Oak Openings Park / Preserve

The Oak Openings Preserve is owned and operated by the Toledo Metroparks, and is located approximately 2 miles north-west of the Village limits near the corner of State Route 295 and Obee Road.

The Oak Openings Region is the subject of endless fascination for naturalists with prickly-pear cactus, wild lupine and sand cherry blooms atop dry, hot sand dunes just yards away from orchids growing in low, wet swales.

The richly diverse area is built on a clay foundation and covered by wind-swept sand. It is home to Lark sparrows and Karner blue butterflies - at least 180 rare species in all, more than any other region its size in Ohio. Badgers have been spotted making their homes in the sand.

Oak Openings is a birder's paradise. It is the nesting place of bluebirds, indigo buntings, whippoorwills and many other species, as well as an excellent location to see migrating songbirds in the spring. For more information on Ohio birds, go to www.rarebird.org or www.toledonaturalist.org or call the Rare Bird Alert Hotline at 419-877-9640.

More than 50 miles of trails and fire lanes in the preserve make it easy to explore the variety of habitats that make up the Oak Openings Region, which The Nature Conservancy lists among the 200 "Last Great Places on Earth."

For further information, visit the Metro parks website at www.metroparkstoledo.com.