Monday, February 6, 2012

Munroe Falls

Trail IconIndian Spring Trail
2.2 miles 2 Indian Spring Trail loops through two types of forests and alongside wetlands, ponds, a stream and the trail's namesake, an old spring.
Trail IconMeadow Loop
.35 mile 1 The short Meadow Loop is a flat, easy trail in the Tallmadge Meadows Area that can be enjoyed by users of all abilities. It is eligible for hiking cre  ...  MORE
Trail IconMeadow Trail
2.0 miles 1 From the parking lot of the Tallmadge Meadows Area, the Meadow Trail passes by the County Home cemetery and travels through woods, a shrub thicket, we  ...  MORE
Trail Ratings
1=Easy
2=Moderate
3=Strenuous

History & Wildlife
Before Metro Parks purchased 222 acres from the Renner family in 1978, John Renner owned and operated a swimming park here. In the 1930s, the family built a two-room summer cabin and dug a small fishing lake near the present park entrance. By 1935 they constructed a house and lived here year-round, and they soon realized their lake was popular with swimmers. To discourage visitors, they started charging 10 cents per visit, but this only attracted more people. To accommodate the new business, they created the current 13-acre lake in 1937 and named the place Renner Park.
John Renner, an engineer who built many homes in Akron's Goodyear Heights area, also tried raising pigs on the southeast side of the lake. Price restrictions enacted during World War II made his farming venture unprofitable.
In 2007, Metro Parks acquired the adjacent 287-acre former County Home property, bringing this park to its current 509 acres. Today, the sandy, acidic soils of Munroe Falls Metro Park permit the growth of flora that is typically uncommon in Summit County. Blueberries, shiny club moss, ground pine and a colony of Ohio haircap moss flourish here. Trees include black gum, sassafras and tulip. Beavers, frogs, turtles, salamanders and crayfish are seen in both Beaver and Heron ponds.

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