Dayton has many fantastic metro parks to explore and I'm going to attempt to visit them all this year to feature them on the blog. To start out this year I'm going to start with the one closest to my house in Kettering but only minutes away from downtown, Hills & Dales Metro Park. This urban forest and park was designed by John Charles Olmstead and Frederick Law Olmstead Jr. sons of Fredrick Law Olmstead the designer of Central Park in New York City. This land belonged to John Patterson, founder of the National Cash Register Company who believed that education & outdoor exercise were the pillars of good health. So, he had the Olmstead brothers design this for the benefit of the community of Dayton. The park & forest went through an extensive cleanup of the honeysuckle in the 80's & 90's with major improvements of shelters, a boardwalk & playground finished in 2009. Right now with the spring flowers blooming it is a beautiful place to hike or picnic. Check out the metro park website for more information on trails and parking areas to plan your visit.
Hills & Dales Metro Park is located at 2655 S Patterson Blvd, Kettering 45409. For more information go to www.metroparks.org.