Recycle your Christmas tree and help the parks

Recycling Christmas trees helps the parks as they are chipped and the chips are then composted or used as mulch within Lake Metroparks. 

Lake Metroparks offers 15 convenient Christmas tree recycling drop off locations throughout Lake County. Please remove all decorations before placing trees in designated bins.

Tree bins are available at the parks listed below beginning mid-December and will be removed about January 15. 

Chagrin River Park (Reeves Road entrance)

Chapin Forest Reservation (east entrance/Rt. 306)

Concord Woods Nature Park

Erie Shores Golf Course

Girdled Road Reservation (south entrance/Radcliffe Rd.)

Grand River Landing

Gully Brook Park

Helen Hazen Wyman Park

Hidden Valley Park

Lake Erie Bluffs (Lane Road entrance)

Lakeshore Reservation

Parsons Gardens

Penitentiary Glen Reservation

Pete's Pond Preserve

Veterans Park

Click here for park information, including address and driving directions. 

You think this is for the birds? You're right!

115th annual Christmas Bird Count

Celebrated across North America (and Lake Metroparks)  

Gully Brook Park (December 20 at 8:30 am)
Penitentiary Glen Reservation (December 27 at 8 am)


Do you love birds? Join Lake Metroparks and participate in the annual Christmas Bird Count, the longest running Citizen Science project in the world.

The Christmas Bird Count, presented by the National Audubon Society, is an early-winter bird census, where thousands of volunteers across the US, Canada and many countries in the Western Hemisphere count all the bird species and number of birds within a designated 15 mile radius in one 24 hour period.

Lake Metroparks is looking for as many eyes and ears to help us get as accurate a count as possible. All the data is turned in to National Audubon for a full tally from across Lake County, Northeast Ohio, Ohio and all of North America. Teams of birders venture out on foot, while “feeder” watchers keep track in back yards. A number our parks are included in the count territories.

Click here for a map of the circles that take in Lake County.
(Enter Lake County, Ohio into the search bar on the map)

Come join the fun on Saturday December 20 at 8:30 am at Gully Brook Park on River Road in Willoughby, where members of the Burroughs Nature Club will lead a hike and then move on to Pete’s Pond Preserve in Wickliffe for more birding, finishing up around lunchtime. Registration not required. Free

Go on a hike with members from the Blackbrook Audubon Society at Penitentiary Glen Reservation on Saturday December 27 at 8 am until 10 am to discover what the nature center trails and feeders have to offer. You do not have to be an expert “birder” to enjoy this outing, just a lover of birds. Register online for this hike. FREE

For more information the Christmas Bird Count, call 440 256-1404 and ask for Pat or Ann or visit http://birds.audubon.org/faq/cbc.

Learn more about birding in Lake County.