The city is actively improving a number of its parks, including Sherman Park, one of the city’s 12 neighborhood parks.
“In 2024, improvements were made to the Sherman Park, and those improvements included a walkway, brand-new playground equipment, a new shelter, a rehabilitated basketball court, and various landscape improvements,” Tadych said.
In July, the 1.41-acre Oakland Park celebrated its reopening after the completion of recent renovations, which included replacement of park-scape surfaces, playground equipment replacement, and converting the existing basketball/tennis court. Plus, pickleball courts were put in, along with various landscape improvements.
Credit: Bryn Dippold
Credit: Bryn Dippold
The next park that the park board is focusing on is Goldman Park, Tadych said, where the playground equipment was recently replaced. There will be other improvements made at the park in 2025. Goldman Park is utilized for youth baseball and softball. There’s also a playground at the park.
“We’ll be looking at re-doing the existing basketball court,” he said.
The ballfields will also be replaced and leveled, and the project is anticipated to be completed by this winter.
Middletown has community and neighborhood parks, plazas, mini-parks and nature preserves that provide a variety of recreational options. Smith Park — the largest — is often the site of the most notable events. It’s the home to the annual Ohio Challenge Balloon Fest, the Independence Day Festival and Light Up Middletown.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
The park has walking paths and a pond.
“All of the large parks have regular use,” Tadych said. “Many of the neighborhood parks like Sunset Park get a lot of use.”
The splash pad at Douglass Park, another community park, was replaced and upgraded this year. The old splash pad was converted to an additional, covered picnic area. The splash pads at Douglass and Smith parks are open from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Hours of operation are 10 a.m.-9 p.m. daily.
“The park board’s next focus is going to be Damon Park. It’s a neighborhood park on the south end of town,” said Tadych.
At Damon Park, the existing playground will be replaced. The project is expected to start in 2025, and it will be completed by next spring.
The city completed a Parks Master Plan in 2020-2021; that’s the basis for renovations and upgrades at each park. The park board reviews what is needed at each of the parks.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
“Things are going well. We get a lot of positive feedback from the improvements that have happened over the past year,” Tadych said. “Again, it gets back to the quality of life, getting outdoors a little bit more and utilizing those amenities. I think for any city, a good parks system is a key component, and it contributes to the quality of life.”
The MetroParks
MetroParks of Butler County oversees several of the parks in Middletown, including Meadow Ridge, Sebald, Bicentennial Commons/River Center and the Great Miami River Trail.
Bicentennial Commons is an 11-acre park that overlooks the Great Miami River. The park features the River Center, AK Pavilion, access to the Great Miami River Trail, a scenic overlook and brick paver walkways.
“Bicentennial Commons has great access to the paved Great Miami River Trail. If you’re looking for something that’s not a natural trail, this is a great park to go to, to get your steps in or ride your bike,” said Katie Ely-Wood, communications manager at MetroParks of Butler County.
She said there has been a huge jump in attendance at the Great Miami River Trail over the last few years.
“The Great Miami River Trail is a fantastic asset for Middletown. You can hop on the trail at one of our trailheads on 50 Oxford State Rd., and you can bike from that trailhead all the way to Piqua, which is 56 miles away,” Ely-Wood said.
Between 2022-2024, 152,071 visits were made to the Trenton/Middletown segments of the Great Miami River Trail.
“If you want a big park adventure, you can start your journey in the City of Middletown, and get on the amazing regional trail, that is the Great Miami River Trail, and head all the way out of town and explore somewhere new, or you can stay local on the trail and explore a few miles within the city limits,” she said.
The River Center at Bicentennial Commons is a reservable banquet facility and it opened to the public in 2018. The facility has restrooms, picnic tables and a bike repair station that are open to the public, even if visitors don’t have the interior of the building reserved.
“River Center is an amazing facility for the public to utilize. We host everything from birthday parties to baby showers. We have some business functions that take place in the River Center as well. It’s a brand-new facility. We just want to make sure the public knows it’s available and it’s priced reasonably,” Ely-Wood said.
River Center serves as a reprieve for bicyclists, runners and pedestrians. The 3,006 sq. ft. building sits on 3.2 acres of land. The River Center is also equipped with a kitchenette, a conference room, two park offices and 40 parking spaces.
Sebald MetroPark is a 335-acre park located in Madison Township which includes 10 picnic shelters, natural areas, hiking trails and three playgrounds. The park has the only public horse trails in Butler County. There are currently 9.5 miles of trails that are designed for both beginner and seasoned riders. The horse trails are open to ride daily from April 16 to November 14.
“Sebald also has some of the best creeking in the county. If you have young kids, who are looking to burn off some energy, access to Elk Creek, which runs through Sebald is super easy, and it’s a great activity for families in warmer weather,” Ely-Wood said.
Highlights of Meadow Ridge MetroPark include trails for hiking, biking and running, as well as birding, picnicking and catch-and-release fishing. The park features one large picnic shelter that can be reserved. The Madison Twp. park opened for daily access in December of 2018, and 23 acres are currently developed.
“Meadow Ridge is one of our newest parks. It’s located on the property that was the former Weatherwax Golf Course,” Ely-Wood said. “It is the largest MetroPark in the MetroParks of Butler County system at 456-acres, and Meadow Ridge just got a new connector road that is going to lead directly into Sebald MetroPark.”
The connector will allow visitors to travel seamlessly between Sebald and Meadow Ridge without having to go out and around. Construction on the Meadow Ridge MetroPark portion of the Elk Creek Connector Road was completed in the Fall of 2024.
“The other exciting thing that came to Meadow Ridge last year was a new, public archery range. It is the second public archery range in Butler County, and the facility was brought to the park in collaboration with Young Guns Archery. The archery range is free for the public to use. It’s open during regular park hours. The public needs to bring their own equipment and there are targets available at the range for the public to use,” said Ely-Wood.
She said the demand for archery in the Middletown-Madison township is “really high” and the available space at Meadow Ridge was “perfect to be able to accommodate an archery range.”
“We are really excited to be able to offer that facility to people that access Meadow Ridge. We are hoping to be able to continue to offer that facility for many years in the future,” she said.
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