Finding Respite in Germantown MetroPark
By Tammy Coffin-Hana, Contributing Writer - July 20, 2012.
Photography © Five Rivers Metroparks
Photography © Five Rivers Metroparks
last updated 07/20/2012
![Finding Respite in Germantown MetroPark](https://www.daytonlocal.com/images/blog/lifestyle/germantown-metropark-five-rivers.jpg)
Germantown MetroPark is the perfect respite for you to avoid the city, get away from the traffic jams, and enjoy nature amid the countryside. What you will find at the Germantown MetroPark just might surprise you.
Finding Respite in Germantown MetroPark
Summer is here and just as it is getting started and school has let out, it’s the perfect time to go exploring. Although you may not be familiar with Germantown, did you know that there is plenty of room to hike and explore at the Germantown MetroPark? If you want to experience your home away from home, then the Germantown MetroPark is the perfect respite for you to avoid the city, get away from the traffic jams, and enjoy nature amid the countryside.
What You Will Find at the Germantown MetroPark
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As you walk the outer trails through the park, you will find places to view the green outlay of the Twin Valleys, where you can see the sun rising, at midday, or even setting in the evening as the day comes to a close. As you journey along these trails throughout, you will experience a variety of wildlife and wildflowers too.
Find fossils a bit fascinating? If so, head out to just below the Germantown Dam, and you can spend some time with the kids digging for fossils and rocks of various kinds. With so much to do, it’s one of the best places that you could go with the entire family for a reunion, or just an old-fashioned family picnic.
The Significance of Germantown MetroPark
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If you are wondering what makes Germantown MetroPark significant, then consider that Germantown is away from the city. This makes a world of difference for the wild life that chooses to congregate in this area versus what you will find in parks that are in the heart of the city or just outside the city limits.
The woodlands here are the most diverse along with the wildlife versus any other park that is being managed by MetroParks. If you have been to the various MetroParks in the area, then you will become fully aware as you hike the various trails and explore these woodlands that this park offers a variety of forest types and microhabitats.
Germantown MetroPark has also been noted as offering several areas that are reminiscent of a prairie, cedar glades, grassland areas, a number of ponds throughout, and Twin Creek which is noted as being one of the few high quality streams in this area.
One fact that most people don’t know about the Germantown MetroPark is that it backs up to some pristine agricultural landscapes and is surrounded by the Twin Creek Corridor. Need we say more about what you can find at the Germantown MetroPark?
Activities at the Germantown MetroPark
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When it comes to things to do at the Germantown MetroPark, what does it have to offer? You will find the Twin Valley backpacking trail which spans 22 miles, and a Nature Center which runs underground on one side of the hill within the park, boasting an incredible opportunity to view birds and various wildlife from indoors.
If you love bird watching, you will fall in love with the Nature Center. The park has set up a series of microphones to pick up the sound of the birds so that you can hear every vocalization that these birds have to sing to you within the parks limits.
![Germantown Metropark Germantown Metropark](/blog/lifestyle/images/germantown-metropark-3.jpg)
With more than 1,600 acres to roam, there are plenty of paved walking paths, fishing, and camping that set this MetroPark apart from the rest. The other details? Well, you will just need to come out and explore the Germantown MetroPark for yourself!
Park Hours:
April 1 - Oct. 31, 8 am – 10 pm
Nov. 1 - March 31, 8 am – 8 pm
Closed Christmas and New Year's Day
You can find the Main Entrance of the park at 7101 Conservancy Road, Germantown, Ohio 45327, and the Nature Center can be found at 6910 Boomershine Road, Germantown, Ohio, 45327. If you have questions about the park or would like to rent a shelter for a picnic or other event, please feel free to contact the park at (937) 275-PARK (7275).
Feel a sense of adventure? If so, why not take a trip out to the Germantown MetroPark and explore what the Earth has to offer you.
Links & Tags
Germantown MetroPark.
Germantown MetroPark - Five Rivers Metroparks - A world of wilderness awaits with an underground Nature Center and panoramic views. Elevated boardwalks and miles of scenic trails. Only 20 minutes from Dayton the park enables users to hike, kayak, fish, picnic, fossil collect and many other exciting adventures.