What’s Happening

Check out these upcoming events but for the full list of available opportunities, visit our programs page.

HOLIDAY LIGHTS
November 28 - December 21, 2025
5:30-9:00 p.m.

Walking Trail:
Carlisle Visitor Center
12882 Diagonal Rd., LaGrange, OH 44050

Drive-Through:
Carlisle Equestrian Center
13630 Diagonal Rd., LaGrange, OH 44050

Admission to this program is free, but visitors are asked to bring a nonperishable food donation for Second Harvest Food Bank. There will be a donation station at the beginning of the driving display at the Carlisle Reservation Equestrian Center, at the Carlisle Reservation Visitor Center inside the Black River Room, and at the beginning of the Children’s Nature Discovery Trail.

Each night of the event, there will be cookies, hot chocolate, popcorn, etc., available for purchase inside the visitor center, courtesy of Friends of Metro Parks. We will also host a “Wildlife Giving Tree” at the Carlisle Visitor Center, featuring items needed to care for the animals at Carlisle and other LCMP facilities. As always, outdoor programs are weather-dependent. For more information, call (440) 458-5121 or visit loraincountymetroparks.com/holiday.

Additional Holiday Lights Activities at Carlisle Reservation Visitor Center:

• Little Green Choo Rides: Sundays, Nov. 30, Dec. 7, 14, & 21 from 5:30-9:00 pm

• Santa Nights: Thursdays, Dec.11 & 18 from 6:00-8:30 pm

• Balloon Twisting: Wednesdays, Dec. 3, 10, & 17 from 6:30-8:30 pm

• Santa Shop courtesy of Friends of Metro Parks: Thursdays, Fridays, & Saturdays, Nov. 28, 29, Dec. 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, & 20 from 5:30-8:30 pm. Join us for a simple craft, along with gift wrapping and shopping assistance for young shoppers.

MAPLE SUGARING
Feb. 28-Mar. 1 & Mar. 7-8, 2025
10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. (Sugar Shack open house)
12:00-2:30 p.m. (Guided hikes/programs)
Carlisle Visitor Center
12882 Diagonal Rd., LaGrange, OH 44050
Free | No registration required

February is when the ideal conditions for the running of maple sap typically begins. This year, we will be tapping the Carlisle maple trees on February 12 and converting that sap to syrup in our beautiful Sugar Shack--which opened 25 years ago!

Drop by between 10:00 am and 12:00 pm to watch the process, learn about the equipment, and sample some of our home-made maple syrup. There will also be naturalist-led hikes leaving from the Sugar Shack every 30 minutes between 12:30 and 2:30 pm. These hikes will follow the paved Children’s Nature Discovery Trail and includes a stop at one of our sap-collecting sites (known as a “Sugar bush”).

HOMESCHOOL EXPLORERS:
Various park locations
$3 per child

Homeschool Explorers is geared for children learning at home. This program series (September through May) will travel to different park locations to engage your children in nature, science, history, the arts, and recreation!

Depending on the program’s topic and location, children will learn through educational biofacts, nature hikes, activities, games, crafts, or meeting a live animal!  Program fee is $3.00/child. To be able to accommodate as many students as possible only students within the age range listed in the program description (usually ages 7-12) will be permitted to attend and participation waivers are required.  Please dress for the weather.

Registration opens one month prior to the program date.

• SEPTEMBER: Science of Water
  Tuesday, September 9, 2025 | Time: 10:00-11:30 am
  Splash Zone (Oberlin)

  Join us at Splash Zone as we conduct some hands-on experiments that will focus on water. Then, stick around after the program for some discounted pool time!

  For children ages 7-12. Register and pay $3/child by 9/8/25. Registration opens 8/15/2025.

• OCTOBER: Birding Hike
  Tuesday, October 14, 2025 | Time: 10:00-11:30 am
  Sandy Ridge Reservation (North Ridgeville)

  Learn about the importance of wetlands and why so many species of birds are seen at Sandy Ridge Reservation.

  For children ages 7-12. Register and pay $3/child by 10/13/25. Registration opens 9/14/2025.

• NOVEMBER: Wildlife Forensics
  Thursday, November 13, 2025 | 10:00-11:30 am
  Columbia Reservation, Briarwood Lodge (Columbia Station)

  Learn how to apply forensic techniques to solve wildlife crimes through hands-on activities and crafts.

  For children ages 7-12. Register and pay $3/child by 11/12/25. Registration opens 10/13/2025.

• DECEMBER: Animal Tracks and Signs
  Thursday, December 11, 2025 | 1:00-2:30 pm
  French Creek Nature Center (Sheffield Village)

  Learn how to identify the animals who live in the forest by looking for tracks, trails, homes, scat, and other signs of wildlife. Please dress for the weather.

  For children ages 7-12.

• JANUARY: Raptors Eat What?!
  Wednesday, January 15, 2026 | 10:00-11:30 am
  Carlisle Visitor Center (LaGrange)

  What do raptors eat, and why? Find out during owl pellet dissection, bio-facts and an outdoor eating demonstration using our Raptor Center resident birds.  Please dress for the weather.

  For children ages 7-12. Register and pay $3/child by 1/14/26. Registration opens 11/21/2025.

• FEBRUARY: Snow & Ice
  Wednesday, February 11, 2026 | 10:00-11:30 am
  Vermilion River Reservation, Mill Hollow Carriage Barn

  Learn about snow and ice with a lesson, activity/craft and hike at Vermilion River Reservation! We will learn about the properties of snow and ice, snowflakes, glaciers and icebergs, and the Ice Age in Ohio.

  For children ages 7-12. Register and pay $3/child by 2/10/26. Registration opens 1/10/2026.

• MARCH: Pollinator Diversity
  Wednesday, March 25, 2026 | 10:00-11:30 am
  Miller Nature Preserve (Avon)

  Discover and learn about some of the lesser-known but still really important pollinators and the plants that depend on them during a hands-on lesson, fun activities, and an engaging Conservatory Tour!

  For children ages 7-12. Register and pay $3/child by 3/18/26. Registration opens 1/18/2026.

• APRIL: Seed Starting
  Thursday, April 16, 2026 | 10:00-11:30 am
  Schoepfle Garden (Birmingham)

  Learn about how plants grow and how to start seeds at home for a flower or vegetable garden.  Students will start a few seeds to take home and grow for the summer.

  For children ages 7-12. Register and pay $3/child by 4/14/26. Registration opens 1/15/2026.

• MAY: Migration Madness
  Wednesday, May 13, 2026 | Time: TBD
  Carlisle Visitor Center (LaGrange)

  Join us as we learn how our feathered friends migrate.

  For children ages 7-12.