Elmer W. Oliver Nature Park — Attraction in Mansfield

Really big park with plenty of to see — perfect for an unhurried solo walk or a reset with nature 🎒

Elmer W. Oliver is larger than it looks. The gravel path that winds through the Natural Area is for walkers-only (no bikes), so you can explore without looking over your shoulder 👀

From the clean parking lot upfront to the ponds and paths in the back, the maintenance by the City of Mansfield is on point… I saw a few of the crew out in Kubotas tending trails and trash, despite the summer heat ☀️

Best part of the loop is the Treehouse Overlook — spent majority of my time there so worth the pit-stop 🌳

Everything felt peaceful. I only passed three or four people the whole afternoon so had stretches of time to myself👟

Admittedly, I only made it half-way this visit, so I’ll be back soon for the (i) Windmill, (ii) Wildflower Meadow, and (iii) Rocky Ford sections 🌼

Tip: One bridge is marked closed on the south end of the map due to litigation, so plan your route accordingly. Hopefully, it opens soon, but in the meantime, there’s plenty to explore 🦅

This one’s an easy 5 stars — very clean, great layout, and feels like a world away from the...

This is one beautiful park for walking around. In the springtime there are tons of flowers of a huge variety all over the park on both the Shaded and unshaded trails, with several little ponds that have some life in them, Turtles, fish, Etc The most unfortunate thing about this park is that it used to be larger and traversed through a neighborhood that the developer of the neighborhood originally built as a pass-through to another Park, effectively connecting several Parks together. The trouble is, some snobby rich people in that neighborhood think that they're better than everybody else and have spent over a decade filing lawsuits against the city requiring it to be closed, even though the developer originally built it to be connected to the park. These whiners have become a burden to everyone, and drag down the common good. I'm glad I don't live in that neighborhood, because these people seem quite difficult to deal with in any circumstance. Very unpleasant altogether. The park is an ironic contrast to the neighborhood next to it, as it is a place of beauty...

I loved the different features of this park, such as the boardwalk and the rocky ford. The pond is pretty and you can fish out of it, and the trails were fun to walk.

My problem with this park is the infestation of copperheads! While we were there, for the last 30 minutes before it got dark, we saw 6 or more copperheads right on the trail. If we weren't watching so vigilantly, we probably would have stepped on one. In fact, we nearly did step on a couple of them because they just look like sticks in the middle of the trail.

I really think for the safety of the public that they should do something about the snakes or at least post more signs. We only saw one informational sign that even mentioned copperheads. We wouldn't have known to look for them if we hadn't casually been walking past some staff and they mentioned it to us that it was the time of night that the copperheads come out to eat the cicadas. I've never seen so many venomous snakes in one spot before, especially...