Between Cleveland And Pittsburgh Is An Underrated Ohio Park District With River Trails And Colorful Gardens

Northeast Ohio is brimming with popular spots for an outdoor adventure. Cuyahoga Valley National Park alone had nearly 3 million visitors in 2024, based on figures from the National Park Service, and the area is also home to over two dozen state parks, forests, and wildlife areas. Given all that, it's understandable that a place like Mill Creek MetroParks may get overlooked, but with its wealth of outdoor recreation, it's definitely worth a spot on travelers' itineraries.

Mill Creek Park was the first park district to be established in Ohio back in 1891, and the many 19^th-century landmarks within the Mill Creek MetroParks' 5,000 acres make it an appealing destination for history buffs. Along the park's trails you can see one-time industrial buildings like the 1840s Lanterman's Mill and the Mill Creek Furnace, which was Youngstown's first blast furnace when it was built around 1830. Many attractions built just for the park have become historic, too, like the Daffodil Meadow and Mill Creek Golf Course, both of which have been open for visitors for nearly a century.

Mill Creek MetroParks is in the Northeast Ohio city of Youngstown. This puts it about halfway between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, and visitors can reach it from either of those cities in about 90 minutes. Once you arrive, you'll find a variety of sights to see, from seasonal attractions like spring flowers and vibrant fall foliage to the hiking trails and landmarks you can explore all year.

Mill Creek Park covers the northern half of the MetroPark area, and this is where you'll find the most extensive trails — about 50 miles of them in total. Many of these trails run alongside Mill Creek, which flows through the park from Western Reserve Road north to the Mahoning River. One highlight is the Gorge Trail, a 2-mile loop that runs on either side of Mill Creek and gives visitors an up-close look at dramatic rock formations like Umbrella Rock. The Gorge Trail also offers views of Lanterman's Falls, the waterfalls adjacent to the historic Lanterman's Mill. Though not as large as the waterfalls of Cuyahoga National Park, it's still worth a stop. The paved East Park Hike & Bike Trail also runs to Lanterman's Mill if you want an easier route.

Along Mill Creek are three lakes linked by the trail system. The southernmost, Lake Newport, is ringed by wetlands that are ideal for spotting wildlife like birds, muskrats, and beavers, which you can view from the unpaved West Newport Trail or Albert E. Davies Wetland Trail. The paved East Newport Trail also goes past the Daffodil Meadow that has bloomed in Mill Creek every spring since the 1930s. To get closer, grab a kayak and paddle the water trails through the habitat. Mill Creek's oldest lake, Lake Cohasset, has a hemlock forest on its west bank and is crossed at its southern end by the Suspension Bridge, also known as the Cinderella Bridge for its spires and lace-like arches. The Cohasset Trail Loop goes across the bridge and along both shores. The northernmost lake, Lake Glacier, is popular with anglers and boaters, and the Old Tree Trail that starts near the boathouse offers lovely views of the water.

The daffodils blooming by Lake Newport aren't the only flowers in Mill Creek MetroParks. On the northern end, just west of downtown Youngstown, an affordable Midwest city with hometown charm, is the Fellows Riverside Gardens. This free public garden is open every day of the year. It's particularly beautiful in the spring, when over 40,000 tulips, crocus, and other bulbs bloom. The roses in the Joanne F. Beeghly Rose Garden start to bloom in June, and in late summer, the daylilies and heathers show their full colors. Whenever you visit, you can enjoy the 12-acre garden's extensive collection of trees and flowering shrubs and the Davis Education & Visitor Center, which houses the Mill Creek Park Museum, along with a gallery, library, and the Arseny Melnick Observation tower that offers panoramic views of the gardens and Lake Glacier.

The Ford Nature Center, between Lake Glacier and Lake Cohasset, has a similar mix of education and beauty. Around it are a rooftop pollinator garden and a native wildflower meadow, which you can explore using the Bill Whitehouse Education Trail. Inside the center are educational resources like the History Room and Nature Exhibit Hall, as well as a bird observation room, where you can watch birds feeding and nesting in the wildflower meadow.

There's a different kind of curated landscape on the southern end of the MetroParks, near the charming village of Poland: the Mill Creek Golf Course. There are two public par-70, 18-hole courses to choose from, both of which make full use of the environment, with streams and tall trees providing natural hazards. The courses are open for players from April through November, but they don't sit idle in the winter. Once it snows, the area is used for cross-country skiing.