Autumn: A Great Time to Visit the Parks!

The Darke County Park District would like to extend an invitation to all Darke County residents and beyond to visit our twelve beautiful parks including the Tecumseh Trail Bike Path. Autumn is a lovely time of year with the heat, humidity, and insects gone and all the astounding colors developing. It won’t be too much longer before snow and ice may keep everyone tucked inside with a warm mug of hot chocolate, but for now the weather is delightful.

There’s so much to see and do that everyone can find a park for them. Shawnee Prairie Preserve not only features woods, prairie, and wetlands along its many walking trails, but also is home to the Nature Center. At the Nature Center, families can check out the live classroom featuring over thirty live animals and over twenty different species. In addition, at the bird watching window visitors can sit in comfortable armchairs indoors and watch the birds at the feeders even when the weather isn’t so nice. Bird watchers are also encouraged to participate in Project Feeder Watch happening on Tuesdays and Wednesdays 9:30-11am through April. The Nature Center also features displays on Native American culture, insects, mammals, weather, and much more.

Besides Shawnee, there are many other options. Prairie Ridge Meadow offers great fishing in Greenville Creek to those with state licenses. Winterrowd Wetlands features a fabulous observation blind to catch a glimpse of wildlife. Routzong Preserve presents brilliant fall colors, and Tecumseh Point lets visitors walk through history. Don’t forget about those last few bike rides of the year! Tecumseh Trail delivers a great opportunity for a Sunday afternoon family outing. All of the Darke County Parks are open year round from sunrise to sunset, and the Nature Center is open Monday through Saturday from 9am to 5pm.

For a full map of all of the parks or maps of individual parks, visit the Nature Center at 4267 St. Rt. 502 West or visit the website at www.darkecountyparks.org. Nature Notes, the quarterly newsletter, is also available both places and describes all the upcoming programing offered by the Park District. For any questions about YOUR Darke County Parks or upcoming programing, please call the Nature Center at (937)548-0165.