Site of the first battle in Ohio during the War of 1812 known as the "Skirmish of the Peninsula". Located adjacent to the Keeper's House (Wolcott House) on Bayshore Road. 9888 E. Bayshore Road. Amenities include: Scenic bridge, historic monument, picnic tables. For more on the history, please click here.

Bark until Dark - Dog Park - 310 S. Bridge Road (SR 269 South) across from Police Station. Park Hours: 8 a.m. to Sunset

• Aggressive and/or unfriendly dogs are prohibited. Your dog must be able to play with other dogs.
• Dogs younger than 4 months old are not permitted in the off-leash area.
• Children under the age of 12 are not permitted in the off-leash area. Children aged 13-17 must be accompanied by an adult. Dog handlers must be at least 18 years of age.
• Dogs must be leashed when entering and exiting the park.
• Enter through the double-gate entry. Unleash your dog in the holding area first, then open the inside gate to the leash-free area. Keep all gates closed except when entering or leaving. Remove pinch or choke collars in the off-leash area. Keep the leash in your hand at all times.
• Dogs must be closely supervised and within sight and voice control of their handler at all times. No more than 2 dogs per handler are permitted. Never leave your dog unattended.
• Users of this park do so at their own risk. Owners are responsible for damage or injury inflicted by their dog(s).
• Danbury Township shall not be liable for any injury or damage caused by any dog in this park.
• Female dogs in heat are not permitted in the off-leash area.
• All dogs need to be current on vaccinations and licenses. Proof of current rabies vaccination and license is required upon request of police or animal control officers. Tags may serve as proof.
• Do not bring a dog with contagious conditions or illnesses to the park.
• NO food or dog treats in the off-leash area. NO glass containers in the off-leash area. NO smoking in the off-leash area.
• Owners are required to pick up their dog’s waste and deposit it in the containers provided.
• Leash up and leave if your dog is having a bad day.
• Fill any holes your dog digs.
• Act responsibly! Failure to follow park rules may result in a loss of privileges, or you may be ticketed.

Great Egret Marsh Preserve: 
Located in the heart of the East, Middle, and West Harbors System of Lakeside-Marblehead, open year round, dawn to dusk.

The 150-acre Great Egret Marsh Preserve boasts classic Lake Erie marshland, blanketed each summer with water lotus and teaming with wildlife. The preserve is a haven for waterfowl and wading birds—including great egrets, which can congregate there in abundance. These large, wading birds native to this part of Lake Erie can often be found feeding in the area’s shallow waters. Visitors to the preserve will find opportunities for bird-watching, fishing, hiking, kayaking/canoeing and volunteering. The easy to navigate trail is a 1.2-mile loop with interpretive signage and a portion of the trail is wheelchair accessible.

Directions:
From S.R. 2, take S.R. 269 North exit. After 2.5 miles, turn right onto S.R. 163 (E. Harbor Road). Next light approximately 1/2 mile, turn left onto S.R. 269 North (N. Buck Road). 3/4-mile, turn left onto Buck Road 139A. Go 500 feet and the entrance to the preserve will be on your right. Click here for a map.

GPS Coordinates:
41.540989, -82.822400

Located at 9999.E. Bayshore Road approximately one-half mile west of the entrance to the access road for the Johnson's Island Causeway. Built in the 1800's as the home of Benajah and Rachel Wolcott, both of whom were lighthouse keepers. The house is open for tours periodically from May to October, for special events, and during the annual Autumn Lighthouse Festival in October. An interpretive sign and historic marker on the grounds provides a detailed history of this unique "federal style" residence.. Ottawa County History link.

Main entrance located just off Erie Beach Road (north of State Route 163). Detailed information on this Chautauqua style resort can be found on www.lakesideohio.com. Gate fees are charged from mid-June until Labor Day.

Lakeside Daisy State Nature Preserve:
Located on Alexander Pike just south of Main Street (State Route 163) in the Village of Marblehead. This land was donated to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources by LaFarge Corporation. It is the site of the largest concentration of the rare Lakeside Daisy. The park is open only during May while the flower is in bloom. Access during other months is by permit only.

Lions Park at Lake Point
Located at 11257 E. Bayshore Road just south of the Marblehead Lighthouse State Park. Amenities: Picnic tables, shelter house, grills, restrooms, quarry pond, scenic woods, lake access, fishing, children’s playground and covered footbridge.

Marblehead Lighthouse State Park:
Located 110 Lighthouse Drive (off of State Route 163) next to St. Mary's Byzantine Church. Amenities: Picnic tables, park area, shore fishing, restrooms, museum. The oldest continuously working light on the Great Lakes. Built in 1821 and now operated by the State of Ohio. Call East Harbor State Park at (419) 734-4424 for more information. The Lighthouse is open for guided tours beginning the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend until the Monday of Labor Day weekend from 12 noon to 4:00 p.m. seven days per week. All tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis only at the park on the day of your visit. Many days, the tickets sell out early, so don’t wait until the last minute to purchase tickets. The last ticketed time slot each day is 3:40 p.m. There is a $3 charge (cash only) for anyone age 6 and over to climb the lighthouse. The on-site museums are free.

Museum at the Marblehead Lighthouse State Park
The Marblehead Lighthouse Historical Society operates a museum in the Keeper's House at the Lighthouse State Park. This two-story frame house was built in 1880 to house the lighthouse keeper in four rooms on the first floor and an assistant keeper in four rooms upstairs. An original keeper's house of native stone was built in 1822 and razed in 1880. The museum is dedicated to preserve the history of the Village of Marblehead and its historic lighthouse built in 1821. Marblehead Light is the oldest light in continuous operation on the Great Lakes. It is said to be the most visited, photographed, and painted structure in the State of Ohio. The museum has registered over 30,000 visitors annually since opening in 2000. The Society was founded in 1998. The museum is open the same hours as the Lighthouse.

Memberships to the Society, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, are $15 for individuals or for a family. Two levels of business memberships are also available. See the website for more details. Applications may be sent to Marblehead Lighthouse Historical Society at P.O. Box 144, Marblehead, OH 43440 or purchased online at https://www.marbleheadlighthouseohio.org/membe.

Mazurik Access:
Located at 8957 North Shore Boulevard, just north of State Route 163 (East Harbor Road). Amenities: Public boat launch, break wall, fishing, restrooms.

Located at 8577 E. Bayshore Road, one-half mile west of Dempsey Access. Amenities: Park benches, observation deck, paved biking/walking trails, grass and mulched walking trails along the prairie and in the forest. Scenic views of wetland marsh. Click here for a map of the walking trails.

In 2000 the Township Trustees made an unprecedented purchase of thirty-three acres of forest and brook area. Township residents Tim Nash and his late wife, Sylvia, graciously offered this property known as Meadowbrook to the Township at well-below market value. This natural preserve area is home to gulls, heron, geese, ducks, eagles, falcons and hawks, migrating waterfowl and songbirds, an assortment of water life and a variety of wildlife.

In December 2001, the Township secured a matching fifty-percent grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to purchase the wetland area of Meadowbrook that is adjacent to the current property. The Department of Natural Resources, The Ottawa County Soil and Water Conservation District and Pheasants Forever extended their full support of this acquisition. Funding for the prior parcel as well as the fifty-percent match for the wetland area was accomplished with the use of estate tax dollars.

In May 2007, the Trustees were awarded $221,787 from the Ohio Public Works Commission to purchase an additional forty-six acres of Meadowbrook property. Danbury Township provided a 45% match of $181,462 from estate tax dollars. With the Township's Meadowbrook holdings now reaching nearly 110 acres, a citizen team was gathered to create goals for developing approximately seventy-nine non-wetland acres into an accessible public park. The Trustees hired The Collaborative, Inc., a park-planning consulting firm, to assist with this project. Hiking and biking trails along with low-density recreational uses that could be enjoyed by the physically challenged were planned. This project has focused on protection of native plant species and wildlife while allowing the public to enjoy the pristine, natural atmosphere of Meadowbrook Marsh. The Board of Trustees is extremely proud to have made these three acquisitions with no expense whatsoever to the taxpayers.

During 2008 the Trustees were awarded three additional grants from ODNR for Meadowbrook. A $50,000 grant from the Office of Coastal Management, in conjunction with support by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was awarded for a 1,121-foot paved multi-use trail and eighty-foot-long pond side observation deck. $40,000 was awarded by Natureworks for a three-acre land acquisition and an additional $40,000 was awarded by Land and Water Conservation for construction of a 1,676-foot paved multi-use looped trail. Township matches for these three grants varied from twenty-five to slightly more than fifty percent. Also during 2008, the Ottawa County Community Foundation awarded the trustees a $1,500 grant, which was used to purchase park benches. Natureworks also permitted part of their grant funding to encompass paving two ADA accessible parking spaces and a connecting paved ADA trail to meet up with the existing ADA trails. In 2010 the Clean Ohio Trails Fund (COTF) awarded $126,343 for 4,000 additional feet of ADA accessible paved trails in conjunction with a grant from the Recreational Trails Program in the amount of $43,317 to complete the project.

In January 2013, the Black Swamp Conservancy was able to obtain an additional eighty acres for Meadowbrook through a mitigation project. In turn, the township granted the Conservancy a conservation easement while still retaining ownership of the park. This partnership has been extremely rewarding and the size of the park now encompasses 198 acres. A substantial portion of the park is purposely inaccessible due to protected wetlands, nesting areas and natural marsh. Meadowbrook is now a designated State birding site and prime location to observe the spring warbler migration.

Two ADA-compliant paved parking spots are available with an access aisle at the main trailhead. Seasonal wheelchair-accessible bathrooms are adjacent to the main trailhead. An approximate one-mile loop circles the park and consists of eight-foot-wide asphalt trails and a twelve-foot-wide boardwalk in the canopied interior wetland sector. The paved trails are mostly flat, with two areas that have a slight grade, both of which can easily be avoided by using shorter-length parallel paved trails. The eighty-foot-long observation deck provides excellent views of two eagle nests, a lengthy tree line where Bald Eagles perch for extended periods of time, and an expansive view of the main marsh. The deck has a ramp and permanent benches. There are several other benches on the edge of the trails throughout the park, plus a small shelter house and picnic tables located near the entrance of the lower main parking area. Most of these items were received through grant funding. Some of the benches were graciously donated by individuals.

For the past few years, two Bald Eagle pairs have successfully nested on both the west and north shore of the large marsh. Great Blue Herons nest in the inaccessible phragmites islands near the eagles’ nests. A Great Horned Owl has sporadically produced one to two owlets. A Cooper’s Hawk nest is near the main entrance, where the pair is seen frequently. With rare exception, nearly every migratory songbird, warbler and waterfowl that visits Northwest Ohio can be seen at Meadowbrook Marsh. There are times during spring migration when the number and diversity of warblers at Meadowbrook Marsh can rival that of any of the more well-known birding hotspots in the area. Meadowbrook Marsh is Site Number 57 on the Lake Erie Birding Trail.

Designed for remembrance and reflection, Rainbow Ridge at Meadowbrook Marsh was dedicated by the township trustees in late November 2020. On Thanksgiving Eve 2019 a devastating fire occurred at African Safari Wildlife Park, a few miles to the west. Ten animals perished and a huge structural loss was incurred. The community came together to raise 100% of the funds for this memorial site which is located a short distance from the lower parking area.

Meadowbrook’s paved trails and intersecting grass and mulched trails are open to the public year-round from dawn to dusk. The Township does not permit hunting, motorized vehicles or horses in the preserve. Dogs must be kept leashed at all times.

Located off Huron Trail (Next to 10011 Huron Trail) approximately one-half mile behind the Keeper's House (Wolcott House). This is the burial site of Benajah Wolcott and others. There is a small sign tucked in a tree line and a gravel lane leading back to the cemetery. The trail is narrow and bears to the right. Parking is available just behind the residential homes and walking back to the cemetery is encouraged due to limited maneuverability at the cemetery location for vehicles.