Great Parks

This has been the busiest summer of my life, but in the midst of my busyness, I've tried to sneak in some nature time. Besides my grand National Parks adventure and my woodland writers retreat, I've spent a lot of time in city and county parks, the real gems of the Cincinnati area. I'm sure there are terrific parks in other cities, but here in Cincy, we have Great Parks. Capital G, Capital P.


This summer, I've spent a fair amount of time at the biggest park in the county, Miami Whitewater Forest. This park has several wooded trails, a nice, big lake, and over eight miles of hilly bike trails. I spend my time here on the bike trail, and it's my favorite in town. The trail winds through wildflower meadows, farmland, and forest, and it's just hilly enough to give me a good workout on a short ride.

I do a lot of walking, and this summer, I've done some of it in our parks. Farbach-Warner Nature Preserve is a five minute drive from home, and it's a jewel. This wooded walking trail is just off one of the busiest roads in my area, and somehow that makes it feel especially wonderful: a real reprieve. This park never fails to surprise me. I've watched bucks wander through the woods, just four feet away from me, and turtles hanging out on the edges of the pond. The park is small but lovely.


Last weekend, my friend, Wanda, and I went walking in a new park--new to us, at least: Glenwood Gardens. This one is about twenty minutes from home, and it is gorgeous. There are lots of lovely cultivated gardens, complete with arbors and gazebos.


The park has a good two plus miles of walking trails that meander through reclaimed farmland, wetlands, woods, and meadows. I recommend this one, too.

Finally, a couple of weeks ago, Wanda and I hit Winton Woods, about twenty minutes from my house, for an afternoon of kayaking. I've wanted to kayak for a long while now. I took a sea kayaking class in 2010, and I love the feeling of paddling out into a little lake to sit in the quiet. Winton Woods has a good sized lake and rental kayaks, so off we went. We rented a sit-on-top tandem kayak for an hour on a cool, fall-like day. The sky was blue, with some low-squatting, grey-tinged clouds, so it was a gorgeous day on the lake. We took a little while to get our paddle strokes in sync, but we got there. We paddled out to the less populated end of the lake where we saw a seeming flock of Great Blue Herons, complete with a baby (adorable!). The hardest part of the trip was at the end. A park worker held the kayak to the cement pier so we could get out, which I accomplished in a less-than-graceful body roll from kayak to cement. Still, he did compliment us: "you're the only tandem kayakers here who I've ever seen try to synchronize their paddle strokes." At least he didn't say, "you're the only paddler I've ever seen flop like a fish from kayak to pier."

I highly recommend my county's Great Parks. They make a busy summer slow down just a little bit, and that's a gift.

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