Huffman MetroPark — Attraction in Bath Township

This is a nice park for cyclists in that it is a starting point for the Huffman Prairie bike trail, and there is the Metroparks Mountain Biking Area just north of State Route 4, which I believe is also under the Huffman Metropark jurisdiction. Anyway, a nice ride past Wright State University, the air force base, and into Fairborn can be had by starting at the west end parking area and going up Lower Valley Pike to the dam. Crossing the top of the dam, one can go explore the Wright Brothers Memorial, the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Park visitor center, and the Huffman Prairie where the brothers figured out how to increase their flying time from about 1min to continuous operation. Anyway, this is an interesting and historically significant area starting at this metropark.

Also, the canoe/kayak options looked quite good in this park. There is a turnabout near the east end parking area that looks to have nice put-in spots for a boat. The lake is obviously a nice smooth paddle, but there is a connection to the Mad River for exploring a bit up river, if desiring some exercise. The Mad seems to be quite tame and deep enough for good paddling on this stretch, likely thanks to the flood control dam just down river.

Anyway, a great little park with recreation opportunities in a historically...

Such a wonderful local place to enjoy. These are three simple pictures that were actually meant to capture the awesome view of all the yellow flowers we had encountered in particular that day, but it gives a slight peek into the beauty of the reserve/park overall. Our favorite trek is going around the lake utilizing the trails in and out of the woods as we weave closer and further to the water. It appears that folks may be able to fish in the lake, but we go for the great walks. Depending on which way you go, you can spend five minutes on the trail or well over an hour. That's a really nice aspect is being able to choose how involved I want to be at a given moment for a walk. We also enjoy going up onto the paved walkway above the dam that offers incredible views of the surrounding area and wildlife. There are always birds soaring, critters running about and even turtles basking along the banks and on logs in the water. I'll edit at some point and add more pictures especially of the dam, but again there's always a different route to take and we as of yet haven't made it all the way around the lake, but one day....you have to check this place out and take advantage of what this park...

BE CAREFUL TRAVELING SOUTH AWAY FROM PARK!

The previous directions were safe and legal. They now suggest going against all posted traffic signs and taking a left across the divided highway Rt4.

Please be safe and legal ♡♡ turn right, go up to the next legal U-turn at bath road and make a Uturn there to travel south on Rt4.

My favorite part is the lower parking lot all the way down and take a lovely walk between 2 ancient grandmother trees across a sometimes exposed beach and come out to a little point where the river and the reservoir meet. Tons of picnic areas one with an amazing overlook down to the river. Lovely place to walk and I noticed many people enjoying kayaking and biking...