Address: | 10610 Clay St, Montville, OH 44064, USA |
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Postal code: | 44064 |
Phone: | (440) 286-9516 |
Website: | http://www.geaugaparkdistrict.org/parks/observatorypark.shtml |
Monday: | 6:00 AM – 11:00 PM |
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Tuesday: | 6:00 AM – 11:00 PM |
Wednesday: | 6:00 AM – 11:00 PM |
Thursday: | 6:00 AM – 11:00 PM |
Friday: | 6:00 AM – 11:00 PM |
Saturday: | 6:00 AM – 11:00 PM |
Sunday: | 6:00 AM – 11:00 PM |
My friends and I loved this place. We went when it was too cloudy to see the stars but we still got an awesome presentation from Chris. He was very kind and made our whole night. He showed us different stars and galaxies on the dome projector. We also went to walk the beautiful trail. If you ever have a chance to stop by here it’ll be worth your time!
This was a fantastic campout for the Perseids. We saw a few meteors, and got to hang out with some amazing people. Thank you to the astronomers who shared their knowledge and their telescopes!
Awesome place for a day trip , plenty of info to read about, and decent path to walk around. I've also been told it's a great place to star gaze
I could rave and rave about this place. I only wish that I have enough daylight to do all the trails and that things were open the day I stopped. Being the only dark sky park in Ohio is pretty freaking awesome. I hope to get back up one day and be able to stay after dark and stargaze.
The park has nice level walking trails that vary from a meadow setting, a marshy area, and a wooded area. The trails have interesting themes that relate to astronomy. There are many educational signs to read with information about the planets. Near the parking lot, you will find a sun dial with information about how to use it. There are a few interesting sculptures, and one is surrounded by displays showing all the phases of the moon. Another shows the constellations. The main trail is surrounded by a beautiful meadow. I was there on a cloudy day, but if you visit on a sunny day, be sure to wear sunblock as you will likely be in full sun. The meadow trail is fairly flat, but is surrounded by various raised grassy knolls. On some of those, you will see some raised stones provide a sense of what it would be like to visit Stonehenge. As you walk around the trail, you will see full-size models of the four cornerstones of one of the great pyramids of Egypt. It's interesting to "connect the dots" to visualize the immense size of a pyramid. There are also signs near each model telling more about the pyramids and their ties to astronomy. While all the information is great, some of the signs are getting faded and need to be replaced before too long. The grassy meadow trail eventually loops over to a wooded trail which will lead you all the way to the Nassau Observatory station which is located about a quarter mile or so down Clay Street. There is also another part of the meadow trail that goes past a small pond. A pavillion with picnic tables is located near the parking lot. Restrooms are located in the Robert McCullough Science Center building. There is also the Oberle Observatory building, but I was there in the daytime so it wasn't open. I look forward to coming back one evening to look at the stars!