Metroparks Toledo

Metroparks Toledo, officially the Metropolitan Park District of the Toledo Area, is a public park district consisting of parks, nature preserves, a botanical garden, trail network and historic battlefield in Lucas County, Ohio.[6]

Metroparks Toledo
Clockwise from top: Wildwood Preserve Metropark's Manor House, the Toledo Botanical Garden, a canal boat and mule team at Providence Metropark, canal locks at Side Cut Metropark, wildlife in Pearson Metropark.
TypePublic park district
MottoGet Outside Yourself[1]
LocationLucas County, Ohio, United States
Area12,700 acres (5,100 ha)[2]
Created1928[3]
Operated byBoard of Park Commissioners of the Metropolitan Park District of the Toledo Area
Visitors6 million (2021)[2]
OpenYear-round, 7 a.m. until dark daily[4]
Budget$20.4 million (2022)[5]
Websitemetroparkstoledo.com

Founded during the Great Depression and initially built using labor from federal New 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 the Toledo area.[6]

The largest park, Oak Openings Preserve Metropark, is a centerpiece of the Oak Openings Region and features ecologically significant oak savanna landscapes and globally rare plant communities.[9] Pearson Metropark contains one of the last remaining stands of the Great Black Swamp.[10]

The district includes historically and culturally significant sites, including the Fallen Timbers Battlefield, surviving Miami and Erie Canal infrastructure at Side Cut and Providence Metroparks, and a variety of shelters and buildings built by the federal Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps.[11][12] Wildwood Preserve Metropark features one of the last remaining public, free-admission gardens designed by Ellen Biddle Shipman at the former manor house estate of Champion spark plug magnate Robert Stranahan.[13]

Governance

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 at Wildwood 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]

Metroparks

The district comprises 19 metroparks.[16] Two additional properties, Fort Miamis in Maumee and the Brookwood Area in Toledo, 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 and Waterville Township 2000 map
Cannonball Prairie Metropark 89 acres (36 ha) Monclova Township 2020 map
Fallen Timbers Battlefield Metropark 204 acres (83 ha) Maumee and Monclova 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 and Sylvania 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

Land holdings

Metroparks Toledo owns 167 acres (68 ha) of farmland in Toledo near Inverness 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 and Swan Creek Township, Fulton County.[16]

Four Maumee 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]

Regional trails

Metroparks Toledo manages all or portions of several paved, regional rail trails.

TrailLength (one-way)Location Former railroad Notes
University/Parks Trail7 miles (11 km)[22]University of Toledo to Sylvania 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 Fork46 miles (74 km); about 9.5 miles (15.3 km) in Lucas County[24]Maumee to Montpelier Wabash Railroad[25] Owned and managed in Lucas County by Metroparks.[26]
Wabash Cannonball Trail - South Fork17 miles (27 km); about 10 miles (16 km)[24] in Lucas CountyMaumee to Liberty 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]

References
  1. "2015 Annual Report" (PDF). Metroparks Toledo. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  2. "2021 Roots and Branches" (PDF). Metroparks Toledo. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  3. "2018 Annual Report". Metroparks Toledo. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  4. "Rules and Regulations". Metroparks Toledo. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  5. "2022 Budget and Annual Planning". Metroparks Toledo. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  6. "Explore Your Metroparks". Metroparks Toledo. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  7. "The Men Who Built The Metroparks". Metroparks Toledo. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  8. "A Rich History". Metroparks Toledo. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  9. "Oak Openings Preserve Highlights" (PDF). Metroparks Toledo. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  10. "Pearson Metropark". Metroparks Toledo. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  11. "Providence Metropark Highlights" (PDF). Metroparks Toledo. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  12. "Side Cut". Metroparks Toledo. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  13. Barnes, Melvin. "The Manor House". See Ohio First. Ohio Humanities. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  14. "Board and Minutes". Metroparks Toledo. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  15. "Contact Us". Metroparks Toledo. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  16. "Metroparks Toledo Agency Overview". Metroparks Toledo. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  17. "Personnel Changes". Metroparks Toledo. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  18. "Howard Marsh Metropark, Designed by SmithGroupJJR, Opens in Toledo Area". globenewswire.com. SmithGroupJJR. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  19. "The Toledo Botanical Garden". Touring Ohio. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  20. Reiter, Mark (12 January 2015). "Metroparks approves money for farmland". Toledo Blade. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  21. "Granger Island Cabin". Metroparks Toledo. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  22. "University/Parks Trail". Metroparks Toledo. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  23. The University of Toledo (January 5, 2000), University/Parks Trail, archived from the original on 2007-02-12, retrieved 2022-01-10
  24. "Wabash Cannonball Trail". Metroparks Toledo. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  25. "Wabash Cannonball Trail". TrailLink. Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  26. "Lucas County Auditor". co.lucas.oh.us. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  27. "Chessie Circle Trail". Metroparks Toledo. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  28. "Chessie Circle Trail". TrailLink. Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. Retrieved 11 January 2022.

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