Medina County Park District adding outdoor amphitheater, walking trails at Lake Medina
The Medina County Park District is adding several new features to Lake Medina, including an outdoor amphitheater and walking trails, as part of a new area called The Shotwell Gardens at Lake Medina.
The park district said that the area is being named after the Shotwell family, which donated eight acres of land to the park district. The family in 2018 donated an adjacent 17.5 acres to protect the west branch of the Rocky River.
The new area will include an outdoor amphitheater, an indoor space for public programs, gardens featuring native plants, walking trails and treetop views.
The new master plan for Lake Medina also includes a third entrance to the park at the corner of Foote and Weymouth roads in Medina Township; improvements that will provide access to the water for fishing and paddlecraft; and a concept to turn the former pump house into an observation platform.
“We are excited to help preserve and create a new area that will serve not only as an additional access to Lake Medina but also provide an exciting new place where friends can strum their guitars, a grandparent can identify a wildflower with a child, families can enjoy a tranquil picnic or where a child can magically transform his/her imagination while climbing through a treehouse,” Becky Shotwell said in a statement.
Medina recovery housing:Medina County Park District establishing recovery farm called Brown-Trump Homestead
The park district and the Shotwells worked with Environmental Design Group last year to develop the plan. Medina County Park District Director Nathan Eppink said he anticipates construction will take place in phases starting in 2025.
According to the park district, Lake Medina was created in the early 1960s, when the city of Medina was looking for a way to supplement its water supply. The park district said that through the creation of a long earthen levy, the valley adjoining the west branch of the Rocky River was flooded with water pumped from the river. Three large capacity pumps in the concrete pump house on the northern side of the lake pumped water into the lake daily that was used for the city water supply, the park district said.
In 2002, due to increasing demands for water usage as the city grew, an alternate water supply from Lake Erie was developed, and Lake Medina was no longer needed as a water supply, according to the park district.
The park district in 2003 secured a lease agreement with the city of Medina to turn the 103-acre lake into a county park, which can currently be accessed off state Route 18 and Granger Road.
The 233-acre park, located just west of Interstate 71, includes two hiking trails: the 1.4-mile asphalt Greenway Trail along the West Branch of the Rocky River that connects to Medina’s paved trail along Reagan Parkway, and a 1.08-mile gravel trail along the top of the dam overlooking the lake. It also offers opportunities for hiking, fishing, biking, canoeing and cross-country skiing.
Rivendell Nature Preserve:Medina County Park District announces largest gift of land - 203 acres - in its history
Contact Beacon Journal reporter Emily Mills at emills@thebeaconjournal.com and on Twitter @EmilyMills818.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Medina County Park District adding outdoor amphitheater at Lake Medina
