The Five Rivers MetroParks is a series of public parks in the Dayton area, which offer a wide variety of activities and outdoor scenery for students to visit during their off time. Even with the current cold weather, there are plenty of indoor events to enjoy during the winter season.
Five Rivers Metro Parks in Dayton, Ohio
MetroParks location
In total, there are 18 different locations in and around Dayton. A compiled list of addresses can be found here, but the closest parks to Wright State University are Huffman MetroPark and Eastwood MetroPark, though all locations are within a 40-minute drive of campus.
“Eastwood MetroPark is a hub of outdoor recreation. With a variety of water-based recreational activities as well as land-based recreational and leisurely activities, the park offers visitors many opportunities to actively experience nature without leaving the city,” the website reads for Eastwood.
The interactive map offers a drop-down list of various activities that you can use to figure out what parks are hosting certain events. Some activities include birding, gardening, geocaching, mountain biking, art and more.
There are also four dedicated conservation areas: Dull Woods, Medlar, Spring Run and Woodman Fen. These locations stress preserving the natural landscape, with a focus on the wetlands that used to cover most of the Dayton area. Multiple of these boast boardwalks and nature walks that are sure to grab your attention!
Some parks also host community buildings, like the Dayton Playhouse in the Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark.
Caden Edwards, a recent visitor to the Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark, had positive things to say.
“The park is very pretty! It desires to be well laid out and at times educational, and you can tell a lot of effort has been put into achieving those elements. Whether [you are] looking for a little bit of time with fresh air, or want to spend time doing a picnic or going on a trail, it stays beautiful and keeps a great atmosphere,” Edwards said.
Events available in each park
As Metroparks, there are always opportunities to explore nature on your own with nature trails, boardwalks, informative hikes and more. Most parks are open throughout the day for visitors to drop by and roam the park for free, but it is important that you check the park hours for whichever park you decide to visit.
A current hiking event going on, the 2025 MetroParks Trails Challenge, is available now until Oct. 31. By submitting your trail logs to the MetroParks mobile app, you will be entered into a raffle for various prizes, including stickers, shirts, a Huffy mountain bike and a Kid’s Adventure Pack. While each prize may depend on your age and what types of trails you compete, there is something for everyone!
There are also special events, which can be one-off or part of a series.
Events are often organized into series, which is a theme that a group of events follow. There are currently programs for Black History Month, Conservation Kids, Teachers’ Night Out, Paint-a-Park and more.
A full calendar with programs and events can be found here; you can also specify which park, activities and series you are interested in visiting.
Beyond scheduled events, there are also activities that are available for visitors to peruse in their own time.
“Your MetroParks offer a multitude of opportunities for you to connect with nature on your own time and in your own way. With 18 clean, safe parks on nearly 16,000 acres of protected land, adventure awaits in your Five Rivers MetroParks. Discover outdoor experiences that inspire a personal connection with nature by exploring one – or all – of the activities available in your MetroParks,” the activities page reads.
The arts: Dayton Playhouse and FutureFest
The Dayton Playhouse is a small but quaint community theatre which is open to the public for auditions and viewings of its musicals and plays. The current season will feature five plays in total, with its most recent one recently finishing its showtimes.
Edwards visited the Playhouse and watched the house’s production of “Avenue Q,” a musical about a college graduate who settles into New York City’s Avenue Q. The musical uses both puppet and human characters; in fact, some of the puppets from WSU’s Educational Resource Center were used for the play.
“[The] Playhouse was very beautiful! It’s small and straight to the point but they use it well…. They did a ton with attention to detail and a lot of care from every single element of the show, [like] the band, the lighting, the acting and the choreography,” Edwards said.
“It helps as well because the actors and director utilized the aisles, there isn’t a spot in the house where it isn’t able to be super engaging, and it feels personal.”
While the 2024-2025 season is almost done, there are still two shows that are set to be shown in March and May. The next play, “The Cure,” was the Winner of Future Fest 2024, and also won the Audience Favorite category.
“When her twenty-four year old son wills himself to death and donates all his organs, Joan goes on a quest to understand why. Along the way, she meets five of the organ recipients who all seem to remind her of different parts of her son's personality, but it's not until she meets her son's heart that she finally realizes the truth,” the description reads.
FutureFest is an annual festival that takes playwrights’ scripts and narrows them down through a series of committees until a winner is announced; the winning play is then included in next year’s season, where the writer gets to see their play come to life in full production.
Five Rivers MetroParks features lots of opportunities for outdoor adventures and creative endeavors. Visit its website to find out even more about the park system, including how to get involved and more!
