Mill Creek MetroParks Lily Pond Reopening for Public Access

Phase one improvements to Mill Creek MetroParks’ Lily Pond are complete and the Lily Pond will reopen for public access on January 22, 2016. The improvements to the Lily Pond have made the facility more accessible and enjoyable for all users. A new arrival plaza features benches, a drinking fountain and an information kiosk. Visitors will also find a boardwalk that leads from the arrival plaza to an observation deck overlooking the Lily Pond. A similar boardwalk and observation deck now provides improved access to the Frog Pond. Additional project components include a floating boardwalk, a bridge over the spillway and improvements to the easterly and northerly sections of the trail.

The second phase of improvements to the Lily Pond will begin this spring. The focus of this phase involves rehabilitation of the existing parking lot and the surrounding environment. Permeable pavers, a bioswale, and new concrete curbing will be incorporated in to the reconfigured parking lot design. A new biofiltration garden will be constructed with native wetland plants to treat storm water runoff from the site. Also, new site plantings and interpretive education signage will be installed to enhance and emphasize the prominent feature of the Lily Pond.

Substantial funding for the $344,000 project has been provided by the Hine Memorial Fund of the Youngstown Foundation and the Ohio EPA Surface Water Improvement Fund (SWIF). Additional funds for this project have been provided by the J. Ford Crandall Memorial Foundation, Thomases Family Endowment, Luau at the Lily Pond fundraising event, Youngstown State University and several private donations, which have greatly reduced the cost to the MetroParks.

For more information about this project or Mill Creek MetroParks, call 330.702.3000.