Tag Archives: metro parks

Oct12

Fall Hiking Spree

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Fall Hiking Spree

Hello! My brother, Andrew, and I are avid hikers and we just love exploring all of the beautiful Metro Parks that we are so lucky to live close to. Every year the Metro Parks host a fall and spring hiking spree and it is our time to shine! We are right in the midst of our fall hiking spree and have completed six out of the eight hikes needed to earn another shield for our walking sticks. The hiking spree offers a list of tons of hiking trails within a thirty or so mile radius and we always try to hit up the ones we have never been to before. It’s so exciting and we have found countless new favorite trails through the hiking spree process. The weather has been wonderful, the company is even better, and I can’t wait to hit the trails again!

A majority of people who live in Northeast Ohio would describe it as “boring” and most times, I have to concur lol. There is never much of anything going on! The hiking sprees, however, make me eat my words because how could all of that gorgeous scenery ever be boring?! Every time we begin a hike, I am in awe of the nature surrounding us. The tall trees, falling leaves, and wildlife are straight out of story books and we like to keep track of all of the animals we see on our adventures. During a recent walk along the water we saw twenty-two turtles! That might seem like a lot but it doesn’t come close to our world record hike of spotting fifty-five turtles, a beaver, a river otter, blue herons, and a million baby ducks all in one afternoon!

The fall hiking spree is, truly, our most beloved adventure of the year and it’s so cool to visit places in Ohio that we have never been to before. It really opens up a whole new world! For example, we did some shopping at a store in Medina called Sweets & Geeks and I had a brain blast to find a Metro Park nearby to serve as our “pick your own” hike. We settled on Buckeye Woods and were astounded by its sheer enormity. There were soccer fields, baseball diamonds, playgrounds, and a seemingly endless amount of trails to trek on. The trail we selected brought us deep into the woods and there were already lots of crunchy leaves on the ground to stomp on. My favorite! If it weren’t for the hiking spree, we never would have known about the park and that is what it’s all about. Yeah, Northeast Ohio isn’t so boring after all. 🙂

Take a hike! Seriously, it will do you a world of good and you will feel fabulous afterwards. There is nothing better than finding brand new paths in your own backyard!

Do you hike often? What is your favorite trail? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

May13

Spring Hiking Spree Success

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Spring Hiking Spree Success

Hello! The Metro Parks in my neck of the woods hosts a hiking spree every spring and fall and I love completing the challenge with my brother, Andrew. We will have a threepeat for the fall spree this year and just completed our second spring hiking spree this past Friday. Spring in Ohio has been really cold and rainy so we had to carefully coordinate our five hikes to avoid getting caught in a downpour! During our last hike, we actually got back into my car a literal minute before the rain started coming down and it was an epic ending to the spree. The rain was short lived and we got ice cream after it passed to celebrate! We also got to take home our little prize of a new pin to adorn our Metro Parks lanyards with:

Within a thirty mile radius of where we live, there are at least twenty different Metro Parks to visit and we are truly blessed. During the fall and spring hiking sprees, there is a list of ten or so that you can pick from and it is always fun to try out new trails. Andrew and I both love hiking in the woods and, sadly, we didn’t get to do any of those trails this time around. We would have been walking in a quagmire because of all of the rain! We stuck to paved hiking and biking trails to complete the spree and this ended up being a good thing. The three new to us ones that we hiked will be excellent ones to go to again if the weather isn’t behaving.

Because we were limited to the paved trails, we didn’t get to see much in the way of wildlife. That was okay, though, because the best part of hiking is spending time with my brother. Hiking is our favorite form of exercise and it honestly doesn’t even feel like a work out because we’re talking and joking the whole way through. I can’t tell you the amount of times in years past that we started a hiking spree as a family and never finished it. It is exciting to be on a spree streak with my brother and we are both really looking forward to our fall hikes. Fingers crossed that the weather will allow us to hike in the woods this time around!

In fifteen days we went on five different hikes to draw the spring hiking spree to a close. Here’s to many more years of wonderful walks and memories! ❤

What is your favorite way to work out? Do you go on hikes often? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct17

Fall Hiking Spree Success!

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Fall Hiking Spree Success!

Hello! There are countless amazing Metro Parks in the greater Akron area to hike, bike, and swim at. My brother and I try to visit one at least once per week as hiking is our favorite form of exercise. Every year, the Metro Parks hosts a hiking spree in the spring and fall and we completed both of them for the first time last year. We have been most excited for the fall hiking spree to come back around again and finished the last of our eight required hikes this past Friday. It felt so awesome to set this goal, commit to it, and earn our prize: A new shield for our hiking sticks! Here is our newest 2025 addition:

The fall hiking spree runs from the first of September to the end of November and we finished our challenge in five weeks which is pretty good. In fact, it would have been earlier but your girl had to get her hair done! But that’s neither here nor there as we were just happy to finish the hiking spree before the weather got too chilly. During our hikes this year we visited new paths and old favorites. We enjoyed seeing the first changing colors of the leaves and lots of wildlife. On one of the hikes we saw SEVENTEEN turtles posted up across three different logs. It. Was. Awesome! We also viewed blue herons, frogs, and a tiny garter snake that I thought was a worm lol. 😀

Going on hikes with my brother is so much fun that it doesn’t even feel like exercise and I can tell that our regular walks and hikes our effective. Both of us have noticed a huge boost in our stamina and during one of our last hikes we didn’t even realize we walked over two and a half miles because it felt like nothing. The time together in the great outdoors is something I savor so much, especially with winter just over the horizon. When it gets too cold, we will continue our exercise in the gym. Until then, we will be squeezing in as many hikes at the Metro Parks as we can!

All we have to say is: Bring on the 2026 hiking season. We are already looking forward to three years in a row of completing the fall hiking spree!

Where is your favorite place to hike? Are there a lot of Metro Parks in your neck of the woods? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

May8

Take A Hike!

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Take A Hike!

Hello! In my neck of the woods, we are blessed with an abundance of beautiful Metro Parks to hike at. In fact, there are more than I can count in just a ten mile radius from where I live. It’s awesome! There is nothing like a good, brisk hike on a lovely day and I am always with the best company during my adventures: My big brother! Last year, we completed the Fall Hiking Spree for the first time together and we were genuinely sad when it was over. We enjoyed visiting old and new to us trails so much but by the time the spree concluded, winter was well on its way and we moved our workouts to the gym.

After a long winter with minimal outdoor walks, we could not wait to hit the Metro Parks as soon as the warm weather hit. And, we are simply delighted by the fact that there is now a Spring Hiking Spree!

The Hiking Sprees are exactly what you think they are: Those who want to participate receive a list of different trails throughout the county, there is a minimum amount you have to visit, and a reward like a pin or a shield for your hiking stick is gifted at the end. It’s basically just hiking lol but there is a goal and because my brother and I are extremely goal oriented, it is the perfect activity for us. It’s exciting to work together to achieve something and we really do look forward to our weekly hikes.

While there are several trails on the list for the Spring Hiking Spree that we are familiar with, we bypass those for new to us locations. It amazes me that some of these trails are a hop, skip, and a jump away and we have never been! This has opened our eyes to brand new experiences all in our own backyard. Of course, the Hiking Sprees are an excellent reminder to get active. However, it also serves as a reminder that while Ohio can be boring AF, it sure has a lot of beauty and I feel lucky to have access to all of these wonderful Metro Parks!

We have four hikes to go until we complete our Spring Hiking Spree and I cannot wait to see where we end up next!

Does your neck of the woods do a hiking program similar to mine? Where is your favorite place to hike? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov15

Fall Hiking Spree Success

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Fall Hiking Spree Success

Hello!! One of my favorite forms of exercise is easily taking walks and hiking. There are countless amazing Metro Parks in my neck of the woods within a twenty mile radius and beyond and it’s exciting to explore them. I try to go on at least four walks or hikes every week if the weather permits. Despite my absolutely insane schedule, it’s important to me to squeeze in that extra time for exercise. And, I always find that I feel much better after my walks even if I am really tired.

My go to walking companion is my older brother, Andrew, and we decided that we were going to make an effort to complete the Fall Hiking Spree. For the spree, the goal is to take hikes at eight different Metro Parks in the general vicinity by November thirtieth. Now, literally every year we talk about doing the hiking spree together and while we might do a few on the list, we never finished it in its entirety. I am pleased to report that this year, we not only talked about it but were about it. We took our last hike of the spree on Wednesday!!

I love walking with my brother and whether we spend our hikes chatting and joking or in silence, it is nice to work out together. I couldn’t tell you how many walks we take throughout the year but it is a lot and I can really tell that this hard work has paid off. Every time we hike together, we try to go a little bit further than we did the time before. These small increases might not seem like a big deal, but they were everything for an improved stamina. By the end of the spree and our past combined efforts, we were doing strenuous, three plus mile hikes like it was nothing. This was a thrill for us because we saw all of our previous “training” coming to fruition right before our eyes.

Not only did we complete the spree with time to spare, but we also became privy to Metro Parks that we had never been to before. It really gave me a better appreciation for the beauty in my own backyard and we found new favorite trails because of it. We saw the leaves change colors and fall, spotted wildlife, and fell in love with the trails that reminded us of Lord of The Rings. From beginner and moderate level hikes to the most advanced, we did them all and I am so proud of us!! We set our goal and achieved it and there is nothing better than that. 🙂

After our Fall Hiking Spree Success, I just know that Andrew and I will continue on with our new tradition for many years to come. I can’t wait already!!

Do you have a favorite trail to hike? What kind of wildlife do you see on your walks? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah