Field NotesOhio
Upper Falls in the Old Man's Cave gorge, Hocking Hills, with visitors on the rocks

An independent field guide · 365 places

The field guide to outdoor Ohio

Parks and forests, ancient mounds, caves, waterfalls and back roads, with the story behind each place and where to eat and fuel up nearby.
Popular:
  • 117parks & forests
  • 64ancient mounds
  • 34waterfalls
  • 40historic sites
  • 33road trips

Old Man's Cave, Hocking Hills · Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0

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State parks & forests117 places, with cabins, campsites and trails117 places Waterfalls34 falls, with trail notes34 falls Mounds & earthworks64 ancient sites, from Serpent Mound to Newark64 ancient sites Caves & caverns12 show caverns, recess caves and rock shelters12 caves Lake Erie beaches20 public beaches, Conneaut to Toledo20 beaches Historic sites40 places, from the frontier to the Civil War40 places Road trips33 drives, from the Lincoln Highway to the Morgan Heritage Trail33 drives Oddities19 giants, ghosts and folk-art stops19 roadside stops The Buckeye TrailA 1,444-mile loop, all 26 sections1,444 miles

New to the guide?

Six places to start

One from every corner of the state, each with its full story inside.

01Old Man's CaveHocking Hills · SoutheastA gorge of waterfalls and recess caves where a hermit is said to have lived, with the park's visitor center. 02Great Serpent MoundAdams County · SouthwestA gigantic earthen snake on a hilltop over Ohio Brush Creek, built by a people whose name is still argued over. 03Brandywine FallsCuyahoga Valley · NortheastThe tallest waterfall in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, reached by an easy boardwalk with an accessible upper overlook. 04Marblehead LighthouseMarblehead · Lake ErieThe oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the Great Lakes, lit since 1821, on nine acres of limestone shoreline. 05Zoar VillageTuscarawas County · EasternA well-preserved communal village founded by German separatists in 1817, on the Ohio & Erie Canal. 06Longaberger Basket BuildingNewark · CentralA seven-story office building shaped like a picnic basket, with handles that are heated in winter.

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Open the mapAll 365 places on one map. Filter by cabins, campsites, hunting, beaches and more.Explore the map → Browse by countyPick any of Ohio's 88 counties and see its parks, mounds, waterfalls and historic sites.Find your county → Build a tripSave places as you browse, then line them up into a weekend. Kept in your browser, nothing to sign up for.Start a trip →

Explore Ohio

One map for every park, mound, historic site, beach, cave, waterfall and oddity in the app.

Lake ErieWest Virginia36 places368 places813 places135 places523 places2321 places2124 places2416 places1613 places134 places418 places182 places217 places1710 places1014 places142 places27 places76 places613 places133 places34 places414 places143 places3Harrison Lake State Park2 places22 places22 places26 places64 places4

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Parks, forests & wildlife areas

Find a park

117 parks in 7 regions

Eastwood MetroPark

Dayton · Montgomery County · Southwest Ohio
Managed by Five Rivers MetroParks
185acres
3trail miles
1917established
1385 Harshman Rd, Dayton (street-address point) Directions →Official source →

The story of this land

The land under Eastwood MetroPark has tied to Dayton's early history: a grist mill is reported to have stood here in 1802. After the great flood of 1913 the Miami Conservancy District bought all the land subject to flooding and built an earthen dam on the Mad River at Huffman, and the city of Dayton bought the river bed to carry drinking water from its wells to pumps. The city turned the area into a park by 1917.

In 1990 Five Rivers MetroParks began managing the park, part of an effort by director Marvin Olinsky to serve more inner-city residents, and in 1992 it took on Eastwood Lake, once the Dayton Hydrobowl. The Mad River, a spring-fed river with Class 2 rapids, is a premier paddling spot, and the park has remnants of the prairie that once covered the valley. A section of the Buckeye Trail and the North Country Trail follows the river through the park, and it is at Point 6 of the Buckeye Trail's Troy Section, where trailside primitive camping is open all year.

Things to do in the park

  • Camp trailside on the Buckeye Trail
  • Paddle the Mad River's Class 2 rapids
  • Hike the Prairie Meadow Trail and the loop
  • Fish and picnic at the lake

Trails

Maps, reviews and recent trail reports for Eastwood MetroPark.

Find trails on AllTrails →

Things to do nearby

  • Huffman Prairie Flying Field, where the Wrights learned to fly
  • Downtown Dayton and the Oregon District
  • Carillon Historical Park

Visiting information you can trust

Content last reviewed
September 2026 — this is when Field Notes Ohio's content was last checked, not a live status.
Primary official source
Five Rivers MetroParks (search this park)
Location confidence
Verified property location
Eastwood MetroPark, 1385 Harshman Rd, Dayton (street-address point)
Check current conditions
Official conditions or closures
Reservations or tickets
ReserveOhio — camping and cabin bookings
Hunting or permits
Hunting is not permitted.

Prices, hours, closures, campsite availability and trail conditions shown elsewhere on this page are not live — always confirm with the official source before you go.

Hiking trails

A 3-mile loop and a 2-mile easy loop combining the Buckeye Trail with the paved Mad River Trail; the Buckeye Trail and North Country Trail run through

Wildlife you might see

  • Riparian forest along the Mad River
  • Prairie remnants being restored
  • Paddlers and anglers on the river and lake

Birding

Eastwood MetroPark's lake and wooded shoreline draw both forest songbirds and lake-edge waterbirds — scan the open water for waterfowl and raptors, and the treeline for songbirds.

  • Bobolink
  • Bald Eagle
  • American Robin
  • Yellow-throated Vireo
  • Dickcissel
  • Spotted Sandpiper
  • American Crow
  • Warbling Vireo
  • Grasshopper Sparrow
  • Tree Swallow
  • Downy Woodpecker
  • Wood Thrush

March–April and October–November for migrating waterfowl and raptors; June–July for nesting grassland and marsh birds. For a full, current checklist, search this park's name on eBird's Hotspot Explorer.

Fishing

  • Fishing on Eastwood Lake and the Mad River. Ohio fishing license required for ages 16 and up.

Hunting

Hunting is not permitted.

The Flood That Made a Park

In March 1913 the rivers of Dayton rose and drowned the downtown. When the water went down, the city decided it would not happen again, and the Miami Conservancy District bought up the floodplain and built dams.

Some of the land that the dams left dry, along the Mad River, became a park. A hundred years later, hikers on the Buckeye Trail camp on it.

Behind the legend

The 1802 mill, the post-1913 land purchases, the 1917 park and the 1990 and 1992 MetroParks agreements are on Five Rivers MetroParks' history page, which notes the mill as 'reported.' The trail camping details are from the Buckeye Trail Association's Troy Section page and the MetroParks' trailside camping announcement.

If you go

Paddle or walk the Mad River, camp at the trailside site and add Huffman Prairie Flying Field nearby.

Mounds & earthworks near Eastwood MetroPark

Ancient earthworks within easy reach of this park. Tap one for its history, legends and visiting details.

SunWatch Indian Village

Dayton · Montgomery County · Southwest Ohio
A rebuilt Fort Ancient farming village of thatched houses, gardens and a plaza, standing where archaeologists dug up the real one.
National Historic Landmark
About 8 miles from this park · A 12th-century village, lived in for about 20 years

Historic sites near Eastwood MetroPark

Forts, villages, furnaces and lighthouses within reach of this park. Tap one for its story and visiting details.

Carillon Historical Park, Dayton

Dayton · Montgomery County · Southwest Ohio
A 65-acre history museum about Dayton's inventions, with the 1905 Wright Flyer III, canal and railroad exhibits and a 151-foot bell tower.
National Register of Historic Places
About 6 miles from this park · 1796 to today; park opened 1950

Waterfalls near Eastwood MetroPark

Falls inside or within reach of this park. Stay behind railings and on marked trails; wet rock is slick in every season.

Charleston Falls

Tipp City · Miami County
A 37 foot horseshoe cascade over dolomite ledges in a 216 acre preserve near Tipp City, often called Ohio's miniature Niagara Falls.
37 ftEasy walk
About 9 miles from this park

Englewood MetroPark Falls (Martindale, Patty, and Oak Falls)

Englewood · Montgomery County
Three small waterfalls, Martindale, Patty, and Oak Falls, tucked into a 1,900 acre Five Rivers MetroPark along the Stillwater River northwest of Dayton.
Low fallsModerate hike
About 11 miles from this park

The Buckeye Trail at Eastwood MetroPark

Ohio's 1,444-mile blue-blazed loop passes through or beside this park. Tap a section for its route, camping, water and resupply.

18 Troy Section

52 miles · Greene, Montgomery, Miami, Shelby
Trailside camp where the Buckeye Trail follows the Mad River
3 parksTrail towns

Campsites

Trailside campsite
A primitive site between the Mad River Trail and the Buckeye Trail, Buckeye Trail Point 6; open all year; register with Five Rivers MetroParks
About $7 to $11 a night (older listing; confirm)

On site

  • A 185-acre lake, picnic shelters and a playground
  • Whitewater feature on the Mad River
  • Parking at 1385 Harshman Rd
Register at Five Rivers MetroParks →
Field Notes Ohio isn't connected to Five Rivers MetroParks, so it can't hold a site or take payment. Tapping through opens it in a new tab — search "Eastwood MetroPark" there to finish reserving.
Prefer the phone?See Five Rivers MetroParks

Buckeye Trail backpackers register for the primitive sites online with Five Rivers MetroParks.

Restaurants nearby

CULTURE
Order at the counter; burgers, pasta and wonton nachos in the Oregon District; open Tuesday to Saturday afternoons
Directions
Oregon Express
Thin-crust pizza and a balcony bar in the Oregon District; open daily
Directions

Gas stations nearby

bp
Open 24 hours; the doors may be locked overnight, with payment at the window
Directions

Details last checked 2026-09-22. Confirm hours and prices before you go.

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