Mitchell Memorial Park – Cleves, OH

 

Old Dam that you can barely see through the trees.

This is one of those trails that invite you in!

We came across Mitchell Memorial Forest on the Hamilton County Park site and decided to go check it out.  This place is a small hidden gem of a park.  We walked down the Wood Duck Nature Trail.  The shot at the top is of an old dam. The pond area that it traps is full of lilies!  Unfortunately, we missed them blooming.  You can barely see this dam from the family-friendly trail. You will have to do a little walking off-trail to get this close. It was only a small detour and well worth the trouble.  Michael kept the kids on the trail.

Lilies

Wood Duck Nature Trail

Small Creek that was mostly dry and perfect to walk in. Ivy looked for fossils.

She found a few bugs. She loves bugs!

We enjoyed the trail which is only about a mile.  Ivy played in an almost dry creek.  She found bugs and flowers to check out.  After we were done with the trail we went to play at their playground.  It was small but cute.  The only issue we had with this playground was that there was no shade.  It was very hot and sunny on that day.  It did not take long and the kids were ready to run for the shade of the neighboring trees.  There is a small, short shaded path right by the playground.  There is a decent bathroom right by the playground.  You also pass a lake as soon as you enter the park.  They only allow catch and release fishing here.  Fishing for fun, not dinner.  There is a shaded picnic area not far from the playground.  This is a nice place to have lunch if it is not in use.

Off to Find Another Adventure

The Info:

Website: http://greatparks.org/

Location of Mitchell Memorial Forest: 5401 Zion Rd. Cleves, OH 45002

Features park offers a 3.9-mile mountain bike trail, hiking, picnic areas, playground, and catch and release fishing only.

Cost: Free because we purchased a park pass on a previous visit. If not it is $3 for the day or the year pass is only $10!

Time: To slowly walk the trail, taking in the sights, and taking photographs you will need 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Another 10 minutes to do the small playground trail. You could easily spend half the day here: Fishing, Walking the trail, Biking the long trail, playing on the playground and having a picnic lunch