The parks in Bowling Green are all well kept, well lit and extremely safe. Carter Park has eight…read morebaseball diamonds and are heavily used. For those not into baseball, there is disc golf, shelters, three volleyball courts, cooking areas and playgrounds for kids. It is relatively quiet- you can hear a slight rumble from I75 but it's more background noise than anything. Oh, and there is a TON of parking. Dogs are allowed justake sure you clean up after them. There are plenty of waste refuse bins around!

An amazing preserve that is well taken care of. Wildlife abound! If bringing dogs make sure they…read moreare use to them! Saw 7 deer in the matter of an hour.

St Johns Nature Preserve is one of my favorite hidden gems in Bowling Green, Ohio. You can rent…read moreone of the building spaces for meetings, etc. However, my favorite part of this place is the different trails you can take. Some longer trails have picnic benches and other seating areas along the way. I used to come here with my dog quite a bit. The staff that work here are friendly and even gave my pup doggy treats when they saw her. It's also fantastic here because they have doggy bags at different stations throughout the area to keep this place clean. You'll see birds and deers throughout the nature preserve. I've also seen a lot of people take their graduation pictures because of this place's natural beauty. Over the years, I've seen that this place has done a great job of being educational with a lot of interactive activities (information about snakes, nets for observing fish, etc.). Whenever I'm in the area, this is the one place I always need to visit. Pros: -Free to enter -Free parking -Different trails -Well-maintained -Good for dogs -Educational -Beautiful all seasons Cons: -Depending on the time of the year, the mosquitos can be fierce! So don't forget to bring some repellent!

Great spot on the River. Nice food and ice cream trucks We had a spot right on the water.read more

Growing up along the Maumee River I have fond memories of picnics and games here. Mary Jane…read moreThurston (note spelling) is well maintained. The trees are big oak trees that shade picnic areas. There is a swing set and trails to walk or ride a bicycle. A shelter house is handicapped accessible with a party room and a porch with picnic tables. The view of the river here is one of the best. The river is wide. There's a dam that has a good flow of water for fishing. As a kid Dad took our boat through the canal locks which looks like you can still do that. Don't forget a walk to the village of Grand Rapids. It's only .2 miles and it's a destination with cute shops and eateries. A campground and boat ramp are just to south of the park.

Great park for young kids. We stopped here on a road trip across the country and couldn't have been…read morehappier we picked this park to let our kids run around. It was clean, appeared to be a safe neighborhood and many things to do.

A great kid friendly park. We stopped here on our way home and it was a great spot to take break…read moreand enjoy lunch while the kids played. It looked like they had bathrooms, but they were closed for the season. They did have one port o john for use.

This has always been a favorite stop of ours. We hosted a baby shower at the Buehner Center and had…read moreabout 80 guests. Everything went very well. Plenty of tables and kitchen space for caterer. We talked with quite a few hikers who walked by and weee curious. Keep them in mind for your events!

This is my favorite park. I love the walking trails with beautiful clear streams running over sand…read more Trails through evergreens that smell so unbelievably good. You can ride a horse, a bike or your legs. You can hear symphonic melodies made by 100s of frogs and see tons of wild life, did I mention there are sand dunes? "The Oak Openings Region is a globally rare ecosystem composed of over 130 square miles in Northwest Ohio. The land consists largely of oak savanna and grassland prairie. It is considered by The Nature Conservancy as having a similar ecological importance as the Florida Everglades and is one of the 200 "Last Great Places on Earth"." It is amazing. Check it out!

Cute little find to walk through while we were in town! Relaxing and beautiful flowers along the…read morepath.

After the Black Swamp Arts Festival I was looking around for more to explore and I came across this…read morehidden gem a good walking distance from downtown. When I was walking there I thought I was surely lost. I love plants and gardens in general and this was quite a collection of plants and flowers. The Simpson Garden Park is 11 acres of rolling gardens in the middle of an urban landscape. The estate features a Children's Discovery Garden with pond and activities, Sensory Garden, Shade Garden with an incredible collection of Hosta, Daylily Garden with an amazing collection of lily, Sculpture Garden (which left me wanting a little more, sadly), a new Japanese Peace Garden and a Healing Garden at the end, to name a few. All free to the public to enjoy. You can easily spend a few hours exploring all the flowers but also the wildlife. An abundance of bees, butterflies, frogs, caterpillars, and hummingbirds are provided a free playground with all the pollen rich florals. Great place to get away and take a breather and to bring the kids to let them safely explore the riches of nature found in their own backyard.

We take our dogs there for walks along the paths and enjoy the water fall pavillion and pool. Very…read morebeautiful park. However they need to update security so there aren't any vandalism after dark

I went to A smooth jazz concert here a few years ago. The setting was immaculate. I was surprised…read morethat there is such a gem of an arboretum in this part of Ohio. The grounds were lovely, and they were plenty of plant and tree specimens that one does not normally see in this part of Ohio. I liked the knobby knee cypress trees the best! The insect quotient was very low, making me wonder if they spray. It seems as though they must because of all the flowers and plants. It's an amazing setting for a concert and I wonder why they have not had a smooth jazz concert there since. I definitely would go! This seems as though it would be a great place to take photos of your family. People are very friendly here and it would be a very nice afternoon daycaytion!

First off, there is an admission to get into these gardens. These gardens use that admission to…read morestay open, because they do not depend on tax payer money or local levy. The admission cost makes it possible for these gardens to exist, they are a non for profit. The gardens are unique in that they offer a great rotation collection of art from all over the world. The gardens themselves offer a unique collection and experience in that they are the areas only large scale asian gardens. They have a complete 30+ tree collection of bonsai trees. As a seasoned and well traveled garden tourist, this is one of my all time favorite gardens.