Ohio’s Lake Erie shoreline stretches across its northern border, from Michigan to the Pennsylvania state line, providing abundant recreational opportunities. Between Toledo and Lake Erie is a scenic park perfect for premier birding, fishing, and paddling called Howard Marsh Metropark. The park is less than 30 minutes from Toledo, where you’ll find the nearest major airport, with Corduroy Road typically being the fastest route. Historically known as Howard Farms, Howard Marsh Metropark is a 1,000-acre tract that’s been mostly restored to its natural wetlands state. It took the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife and its partners more than 20 years to acquire the land, finally securing it in 2008. The land then took 10 more years to develop and prepare for visitors, and Howard Marsh Metropark officially opened in spring 2018.
Visitors have miles of trails to take them through the park’s flora and fauna. Trees and shrubs growing in the wetlands, which include species such as red oak, eastern cottonwood, pussywillow, spicebush, and common hackberry, serve as vital habitats for a vast number of birds that migrate through northwestern Ohio. This makes the park a prime spot for birding. And aquatic plants like pickerel weed, broadleaved cattail, and common arrowhead help fish and other aquatic animals thrive. Howard Marsh is a premier destination for anglers who have a chance to catch a variety of fish species. Two kayak launch areas are available as well, giving paddlers easy access to explore or fish from out on the water.
Howard Marsh Metropark is a birding hotspot between Toledo and Lake Erie
The restoration of the wetlands at Howard Marsh Metropark has turned the area into a birding hotspot where 265 different bird species have been spotted, according to eBird. Take a walk along one of the park’s trails or paddle your way through the marsh for a chance to see waterfowl and shorebirds that make their home here for at least part of the year. In May, Ohio’s Biggest Week in American Birding festival takes place, attracting more than 70,000 birders to the shores of Lake Erie.
The festival is based out of the nearby Maumee Bay State Park, a wonderful Great Lakes getaway. Howard Marsh is one of the popular birding locations that attracts visitors during the annual festival when the spring songbird migration happens, usually between mid-April and May. One local Google reviewer said they “love what the Metro Parks have done with Howard Marsh. The east and west units have different features that attract different species of birds. We tell people all the time about Howard Marsh, especially during spring and fall migration.”…