1. Ariel-Foundation Park

    1. Ariel-Foundation Park

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    Mount Vernon, OH

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    Ariel-Foundation Park

    4.6 (15 reviews)
    Closed 7:00 am - 9:00 pm

    Ariel-Foundation Park Photos

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    Molly M.

    The park is nice and well maintained. It was an old glass factory and the history is preserved with several portions of the factory left as a sort of display while other portions are reused. A portion of the factory is now a large event center where people have weddings and concerts. There is a small pond near the center as well as a large pond that people fish at. The park isalso known for the Rastin Tower, which is a tall staircase wrapped around a large smoke stack. Provides a great view. Be sure to look online for the next free concert they put on or other events.

    Tonya S.

    Such a lovely park and a wonderful memorial to the glass factory that once stood on the grounds. I enjoyed walking around and seeing all the ruins and steel structures but I really enjoyed walking up the 238 steps to the top of Rastin Observation Tower. If you can make it to the top it offers some pretty incredible views!

    Trina L.

    What a beautiful park. Peaceful, clean, very interesting. We walked almost 4 miles. My brother and nephew climbed the tower- 239 steps!. So happy we went. You can go and just sit on a swing and enjoy watching the geese.

    My dog and my girl enjoying a break after hiking to the top.
    Eric M.

    We took a road trip down to Mt Vernon. Super cool park where they re-imagined an industrial plant into a public park with sculptures and ponds. Put this on your road trip list. We should've budgeted more time to bop around the town but we loved this park and look forward to returning to find some great eats and cool shops.

    Rastin Observation Tower
    Lydia H.

    On our way from Akron to Dayton, my husband and I stopped here as a little break from driving. I had seen it advertised in brochures and found the description alluring; it was built on former factory grounds using old pieces of the factory in an artistic way. With the fact I'm a painter and love to hike what better way to spend a break than to walk through a park with sculptures? It was a fulfilling stop. The weather was brisk in mid February, but we climbed the winding staircase of Rastin Observation Tower and took it in. I enjoyed the blue glass sculptures and little mazes you can walk through. I wish I had more time or that the ground wasn't so muddy. There was a part of the park with a lake that we didn't even get to do because of being on a tight schedule. This place wasn't really a stop off the highway because it took a half hour to get there from I-71, but I didn't care because I had been curious about the place. Overall, if you're in the area or curious, pay the visit. The park is unique and peaceful.

    Robert C.

    My favorite place to take the dog. Unfortunately very few people pay attention to the 10mph speed limit do if you want to take the kids out with their bikes beware of LOTS OF IDIOTS in cars. The fish are pretty heavily pressured. Fishing is good for crappie and trout when stocked. Most of the bass are small under 1.5lbs. The big bass are smart so bring something they haven't seen and you might get lucky. Ive got decent LM bass in all three lakes but you have to really put in some time for the quality fish. If you want to Kayak this is a great place to learn. The kayak launch for the middle lake should me completed this spring.

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    2 years ago

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    4 years ago

    Can't ask for a better experience! Highly recommended! love to eat my lunch on the swings along the lakre.

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    Review Highlights - Ariel-Foundation Park

    The park isalso known for the Rastin Tower, which is a tall staircase wrapped around a large smoke stack.

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    Schnormeier Gardens

    Schnormeier Gardens

    4.8
    (13 reviews)
    4.8 mi

    What a nice and relaxing day at Schnormeier Gardens! We went Friday (6/9/23) and the weather was…read moreperfect, and around 78 degrees. We had the opportunity to visit in 2020 and so happy we took some time off to visit again this year for 2023! Booked tickets online a couple weeks ago, drove up from Columbus, checked in at the gate, and spent the afternoon enjoying the grounds and gardens. Price is $50 per car, there were only 2 of us but we would have been the same for a full car. The experience was simply breathtaking, tranquil, and fun to explore the 9 gardens and art. The gardens consist of: the Waterfalls Garden, Stream Garden, Serenity Garden, Hofstra Garden, Chinese Cup Garden, Japanese Garden, Meadow Garden, Woodland Garden, and the Quarry Garden. My personal favorites are the Quarry, Stream, Serenity, and Woodland Garden and I absolutely love all the art and the various shapes and sizes of the trees and shrubs throughout. The stroll took us about 2 1/2 hours this trip. Open to the public this season from Jun 1st - Jun 25th, 2023. Located in Gambier, Ohio (Knox County) It's about an hour outside of Columbus. Second visit in three years and hope to be able to return again as it is simply a treasure. For more info visit schnormeiergardens.org

    The June tour of the Japenese/Chinese inspired gardens was so much better than I was even…read moreexpecting!! The self-guided tour of the gardens allowed for literal roaming of the property off path (as there are no official paths). I had thought this would be a drive-through tour to protect the garden space (pricing is by the car load). I thought I would have 1 hour. When I learned I could walk the grounds at my leisure and literally stay as long as I wanted, I was amazed and ended up staying for almost 3 hours tracing and retracing my steps! Thank you, Schnormeier family, for sharing your treasure with all of the public who want to come!

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    Schnormeier Gardens
    Schnormeier Gardens
    Schnormeier Gardens

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    Sensory Trail Park

    Sensory Trail Park

    5.0
    (2 reviews)
    44.5 mi

    This is a very cool park! My children tend to gravitate toward parks and playgrounds where there…read moreare open-ended and tactile features available, and this park has that. There are boulders to climb, outdoor musical instruments to play, a treehouse to play pretend in (and is wheelchair accessible!), a merry-go-round, swings, a traditional playground structure with slides, and lots more. The playground area is lined with wood chips. There is also lots of space to run around, and lots of trees. Like the name of the park suggests, this is a very sensory-friendly park, and there are nature stations set up all around where you can use your senses to explore. There is also a short, paved trail that goes around the park, which is wide and smooth enough for strollers and wheelchairs. The trail goes by a creek, which is nice. As of right now, this is the only sensory-friendly park in the state of Ohio! It's definitely worth a visit.

    This is a really neat and wonderfully inclusive park. This features a short, paved path that is…read morewheelchair and walker accessible. Along the path are a variety of interactive stations that are also designed to be accessible. If you start near the entry sign, you'll find a Little Free Library, which, on our recent visit, was loaded with a lot of great kids options. Just ahead is a variety of benches and a little music garden, featuring musical instruments that can be played, and you can also interact with the Rough Bark Tactile Display to learn more about different tree barks. A little further down are the cutest animal looking instruments that can also be used. As you continue down the path, you find a swingset with a variety of swings that include both traditional and accessible options. There's a nice little shaded bench area with information about the creek, Fetter's Run, that can be seen from the location. As you proceed along, a very exciting find is the Treehouse, which is built within the forest trees as opposed to up in one, which allows a wheelchair ramp to make it accessible. This overlooks the creek and has things to explore, like neat nature art and a second floor (not accessible) with a fire pole. At the end of the path is a shelter house with picnic tables and nearby grills. Most, if not all, of the signage included Braille translations, as well. There is a large parking lot here, but I do note that this is located behind a school, so I'm not sure how that would affect parking for a visit during a school day.

    Photos
    Second level of tree house
    Second level of tree house
    Tree house from path
    Tree house from path
    Shelter house

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    Shelter house

    Ariel-Foundation Park - parks - Updated July 2026

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