ICON

NAME

CLASS

RATING

TRAIL DESCRIPTION

SPREE

Bridle

7.9

E

1

The Bridle Trail at Silver Creek is the only horseback trail managed by Metro Parks, Serving Summit County.

Chippewa

2.0

C

1

Along Chippewa Trail, mature trees have grown from thousands of seedlings planted by Girl Scout troops between 1967 and 1983.

Pheasant Run

1.2

C

1

Pheasant Run Trail winds through fields and woods and around small ponds.

Class  A=Multipurpose  B=Accessible*  C=Basic  D=Primitive  E=Bridle
Rating  1=Easy  2=Moderate  3=Difficult

*Flat, easy trail or section with asphalt or crushed limestone surface that meets or exceeds ADA requirements.
See Spree For All for more information about accessible trails. Click for OPDMD trails

The 895-acre Silver Creek Metro Park is tucked away in a quiet, rural area near Norton. Observant visitors will see traces of the past. Open fields, fence rows and a stately old barn, part of which dates back to the Civil War, are evidence of the park’s former life as the Harter Dairy Farm. Other secrets are less visible. Buried beneath the surface is a maze of tunnels and shafts – remnants of a 19th Century mining operation.

The one-time farm has changed a great deal since Metro Parks acquired the land in 1966. Thousands of trees have been planted, and the bathhouse and 50-acre lake – fed by a spring from an old mine near Wall Road – were built in the early 1990s.

Today, iron-laden water from the mine shafts feed into Silver Creek, coating the bottom of the stream with reddish-brown iron-oxide, yet fish, frogs and other animals thrive. The open fields are home to woodcocks, meadowlarks and eastern bluebirds. Many butterflies flutter among the flowers and grasses. Hawks circle overhead to hunt rabbits, mice and voles living in the grasses and weeds below. Deer travel among the woods, fields and wetlands. Tall sycamores grow in soggy areas, and hickory woods grow in drier spots. The beech-maple woods contain spring wildflowers. One of the largest northern red oaks in Summit County – 20 feet in circumference – stands in this park.

Silver Creek Metro Park offers lake swimming, hiking and bridle trails, pedal boat rental, fishing docks and the reservable Pheasant Run Shelter. Admission is charged for entrance to the swimming area in summer. The bathhouse is fully accessible and includes restrooms, changing areas and lockers. Lifeguards are on duty, and a first aid station and snack stand are available. The park includes picnic sites adjacent to the beach, a children’s play structure and a walkway for wheelchair access to the water's edge. Fishing is permitted within designated areas along the lake shore. Pets are prohibited in the beach area.