When I first started this blog I posted about places in Ohio I would like to visit. I have visited some of them since then, but there are still many places on my list. Now as my time here is dwindling, there are sights and sounds around the state I want to spotlight. Some are old-time favorites, others I have been introduced to only recently and the rest are places on my to-do list. These places include restaurants, museums, gardens and other institutions, all reasons why I truly do love this state.

My last installment was about the Toledo Museum of Art. Up this week is Fellows Riverside Gardens in Youngstown’s Mill Creek MetroParks.

When my boyfriend came to visit last month, and we headed to northeast Ohio, the Mill Creek parks were the first sight that came to mind for me to show him (truly, the first sight was the Hot Dog Shoppe, but Jon is vegetarian).

These gardens are near the Mahoning River that runs through Youngstown, and one of the river’s tributaries flows into Glacier Lake, which can be seen from and overlook at Fellows.

My only photo of Glacier Lake includes Jon goofing around with the umbrella

The gardens include walking paths through roses, tulips and wooded areas with rhododendrons and a plethora of other plants I am not familiar with, though were once explained to me on a tour there.

The park system offers many other activities and locations as well, including boating on the lake, plenty of paths and children’s activities, and a wonderful sledding hill.