| Metroparks Toledo | |
|---|---|
.jpg) .jpg)    Clockwise from top:Wildwood Preserve Metropark's Manor House, theToledo Botanical Garden, a canal boat and mule team atProvidence Metropark, canal locks atSide Cut Metropark, wildlife inPearson Metropark. | |
| Type | Publicpark district |
| Motto | Get Outside Yourself[1] |
| Location | Lucas County,Ohio,United States |
| Area | 12,700 acres (5,100 ha)[2] |
| Created | 1928[3] |
| Operated by | Board of Park Commissioners of the Metropolitan Park District of the Toledo Area |
| Visitors | 6 million (2021)[2] |
| Open | Year-round, 7 a.m. until dark daily[4] |
| Budget | $20.4 million (2022)[5] |
| Website | metroparkstoledo.com |
Metroparks Toledo, officially theMetropolitan Park District of the Toledo Area, is a publicpark district consisting ofparks,nature preserves, abotanical garden,trail network and historic battlefield inLucas County, Ohio.[6]
Founded during theGreat Depression and initially built using labor from federalNew Deal programs,[7][8] the present park district includes 12,700 acres (5,100 ha) across 19 metroparks and nearly 200 miles (320 km) of trails throughout theToledo area.[6]
The largest park,Oak Openings Preserve Metropark, is a centerpiece of theOak Openings Region and features ecologically significantoak savanna landscapes and globally rare plant communities.[9]Pearson Metropark contains one of the last remaining stands of theGreat Black Swamp.[10]
The district includes historically and culturally significant sites, including theFallen Timbers Battlefield, survivingMiami and Erie Canal infrastructure atSide Cut andProvidence Metroparks, and a variety of shelters and buildings built by the federalWorks Progress Administration andCivilian Conservation Corps.[11][12]Wildwood Preserve Metropark features one of the last remaining public, free-admission gardens designed byEllen Biddle Shipman at the formermanor house estate ofChampion spark plug magnate Robert Stranahan.[13]
Metroparks Toledo is governed by a five-member volunteer board of commissioners appointed by the Lucas County probate court judge.[14] The park district administrative offices are located atWildwood Preserve Metropark.[15]
The system is funded by three tax levies, the state local government fund, grants and donations.[16] In 2022, the district employed 164 full-time and part-time employees.[17]
The district comprises 19 metroparks.[16] Two additional properties,Fort Miamis inMaumee and the Brookwood Area inToledo, are part of the district, but are not defined as metroparks.[16]
| Metropark | Acreage (Hectares)[16] | Location[16] | Year Est.[8][18][19] | Park Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bend View Metropark | 461 acres (187 ha) combined | Waterville | 1935 | map |
| Farnsworth Metropark | Waterville | 1937 | ||
| Providence Metropark | Providence Township | 1930 | ||
| Blue Creek Metropark | 678 acres (274 ha) | Whitehouse andWaterville Township | 2000 | map |
| Cannonball Prairie Metropark | 89 acres (36 ha) | Monclova Township | 2020 | map |
| Fallen Timbers Battlefield Metropark | 204 acres (83 ha) | Maumee andMonclova Township | 2000 (land purchased); 2015 (battlefield opened)[1] | map |
| Glass City Metropark | 66 acres (27 ha) | Toledo | 2020 | map |
| Howard Marsh Metropark | 995 acres (403 ha) | Jerusalem Township | 2018 | map |
| Manhattan Marsh Preserve Metropark | 57 acres (23 ha) | Toledo | 2020 | map |
| Middlegrounds Metropark | 28 acres (11 ha) | Toledo | 2016 | map |
| Oak Openings Preserve Metropark | 4,291 acres (1,737 ha) | Swanton Township | 1931 | map |
| Pearson Metropark | 627 acres (254 ha) | Oregon | 1934 | map |
| Secor Metropark | 837 acres (339 ha) | Richfield Township andSylvania Township | 1949 | map |
| Side Cut Metropark | 323 acres (131 ha) | Maumee | 1930 | map |
| Swan Creek Preserve Metropark | 451 acres (183 ha) | Toledo | 1963 | map |
| Toledo Botanical Garden | 60 acres (24 ha) | Toledo | 1964 | map |
| Westwinds Metropark | 174 acres (70 ha) | Springfield Township | 2015 | map |
| Wildwood Preserve Metropark | 493 acres (200 ha) | Sylvania Township | 1975 | map |
| Wiregrass Lake Metropark | 51 acres (21 ha) | Spencer Township | 2015 | map |
Metroparks Toledo owns 167 acres (68 ha) of farmland in Toledo nearInverness Club for future development as a metropark.[16] Metroparks officials said the future park will be the "typical Metroparks experience" with meadows and a sledding hill.[20]
The district additionally owns approximately 1,900 acres (770 ha), called the Oak Openings Corridor, in western Lucas County andSwan Creek Township, Fulton County.[16]
FourMaumee River islands (Marengo, Audubon, Blue Grass and Granger) totaling 257 acres (104 ha) are owned by Metroparks Toledo. Granger Island features a private cabin available for rent.[21]
Metroparks Toledo manages all or portions of several paved, regionalrail trails.
| Trail | Length (one-way) | Location | Former railroad | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University/Parks Trail | 7 miles (11 km)[22] | University of Toledo toSylvania Township | Toledo, Angola and Western Railroad[23] | Owned by Lucas County and maintained by Metroparks, University of Toledo and City of Toledo.[22] |
| Wabash Cannonball Trail - North Fork | 46 miles (74 km); about 9.5 miles (15.3 km) in Lucas County[24] | Maumee toMontpelier | Wabash Railroad[25] | Owned and managed in Lucas County by Metroparks.[26] |
| Wabash Cannonball Trail - South Fork | 17 miles (27 km); about 10 miles (16 km)[24] in Lucas County | Maumee toLiberty Center | ||
| Chessie Circle Trail | 11 miles (18 km) total; 1.4 miles (2.3 km) owned by Metroparks in South Toledo[27] | Perrysburg to Bowman Park, Toledo. | Toledo Terminal Railroad[28] |
Toledo, Ohio and suburbs | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| History | |||||||||||
| Transportation |
| ||||||||||
| Attractions | |||||||||||
| Shopping malls |
| ||||||||||
| Businesses |
| ||||||||||
| Hospitals |
| ||||||||||
| Education |
| ||||||||||
| Sports |
| ||||||||||
| Neighborhoods | |||||||||||
| Suburbs | |||||||||||
| |
