Oak Openings Metropark - Toldeo OH.

Oak Opening Metropark
Toledo, Ohio
By Matthew Eddy, 6/14/18

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Trail Type: Sand and dirt

Water: None

Requirements: None.

Parking: Very Good

Trail Markings: Very Good

Cell Reception: With Sprint, it was hit or miss

Technical Obstacles: None that I am aware of

Date/Time of Ride: 6/2, at 11am

Weather Conditions:    Low 70’s, humidity was a bit high and the sky was overcast

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Description:

Though this blog is called “Michigan” trail riding, Oak Openings is close enough to the Michigan border to make a reasonable day trip of it. Situated just a little south west of Toledo, the park is quite large and has a pretty extensive network of horse trails. It seems like it’s a very popular place to ride given the number of trailers and horses we saw. Even Google Maps shows a number of trailers in the satellite view below. Unlike Michigan Metroparks, the Ohio parks are free.

Cool Fern and Tree Forests

A few Open Sections

Much of the trails are flat but there are section of gentle hills through deciduous forests. Some areas were quite beautiful, with a carpet of ferns stretching out below a canopy of trees, beautiful forest lanes, sand dunes (which we didn’t see on the path we took) and areas that have been cleared or were cleared by a fire. We took the southern loop which ran east of the horse parking area and within that was a stunning grove of evergreens – of which the pictures do it no justice.

Wyatt taking in the scenery. 

Another nice feature of this park is that it has more than twenty miles of trails so you can visit the park multiple times and see new sites, and take different routes. The trails are marked really well and the map is pretty accurate.

Short section of trail shared with a bike and walking path.

While we rode we encountered a few hikers and a pair of biologists studying the Red Headed Woodpecker - which apparently had a number of nests in the park. We also saw some deer on two separate occasions. The second encounter was a mama deer with a fawn. They were on the trail ahead – probably because it was easier going than plowing through the underbrush – and ducked off with mam deer stood off the side of the trail 30 or so feet away, and watched us pass. 

Hard to See but there is a deer to the left. She is standing near a fawn
that was on the trail ahead of us before ducking into the underbrush.

Map:

Below you can see how Oak Openings is a pretty close to the Michigan/Ohio border and is just a little south and west of Toledo.

Horse trailer parking is in the south west area of the park right off of Jeffers Road.



As you can see, from the satellite image below, the park is quite popular and there is a decent amount of space for parking. When we visited it, it was almost full.

Our Red Rig

Conclusion:

Definitely a park worth visiting for a day trip. I am looking forward to visiting it again in the near future. It has good views, plenty of trails to keep it interesting and the footing is easy on bare foot horses. If I was to change anything it would be to enlarge the current parking lot and add another lot on the North side so those trails can be accessed without making it a 3hr ride. I do worry that on a really busy day the lot may fill up. Overall it really is just another good option for anyone living in SE Michigan looking for more trail riding options even if it is in Ohio.     

If you want to see a video of the ride you can see it here: https://youtu.be/cmUdO-glv6g