An Afternoon Walk
It’s a beautiful 70 degrees with nice fluffy clouds in the bright blue sky as I stroll along the gravel path through the meadow section of Frohring. The goldenrod is the highlight as the entire field is blooming and the bees are hard at work collecting their end of season pollen.
I pass about a dozen other folks - most of them with their dogs.
This is one of my favorite parks in the Geauga Park system because it changes so drastically with the seasons. The meadow is constantly shifting which wildflowers are blooming and the whole look changes. If you’re lucky you might even catch the park after a controlled burn!
Feature Story
The Ins and Outs of Frohring Meadows
The playground at Frohring Meadows
Frorhing Meadows has two main areas: the giant prairie and the forest off in the back. When you enter the park from Savage Road you will be in the meadow. There is a small parking lot off to the left with two covered picnic areas as well as a restroom. The second parking lot is at the end of the road and is where you will find the Katydid Lodge, the playground, a charcoal grill, two more restrooms, a tetherball, and the main trailheads.
The playground will keep little ones occupied for a short while. As you can see above it is a very natural playground full of nooks and crannies to hide in and things to climb on.
The Lodge is pretty small but is reservable for events. It does include a charcoal grill, tetherball, and is next to the playground and restrooms.
There are two trails that you can follow. The shortest is the Dragonfly Trail at 0.7 miles long and paved with asphalt. This trail takes you on a loop through the prairie around an ephemeral pond. Supposedly it is there, I’ve just never seen it.
The longer trail is the Big Bluestem Trail. At 2.8 miles in length this crushed limestone trail takes you through the “front” of the prairie closest to Savage Rd as well as back into the forest. It passes underneath the high tension power lines that run from Solon up to Chesterland and then split towards Leroy Center and Kirtland. The forested section of the park has a moderate amount of hills and terrain and is typically pretty dry on most sections. You can also walk just the prairie loop which comes out to just over a half mile and goes past the two mini-pavilions and crosses the main entrance. If you aim for a longer hike there are trails that lead to Chagrin Falls Village Park as well as South Russell Village Park.
In the winter both trails are open for cross country skiing.
For trail maps, events, and to learn about the habitat visit the Geauga County Parks website.
The Namesake
Paul Frohring (1903 - 1998)
In 1996 Paul Frohring donated the land surrounding his farmhouse to the Geauga Park District. At the time, much of the land was a farm and the Park put in significant efforts to re-wild the field into the beautiful prairie we see today.
Paul was a nutritional researcher and is credited with helping to develop infant formula and antibiotics before turning to philanthropy. In addition to donating the land that became Frohring Meadows he is the largest benefactor of Hiram College.
He is buried in Evergreen Hills Cemetery in Chagrin Falls.
A Final Note
I’ll be back to Frohring once the leaves reach peak color to stroll and take some more pictures. See you around.
"To the attentive eye, each moment of the year has its own beauty, and, in the same field, it beholds every hour a picture which was never seen before, and which shall never be seen again."