Metroparks Toledo, officially the Metropolitan Park District of the Toledo Area, is a public

park district A park district is a form of local special-purpose district for providing public parks and recreation in or near its geographic boundaries. Some park districts also own or maintain related cultural facilities such as monuments, zoos, sports venu ...

consisting of parks,

nature preserves A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

, a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

, trail network and historic battlefield in

Lucas County, Ohio Lucas County is a county located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is bordered to the east by Lake Erie, and to the southeast by the Maumee River, which runs to the lake. As of the 2020 census, the population was 431,279 ...

. Founded during the Great Depression and initially built using labor from federal New Deal programs, the present park district includes across 19 metroparks and nearly of trails throughout the Toledo area. The largest park,

Oak Openings Preserve Metropark Oak Openings Preserve Metropark is a nature preserve located in Swanton Township, Ohio, owned and operated by Metroparks Toledo. Most of the park is an oak savanna ecosystem, characterized by alternating wetland and vegetated dunes. The park hos ...

, is a centerpiece of the Oak Openings Region and features ecologically significant

oak savanna An oak savanna is a type of savanna—or lightly forested grassland—where oaks (''Quercus ''spp.) are the dominant trees. The terms "oakery" or "woodlands" are also used commonly, though the former is more prevalent when referencing the Medite ...

landscapes and globally rare plant communities. Pearson Metropark contains one of the last remaining stands of the

Great Black Swamp The Great Black Swamp (also known simply as the Black Swamp) was a glacially fed wetland in northwest Ohio, sections of lower Michigan, and extreme northeast Indiana, United States, that existed from the end of the Wisconsin glaciation until t ...

. 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 The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

and

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

Wildwood Preserve Metropark Wildwood Preserve Metropark is a nature reserve and historic estate located in Sylvania Township, Ohio. Wildwood is the most-visited of the 19-park Metroparks Toledo district. Metroparks Toledo purchased the property in 1975 following a citizen ...

features one of the last remaining public, free-admission gardens designed by

Ellen Biddle Shipman Ellen Biddle Shipman (November 5, 1869 – March 27, 1950) was an American landscape architect known for her formal gardens and lush planting style. Along with Beatrix Farrand and Marian Cruger Coffin, she dictated the style of the time and stron ...

at the former

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

estate of

Champion spark plug A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...

magnate Robert Stranahan.

Governance

Metroparks Toledo is governed by a five-member volunteer board of commissioners appointed by the Lucas County probate court judge. The park district administrative offices are located at

. The system is funded by three tax levies, the state local government fund, grants and donations. In 2022, the district employed 164 full-time and part-time employees.

Metroparks

The district comprises 19 metroparks. Two additional properties, Fort Miamis in Maumee and the Brookwood Area in Toledo, are part of the district, but are not defined as metroparks.

Land holdings

Metroparks Toledo owns of farmland in Toledo near Inverness Club for future development as a metropark. Metroparks officials said the future park will be the "typical Metroparks experience" with meadows and a sledding hill. The district additionally owns approximately , called the Oak Openings Corridor, in western Lucas County and Swan Creek Township, Fulton County. Four Maumee River islands (Marengo, Audubon, Blue Grass and Granger) totaling are owned by Metroparks Toledo. Granger Island features a private cabin available for rent.

Regional trails

Metroparks Toledo manages all or portions of several paved, regional

rail trails A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetca ...

References

External links

Metroparks Toledo
{{coord missing, Ohio Protected areas of Lucas County, Ohio Park districts in Ohio Parks in Toledo, Ohio Metroparks Toledo New Deal in Ohio Works Progress Administration in Toledo, Ohio