The Ultimate Family Fun at Five Rivers Metropark Near Dayton
My family and I recently spent time exploring the Five Rivers Metropark system near Dayton. This purpose of this post is to share with you all everything we packed in to one weekend exploring these parks.
Five Rivers Metroparks consists of 18 parks throughout the Dayton region, making nature accessible to everyone in the area. And whether you enjoy live music, spending time on the water or hiking there will be a place and activity in this area perfect for you!
Thank you to Ohio The Heart of It All and Five Rivers Metropark for putting together a great weekend for us.
Camping at Possum Creek
This was our family’s first experience camping and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Our campside was right off Argonne Lake in Possum Creek. We camped at Possum Creek right on Argonne Lake. These campsites are available to reserve on the metropark’s website. We loved this area for a few reasons. The campsite itself had a fireplace, grill, firewood and trash bins nearby. In the morning my husband and four year old walked right over to the water and enjoyed some fishing. This lake doesn’t require a fishing license, so it made things even easier.
Possum Creek also has several hiking trails, a nature play area and a farm with animals you can interact with. It was the perfect family friendly camping spot for us!
Kayaking on the River
Before enjoying the live summer music, we went down and rented a tandem kayak through Taiter’s Kayak Solutions along the Great Miami River. Regular walk-up rental hours are Tuesdays from 2-6pm and Thursdays from 4-8pm, June through September. The launch is from under the Riverside Bridge along the Great Miami Recreational Trail.
Live Music
Taking place all summer long, we enjoyed the live music at RiverScape metropark. They have food trucks set up so you can grab a bite to eat, drinks and even ice cream. There’s also a separate concession stand open right by the splash pad area. My kids loved playing in this, especially because we were there when it was 90 degrees!
There is a huge pavilion that’s covered and chairs are available to use onsite. You are also welcome to bring your own chairs.
We went downtown to RiverScape metropark to enjoy their live summer music series which is happening every Friday all summer long. There’s a splash pad area, concessions and food trucks during the live music. Here is the schedule of music for the rest of the summer.
Biking on the Recreation Trail
Another fun activity to try out at the RiverScape Metropark is biking! I rented one via the Link hub and explored the Stillwater Recreation Trail. These are electric bikes so you can cover a lot of ground! I biked all the way to Wegerzyn Gardens and back and it took just under an hour.
Shopping & Eating at 2nd Street Market
Our last stop of the trip was the 2nd Street Market in downtown Dayton. The market has a variety of vendors from sit down meals to goods like breads and coffees. We had taco bowls and bagels from Dough. We also bought some local maple syrup and honey. There was live music and there are vendors inside and outside (during summer months).
If you haven’t had the chance to explore the Five Rivers Metroparks, add it to your list of places to try and visit this summer.
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