On one of our adventure days with Mom and Dad, we visited Fleming Falls Preserve. In order to appreciate how special this visit was, you need to read the backstory.
Mom and Dad have always kept their eye on what is happening in Richland County. They have lived in Richland County for over 60 years and Dad is a great source of news for what is happening. Dad volunteered at the Gorman Nature Center for several years. He also worked to pass the first parks levy passed in Richland County last year.
During his first year at Gorman Nature Center, Dad heard about a new park acquisition – Fleming Falls Preserve. Formerly a church camp and conference center, Richland County had recently purchased the land. We had to go check it out! But first, we had to find it. We drove up Route 42 north of Mansfield to the place where Dad said the park was. We couldn’t find anything except a road that was so steep we were afraid to take the minivan on it. Driving along Fleming Falls Road, we found the village of Fleming Falls, but couldn’t find a waterfall.
Dad said he would talk to the park people at Gorman and we would find it another day. Meanwhile, Tom started calling it Frostbite Falls after the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. In fact, it was hard for us to remember the name so we made up things that went with Falls: Fletcher Falls, Fleeing Falls, Falling Falls, etc. Every time we headed north on 42 we would look for the falls.
A couple of years ago, Dad told us that Fleming Falls Preserve was open and they had built a parking lot. Great! We piled in the car and headed north. We found the parking lot, which was progress. But there was closed and locked gate across the entrance. It said the preserve was only open on Saturdays and Sundays. Because we visit Mom and Dad during the weekdays we were disappointed. We told Dad to get a key for the gate, as a volunteer for the parks.
On the day we went up to Ashland to see the Pumpkin People, we decided to try Fleming Falls Preserve again. It was a beautiful day in September and this time – hallelujah! – the gate was open! We drove into the parking lot and got out to study the map. Unfortunately Dad was not able to walk down to Fleming Falls, but the rest of us decided to go in search of the falls.
Fleming Falls Preserve has 15 cascades and waterfalls and miles of trails. It is a little hard to know which one is actually Fleming Falls and which ones are other falls or cascades. The signage is still being developed. All three of us walked down to the Y-bridge over Fleming Falls Creek. We were surprised to find water flowing in the creek because it had been so dry. While Mom and I were content with enjoying the water, Tom wandered around in search of Fleming Falls. Tom was finally able to see it from the overlook, which meant that he was still a distance from the falls.
Fleming Falls Preserve is a historical natural landmark named after John Fleming, who discovered the falls as a power source in the early 1800s. The park has over 100 acres of natural forest. There is a large conference center and a building dedicated to public education but these areas aren’t open yet.
After searching for Fleming Falls for so long, we were very pleased that we had finally been able to visit. Even though Dad couldn’t walk to the falls, we were able to show him the pictures. The area is wilder and more beautiful than we expected. It would be a great place to hike for an afternoon.