Outdoor Fun!
Your 2022 Guide
to Sylvania Parks & Pools
Olander Park
official site
6930 Sylvania Ave. 419-882-8313
Park facilities open year-round. Fee for swimming, sand beach opens for swimming Memorial Day weekend, May 29, 2021. Park hours vary, see the site for hours all year. This 60-acre park has everything from a sandy beach to fishing*. Fun little boats are available for rent. Has a great playground for younger kids. The perfect place to roller blade, hike, push a stroller, picnic, and enjoy the warm weather season. Concession machines and restrooms. No pets. Sylvania residents get in free. *Fishing licenses are required for everyone over 16.
JCC/YMCA
official site
6465 Sylvania Ave. 419-885-4485
Outdoor pool (opens on May 29, 2021, closes Labor Day weekend) with high dive, baby pool, outdoor basketball and tennis courts. Membership is required, and brings year-round fun and recreation for the whole family. The pool is now heated. Non-members can purchase a membership at the pool and then dive into fun!
Highland Meadows Golf Club
7455 Erie St. 419-882-7153
Golf course and pool (Outstanding water ballet show!). Members only.
Sylvania Country Club
official site
5201 Corey Rd. 419-882-2082
Golf course, tennis, and pool (Another outstanding water ballet show!). Members only.
Whetstone Park
official site
McGregor & Roan Road 419-882-8313
A longtime favorite with locals, known as the little park behind the old Starlite Plaza (Now Promedica) where teams practiced ball and families picnicked. This is TOPS’ first park, opened in 1959. There’s a playground, grill, picnic table, shelter and more on 3 acres. A good place for a squirt-gun battle. ADA-accessible playground. Note: No restrooms.
Harroun Community Park/River Trail
Main Street 419-885-8992.
The 26-acre park has wonderful walking paths, benches along the pathways, an open-air shelter with picnic tables, grilling (at top of hill near St. Joe's parking lot). This is the place to go for walks in the woods along the creek, with native plants and deep nature. New bridge takes you across the creek and up toward Monroe Street. Sylvania's new River Trail, still being expanded, is paved and wide. Eagles have been spotted here, following the creek like a highway (they've been photographed also along the creek behind Lourdes). A great place for walking dogs. Self-guided walking tour brochure available online. St. Joseph Catholic Church is at 5373 Main Street, the church parking lot is across the street and that’s where the park trailhead is located, look for the totem pole (portable restrooms are here too). There is another entrance that is accessible for people with disabilities, and also more parking, behind the Root Learning building at 5470 Main St.
Centennial Quarry
official site
5773 Centennial Rd. (419) 885-7106
Opens Memorial Day weekend, May 29, 2021, closes Labor Day weekend. Hours may vary this year, check their Facebook page or call.
Deep water for swimming, sand volleyball courts, basketball court, a concession stand. They play great music. This is THE place to be for junior high, high school, and college-age folks, and those who still feel that young. No swim facilities for young children, and the water averages 22-feet in depth, so few families with kids head here. Children 13 and under must take swim test to prove ability to swim. Located at the intersection of Centennial and Erie. Open through Labor Day.
Veterans Memorial Park
official site
Off Erie Street/Garden Park 419-885-8992.
The park is open year-round, and primarily known for the baseball fields, but there are also open grassy fields perfect for picnicking and letting the kids run wild on 19 acres. There is a memorial to Sylvania’s veterans, along with an army tank and trees, so people can stroll over and take a moment to honor our veterans, and remember the reason the park was opened. Concession stand open during ball games. Has restrooms. It is free, and within walking distance of downtown Sylvania and Plummer Pool. Turn onto Garden Park off of Erie Street (across from Burnham Park/Plummer Pool), there are signs on Erie Street.
Pacesetter Park
official site
8801 Sylvania-Metamora Rd. (419) 885-1982
The park's 138 acres are used mainly for team sports, but there is so much more to Pacesetter. There is a good-sized playground for children, and great paths for roller blading and biking. A super cool skateboard facility too. There are two shelters, picnic tables, concession stands, and restrooms. No grilling, No pets. Has multiple restroom facilities. Located off of Sylvania-Metamora Road, just down the street from Centennial Quarry. Mayberry Village is a one-minute drive from here, where there's ice cream, restaurants, and more.
Plummer Pool & Park
official site
6940 Maplewood Ave. (419) 885-8996
Pool pens Memorial Day weekend on May 29, 2021, closes Labor Day weekend. Park is open year round. The official name is Burnham Park, but few people call it that. It's simply "Plummer" to the locals. A great pool, zero-depth to four feet deep, giant sprinkler/bucket contraption that everybody has fun with. Lounge chairs, tables & chairs, and locker rooms with showers. The park has a shelter, playground, picnic table, and grills. The fountain is fun too. There are restroom facilities outside the pool area for park visitors. The park is free, the pool has a fee. A concession stand is in the pool area. The park is located between Erie Street and Maplewood Avenue, and is also within walking distance of Downtown Sylvania. Pool open through Labor Day. *Yes, it was renamed Plummer after a gentleman, whose last name was “Plummer,” had an accident and passed away while working on the pool some 50 years ago. No, there is no ghost. The pool has its own Facebook page now, follow for updates.
University/Parks Trail
official site
McCord Road, Wildwood, King Road. 419-407-9700
Best bike path in Sylvania. More than six miles of safe riding for everyone on a ten-foot wide paved trail. A hidden paradise of incredible, beautiful nature (watch for turtles, ducks, frogs, cranes, and more!) runs through the middle of the suburbs, past the Oak Savannah restoration, and winds up in Wildwood Preserve Metropark, where there are restrooms and concession machines. Cross Holland-Sylvania and McCord with a street light that you activate. Parking is available on King Road, McCord, or at Wildwood. Or ride a bike from anywhere. There are marked bike lanes on King Road leading up to entrance. Walk the dog and jog here too. Wheelchair accessible.
Quarry Ridge Bike Trail/Sylvan Prairie Park
official site
8601 Brint Rd. 419-882-8313
TOPS is rehabilitating Sylvan Prairie Park to mostly meadow and wetlands. On 150 acres there is a playground, fishing on two small lakes, and access to the 5.5-mile Quarry Ridge Bike Trail that connects to Fossil Park and Pacesetter Park.
Fossil Park
Opens for the season in April. Admission, parking, and fossils are free. No tools allowed, but you can use little brushes. Pets only allowed on bike trail and in parking lot, NOT in fossil area.
Secor Park
On the outskirts of Sylvania Township heading toward Berkey. Open prairies, picnic areas and playfields. Great trails, an incredible Nature Photography Center, and also home to Wolfinger Cemetery which is famous for its ghost sightings. Really.
Wildwood
On Central Ave (5100 Central), where Sylvania Township ends and Ottawa Hills & Toledo begin. Open year-round, 7:00 a.m. until dark. HUGE park, priarie, and woods. Park rangers on site. Restrooms, vending machines, biking, grilling, and pets are allowed. Gift shops. Oak Grove Schoolhouse open at various times. Manor House. Great jogging trails, over prairies or hills. Everything is here, so it is always busy ESPECIALLY on the holidays. Shelters, grills & picnic tables get taken early.
Toledo Botanical Garden
Located at 5403 Elmer Drive, where Sylvania Township ends and Toledo begins. Used to be called Crosby Gardens, longtime locals still call it that. Now under the "Metroparks of Toledo" umbrella. No grilling or pets. Restroom facilities (near Elmer Dr. entrance). Very calm, peaceful atmosphere. Log Cabin. Gift Shop. Artist studios. So much to see, so many places to discover. Walk along tree-shaded paths, through sunny herb gardens, around the pond, over the bridge, through hidden walkways and secret outdoor garden rooms...couples love this place, so do families because you can let the kids run through what feels like the grounds of a royal palace. A favorite for weddings and "couples" photography. Unparalleled for exquisite flower gardens. You will want to bring your camera.
