Explore nature a short walk away

Fred Fuller Park is located off Middlebury Road in Kent. It is the city’s largest park. Brittany Ankrom | Summer Kent Stater

Credit: DKS Editors

With the stress of classes and homework, students need a place to relax. Kent Parks and Recreation offers a variety of parks and activities to help students get their mind off of schoolwork and enjoy the simple things in life. The citywide parks are very accessible and within walking distance of Kent State.

Fred Fuller Park

This park, off of Middlebury Road south of Haymaker Parkway, crosses and borders the Cuyahoga River and is Kent’s largest park with more than 56 acres of land. A nature trail connects to the John Brown Tannery Park and follows the river throughout the whole park. There are six picnic areas and a shelter house that provide an indoor meeting place.

Al Lease Park

The park, near Silver Meadows Drive north of Haymaker Parkway on the way to Stow, features extensive landscaping and a wooden walkway that leads through a wetlands area to a gazebo where observers can catch a glimpse of local wildlife. The park also contains a four-acre lake where guests can spend an afternoon fishing on the bank.

Upcoming Annual Events • Art in the Park: Sept. 12 – 13 • Haunted Hayride: two-day event, end of October (Friday and Saturday) • Cartoon Hayride: one-day event, end of October • Turkey Trot Run: Thanksgiving morning • Santa’s Arrival: December in downtown Kent

Franklin Mills Riveredge Park

This park follows the Cuyahoga River from Brady’s Leap Park to John Brown Tannery Park. It is named after the original settlement on the river. Guests can explore the river edge and its natural and historic features. There are pathways and decks, which make it easier to view the waterfalls at the Main Street Dam.

John Brown Tannery Park

This park is on the location where a former tannery, built in 1836, stood on the corner of River Street and Haymaker Parkway. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. At this park, you can picnic, stroll, sit or fish.

Brady’s Leap Park

This park gets its name from Capt. Samuel Brady who is said to have jumped 21 feet across the river at this location to avoid a group of Indians in 1780. In the future, Kent Parks and Recreation plans to extend the trail north to the Crain Avenue Bridge from its location off of Gougler Avenue.

Plum Creek Park

Amenities at this park by the intersection of Cherry Street and Mogadore Road include a baseball diamond, three picnic shelters, fitness game court, playground and sand volleyball court. There are also several small islands where guests can fish.

Contact reporter Allison Smith at [email protected].