The park is open from 8 a.m. to sunset every day of the year. Sunset times can be found on the Park Hours page.
Park Features
- 380 acres
- native Ohio prairie
- reservable shelter
- 1600 feet of boardwalk
- contains woodlands, hills, and meadows
- nearly two miles of river frontage - LICENSE REQUIRED to fish in the river
- 2 fishing ponds - FISHING LICENSE NOT REQUIRED
- 3 acre wetland site
- wetland observation platform
- picnic areas with grills
- restroom facilities
- drinking water
- 2 mile Looped trail systems
- diverse wildlife
- over 2.5 miles of hiking trails
- 2 parking areas
- trails on south side along river
Park History
Stillwater Prairie Reserve comprises 380-acres in northwestern Miami County in Newberry Township. The park offers two entrances. One located 1 1/2 mile west of State Route 48 on State Route 185, the other is south of State Route 185 on Rangeline Road.
Early settlers John and Elizabeth Hagan, originally from Adams County, Pennsylvania, built a sawmill in 1840 on the site using waterpower from the Stillwater River. In 1846, the old brick home was constructed. The old home can be seen from the trail and is now used as a maintenance area. The accompanying log barn was demolished several years ago. In 1849, Robert Aspinall, from England, purchased the property. The family continued here until 1886, making the Aspinall family the longest occupants of the site since the days of settlement.
Segments of the main trail follow the river over portions of the long abandoned Hagan Road, built in the 1840's. Passages through fields, woodland, marshy habitats and shrub lands complete the circle. Diverse topography and vegetation offer excellent outdoor opportunities for the average hiker, birdwatcher, cross-county skier or photographer. Wetlands have been added to the diversity of habitat at the Reserve with an overlook platform for improved viewing of the wetland species which home there or pass through during migration.
Two man made ponds provide fishing opportunities for visitors who wish to avoid the more rigorous activity of "hip boot wading" in the river. Please use the pathways provided to broaden your experience and to help protect this unique natural site by obeying the rules of the Reserve.
Picnic Shelter
The picnic shelter built in 2006 by Outdoor Enterprises at Stillwater Prairie Reserve. This beautiful shelter was made possible with funds received in memory of Connie L. Haines and a trust from Mary Francis Alspaugh. The shelter is a roofed, open air shelter for picnicking and is located directly south of the upper parking lot between the open picnic area and the fishing pond. A large grill is available, however; electricity is unavailable to the shelter at this time. This shelter may be reserved by calling the Miami County Park District at (937) 335-6273.
Park District Adds to Stillwater Prairie Reserve
The Park District added 120 acres to the existing 260 acre Stillwater Prairie Reserve. The two properties join in an area which is a southern boundary for both properties and below the Stillwater River. The Coy property then runs northwest with its eastern boundary encompassing the east side of the Stillwater River. The rest of the property spreads west and south. "With Miami County continuing to grow, these natural corridors are extremely important for the protection and conservation of wildlife," said Mr. Jerry Eldred, Executive Director for the Park District.
Included on the property are woods that cover 70% of the land as mature woods and successional fields, including a sugar maple grove along with an old sugaring shack. Additionally there are three ponds and several crop fields.
In the early 1970’s, The Miami County Park District considered the Coy property, found in Newberry Township, as land that needed to be preserved and saw it as a logical extension of the Stillwater Prairie Reserve, located off of St. Rt. 185. This same property was noted in the 1990 Miami County Green Space Plan as an area which fit into its creed… "to preserve river corridors and greenways so that wildlife and natural vegetation can survive and to protect the beauty of the natural landscape for the people of Miami County."
Since the Coy family has always been conservation minded, it was met with great pleasure when the family decided to sell the property to the Park District. The Ohio chapter of the Nature Conservancy worked out a land trade with the family and then gave the Miami County Park District a letter of intent to sell them the property. The Park Board approved a grant request to the Land and Water Conservation Fund to help the Park District finance the purchase of the property.
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