Adirondack Trail

Hills & Dales MetroPark is surprisingly large, spanning 63 acres and nestled between two golf courses. When hiking here, it is quite easy to forget that it is surrounded by a city and is just a couple miles south of Dayton. The Adirondack Trail is the most prominent trail in the park, winding around to run through or adjacent to most of the main features of the park. These include the seren...

The Dayton area is home to many major technological advances, including the cash register, the Bombe code-breaking machine, plutonium triggers for early atomic bombs, car self-starters, self-cooled refrigerators, and so much more. Probably most well known is the Wright airplane, which was developed and built in Dayton but first flown in North Carolina. This is why Ohio is known as the "Birthpla...

The main attraction at the park is of course the large pond, with paved walking trails leading around it. Jutting out into the middle is a covered fishing pavilion, and you're likely to see several people casting rods there and along the southern banks. This metro park also has high quality sand volleyball courts with officiating platforms, four softball diamonds, and several soccer fields. If ...

Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, these massive water fountains operate several times each day according to a rigid schedule: 10-minute intervals at the top of the hour, Mon.-Fri., 6:55 AM-9:55 PM and weekends 10:55 AM-9:55 PM. The five fountains shoot 2,500 gallons of water per minute 200 feet high and 400 feet wide, with the central geyser also shooting water 200 feet high.  Each fountain s...

Like forests? Like fields? How bout running in them? If so, this is the park for you! There's a map at the parking lot to help you navigate each trail and plan your route. The parking lot also has plenty of space and a porta-john. Trails are short, but you can mix and match them to create the distance you want to go that day. If it is warm you can run through the woods, but if you're seeking so...

The best part about this adventure? It is FREE!  Free parking, free WiFi, and yes, you can see all sorts of planes from the SR-71 Blackbird to past Air Force Ones, all without paying a dime. Some planes you are even able to walk through to get a good look of the interiors! This is one of the best museums I have been to, and there are extremely informative signs all along the way. Most of the st...