Hiking/Backpacking

Take A Hike- Win A Car!

June 5, 2012 by
2010-honda-insight-profile

This summer, Five Rivers MetroParks has teamed up with The Nature Conservancy in Ohio and Honda of America Mfg. Inc. to help Ohio residents experience the outdoors in a new way with Natural Treasures of Ohio contest. Now through August 8, Ohioans can enter for a chance to win a 2012 Honda Insight hybrid at www.nature.org/naturaltreasuresohio or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ohionatureconservancy. As part of the challenge, Ohio residents must visit one or more specially selected natural areas and upload a photo of themselves with that site’s designated landmark. Participants can locate … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Hiking/Backpacking


Homecoming for ‘Captain Blue’

June 14, 2011 by
Andy Niekamp will complete his 1,444-mile hike of the Buckeye Trail on June 15 at Deeds Point MetroPark. Photo courtesy Andy Niekamp.

What in the blue blazes would prompt someone to endure backpacking in scorching temperatures and frequent deluges? Better ask local hiking enthusiast Andy Niekamp. You’ll have the opportunity to do so Wednesday, June 15, when he completes his hike of the entire Buckeye Trail, a 1,444-mile journey looping through Ohio. Niekamp has been hiking since his Boy Scout days, tackling such terrain as the 7,400-mile Appalachian Trail, a continuous footpath that runs through fourteen states from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Katahdin in Maine. He has been awarded three “2,000 miler” … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Hiking/Backpacking


Discovering Dayton’s Wild Side

October 25, 2010 by

Greetings Daytonians! I’m Val Beerbower, a Jack-of-all-pens writer, novice cook, bad movie paramour and public relations specialist with Five Rivers MetroParks. I’ll admit, I wasn’t much of an “outdoorsy” person when I took up my marketing mantle in the summer of 2009, but since then , my journey with this park system has opened my eyes to a world of educational experiences, recreational opportunities and conservation principles that are waiting right in your own back yard. For those who have a little trepidation approaching nature and haven’t quite wrapped your head around tree … [Read more...]

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Playing Possum In The Forest Of Argonne

May 28, 2010 by
This man is exerting far too much energy for this to be considered a "elaxing" activity.

Possum Creek MetroPark's Hidden History As Spring hurtles uncontrollably into Summer, my mind reaches out to find the activities I can do outside. My own definition of “outdoor activities,” however, has little or nothing to do with being active at all. More to the point, I like to try and find places where it can appear that I'm doing some sort of activity, while remaining completely inactive. Fishing usually fits this bill. I will confess here that I have rarely ever caught a fish (which would go against my goal of being inert) and sometimes, to insure that some fish with either … [Read more...]

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MetroParks Park Trek 2009

October 26, 2009 by
parktrek

While volunteering on this important campaign for Issue 4, former MetroParks employee Angie Sullivan discovered something unsettling. “People just don’t know about the MetroParks,” Sullivan laments. “Most folks I talk to might be familiar with one or two parks they frequent, but when I tell them we have 25 facilities located throughout the county, they’re shocked.” Responses like those are the reason the Kettering resident decided to do something that would showcase all Five Rivers MetroParks has to offer – Sullivan, along with her fiancé Shane Sheldon, will hike to each … [Read more...]

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