Home Grown Parks – Hobart Urban Nature Preserve

Located at 1400 Tyrone Rd, in the heart of Troy Ohio is Hobart Urban Nature Preserve. With over 80 acres of land and over 2 miles of hiking trails, this beautiful park is surrounded by residential area. A unique aspect of this park is the collection of 4 welded steel sculptures donated by the Hobart Welding Institute, placed in specific habitats to highlight the relationship between nature and art.

William Hobart, Peter Hobart, William Howell and Robert Bravo families donated 80 acres of farmland in 1997 to the Miami County Park District. In 1999, a master plan was created to celebrate the dialogue between native and agrarian landscapes of Ohio for this park, which received national awards and recognition in various professional journals.

Developing the park began with major earthworks, re-sculpting the natural drainage patterns and creating a lake with wetland edges and the first trail loop. 1,700 native trees and shrubs were planted along the streams and around the lake throughout the park. Next, the entry drive and parking area were developed along with the entry sign and wall. The collection of sculptures were then placed throughout the park.

There are many programs that happen at this park, put on by the Miami County Park District. One program is the starting race to the Trail Run Challenge 5K 5 Race Series. This program features 5 trail runs each at a different park throughout Miami county. Everyone and anyone is invited to participate in this race by either walking or running the trail. The park district provides other programs such as Adult Exploration Hikes and Dog Socials. They are not just good, but Home Grown Great!

For more information on the Miami County Park District, visit www.MiamiCountyParks.com

Source:  http://miamicountyparks.com/park/hobart

Submitted by our 2018 Summer Intern, Carolann Stanley