Sun at 11am and 1pm; extra Tuesday tours at 11:30am and 1:30pm
Cleveland Museum of Art (meet in the atrium)
Join a volunteer docent for a free public tour of the CMA's collection, Tuesday through Sunday at 11am and 1pm, with extra Tuesday tours at 11:30am and 1:30pm. Tours are free but you need a ticket, so reserve or pick one up at the museum.
Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College · Cleveland
Oberlin College's art museum, about 40 minutes west of Cleveland, has been free and open to the public since 1917. Free street parking out front. Closed Mondays and major holidays, including MLK Day, Thanksgiving and the day after, and Christmas Eve through New Year's Day.
On the first Tuesday of each month, curators, conservators and scholars give a 30-minute talk on art on view at the CMA. Free with a reserved ticket. November's talk (Nov 3) covers the new exhibition Ten Kings of Hell: The Afterlife in Medieval Korea.
Elyria Public Library System, EPLS Central · Cleveland
Elyria Public Library notaries will notarize documents for free at several library locations during regular hours. Schedule ahead, since a notary isn't always on staff. Bring a valid photo ID, fill the document out completely, and don't sign it until you're in front of the notary. Some documents (auto titles, wills, I-9s, real estate and non-English documents) can't be done.
Verified Oct 28 · elyrialibrary.org
Catch: Appointment needed: call ahead to schedule · Valid photo ID required
Cleveland Institute of Art, Peter B. Lewis Theater
Spend your lunch hour with media artist and designer Matt Kenyon, who works with custom software, electronics, machines and sometimes living organisms, as he talks about his practice ahead of his Sculpture Center show. Lunch on Fridays talks are free and open to the public.
Dittrick Museum, Allen Memorial Medical Library (Case Western Reserve University) · Cleveland
Case Western Reserve's Dittrick Museum charges no admission. See an 1875 doctor's office, an iron lung, early X-ray machines, a huge collection of diagnostic instruments and the history of contraception, on the third floor of the Allen Memorial Medical Library. Open Fridays and Saturdays (visitor parking is in the attended garage under Severance Hall); closed Nov 27–28, Dec 18–19, Dec 25–26, Jan 1–2 and Jan 8–9.
The Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland in University Circle is free for everyone living in Ohio and for all youth 18 and under. Adults from outside Ohio pay $10. Open Thursday through Sunday.
Verified Oct 28 · mocacleveland.org
Catch: Only for Ohio residents and youth 18 and under ($10 for other adults)
The U.S. Army String Quartet, with a double bassist, plays Haydn and works by Cleveland Institute of Music alumni in CIM's Mixon Hall. Admission is free, but reserve a ticket. Enter through CIM's Hazel Drive entrance; CIM's parking lot is open to concertgoers.
The Cleveland Institute of Art opens By Way Of, new work by the first cohort of its artist residency exchange with New York's Flux Factory. Remarks at 6pm, then a one-night-only performance by textile artist Itala Aguilera at 6:15pm. The show stays up through Feb 7, 2027.
Lakewood Public Library, Main Library Auditorium · Cleveland
Lakewood Public Cinema screens the 1945 film noir Detour (67 minutes), about a nightclub pianist hitchhiking to Hollywood, followed by a discussion. A free library program in the Main Library Auditorium.
Cleveland's small-press and independent comic convention returns to the CMA's Community Arts Center. Cartoonists, zinesters, printmakers, illustrators and small publishers show their work and talk about how they make it. Free, and no registration needed.
CIM Opera Theater performs arias and ensembles from the opera repertoire in Kulas Hall. Admission is free, but you need a seating pass. A Sunday matinee follows on Dec 6 at 3pm.
A free Sunday afternoon of arias and ensembles from the opera repertoire, sung by the Cleveland Institute of Music's CIM Opera Theater in Kulas Hall. Admission is free with a reserved seating pass.
Violinist Edwin Huizinga and cellist Mike Block perform in the Cleveland Institute of Music's Global Music Ensemble concert in Kulas Hall. Free and open to the public, with no tickets or seating passes needed.
Lakewood Public Library, Main Library Auditorium · Cleveland
The Largely Literary Theater Company's Sara Showman and Mark Dawidziak bring Dickens's Christmas stories and 1840s London holidays to life in a one-act show. A free library program in the Main Library Auditorium.
Mentor Public Library's Library of Things lends much more than books: telescopes, binoculars, metal detectors, a karaoke machine, ukuleles, game consoles, portable projectors, tools, cake pans, radon detectors, light therapy lamps and more. Reserve online for pickup at the Main, Lake or Headlands branch.
Verified Oct 28 · mentorpl.org
Catch: Library card needed · Borrowers must be 18+ with a government-issued ID
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