Every Trail Project- Blendon Woods

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This afternoon the family and I loaded up in the van and headed east to Blendon Woods. This is a great park! There are so many things that make this park wonderful besides the trails, but at the top of the list has to be the natural play area! This place is awesome! Besides the normal exploring space that most of the natural play areas in the Metro Parks feature, this area had lots fun things including a mini ropes course and a log seesaw. If you have kids, this is a must visit!

 

Blendon Woods was a nice return to the trails for me after all of those bike path miles yesterday. There are 7 named trails within the park - Brookside, Goldenrod, Hickory Ridge, Lake, Overlook, Ripple Rock and Sugarbush. Most of the trails on their own are pretty short but, with a few out and backs and minimal backtracking, I was able to combine all of these trails for a pretty good run. You can see the route that I mapped out here. My two favorite trails on this run were the Sugarbush Trail which takes you on some fun unimproved trail through the forest to a quick grass loop, and the Brookside Trail which runs alongside...you guessed it...a brook! This park is absolutely beautiful. A large majority of the trails are under the canopy of tall trees, providing plenty of shade. There are some sections with beautiful prairie as well, and if you take the Lake Trail, that will take you to two cool little bird watching huts. 
Prairie section on the Goldenrod Trail
In the forest on the Ripple Rock Trail

Bird watching hut at the end of the Lake Trail

This was such a peaceful run with so many moments to just enjoy this beautiful park. You can't even tell that a freeway runs right by the park. If you are looking for a place with a little bit of everything that is also a great place for kids, go to Blendon Woods!

So happy to be in the woods!


I'm sure this won't be the last time I say this, but our Metro Parks have the best staff! The staff responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the park do an awesome job and the rangers are so friendly. They are one of the biggest reasons why it's important to me to raise some funds for Friends of Metro Parks. You can join me by going to this donation page and selecting "Every Trail Project" in the donation detail section. 
I got a sweet Metro Parks mask that a ranger gave to my daughter!


As always, thank you so much for following along! Get outside, stay healthy and find joy!




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