EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one in a series looking at what Lake County communities, agencies and school districts experienced in 2024 and what is facing them in 2025. Lake Metroparks made progress in 2024 in its efforts to increase public access along the Lake Erie coastline and Grand River corridor. The first phase of the park district’s Lakefront Trail opened in the spring along the Lake Erie coastline, just west of Painesville Township Park. The trail winds along the lakeshore for 2,300 feet, and the district described it as paved, multi-use and Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible. “We saw about 3,000 visitors per month during the summer, which was great,” said Metroparks Executive Director Paul Palagyi. “It turned out to be everything and more than we expected.” Palagyi described the view from the trail at night as “the coolest thing” he has seen there. “The park’s open till 11 and the trail’s open, so you have that opportunity to go out and see the stars, and there were a couple nights that I got out there and it was just a phenomenal view of clear sky and stars over Lake Erie,” he said. The Metroparks will continue work on the trail in the coming years. Deputy Director Vince Urbanski said that the park district completed a shoreline wall needed to build phase two of the trail, and they will start construction of that 800- to 900-foot trail next year. Palagyi added that discussions are underway now with the land owner for phase three of the trail, which is planned for the former Diamond Shamrock property. The Metroparks board approved a letter of interest with a contractor for engineering work on phase three at its December meeting. Farther south, Urbanski said that Lake Metroparks built an access drive and parking lot at its Hemlock Ridge property in Leroy Township last year. By the end of 2025, the district aims to have a parking lot, shelter and 1-mile loop trail completed on the site. “We’re very excited about what’s to come on the Lakefront Trail, what’s to come on Hemlock Ridge,” Palagyi said. “I think those are two very big projects that are going to take time to roll out, but we’ve been thinking about them and planning for them for years.” “Just to see the public reaction to it has been very confirming to us that we’re going in the right direction,” he added later. To meet the needs brought by the new parks, Palagyi added in November that the park district budgeted new ranger and operations positions in its 2025 budget, which the park board approved in December. Another project that got underway last year was the addition of a quarantine facility at the Kevin P. Clinton Wildlife Center at Penitentiary Glen Reservation. Urbanski hopes that the facility is able to open in the spring. Palagyi said over the summer that the center has not been able to bring in birds “most of the time” because of the possibility that a bird may carry in avian flu, which, he said, could bring a government requirement to kill other wildlife at the center. The quarantine center will allow the center to keep birds isolated upon arrival until they are cleared. A bobcat is pictured after being placed in the care of the Lake Metroparks Kevin P. Clinton Wildlife Center at Penitentiary Glen Reservation. The bobcat was found without its mother in Jefferson County in 2024, and Wildlife Care Manager Tammy O’Neil expects that the wildlife center will release it in the spring. (Courtesy of Lake Metroparks) News from 2024 Lake Metroparks notched a 4.8 percent increase in visitation over the past year, crossing the 4 million visitors mark. Palagyi added that Fairport Beach had a “great summer.” The park district also had “busier summer camps and programs,” while the lakefront parks drew more visitors than expected during the April 8 solar eclipse. Palagyi and Urbanski also detailed steps that the park district took to maintain and improve its existing parks. It used a new machine to clear plant materials and maintain the meadows at Lake Erie Bluffs for the first time in a few years. It also planted wildflowers and added patios overlooking the lake at Painesville Township Park. At the wildlife center, staff said goodbye to animal ambassador Ms. V, a turkey vulture that died at age 39 in July. The wildlife center also received a bobcat for rehabilitation in 2024. Palagyi said that Lake Metroparks aims to release the bobcat in the spring. A livestream of the bobcat enclosure is available on the park district’s website. The site also features cameras from other Metroparks properties, including a new sunset camera that was added last year and provides views of Lake Erie from Painesville Township Park. Meanwhile, the 2025 Metroparks budget request summary stated that park rangers recently added two Flock security cameras to their camera network. They have used data from Flock to help solve crimes on Metroparks property. With all of those projects going on, Palagyi said that the park district’s “biggest priority” remained “maintaining clean and safe parks.” “That’s the number one thing people expect from us on a daily basis, and it takes time and effort and people, so that is always our number one priority,” he added later. One unwelcome visitor to the area this year was the spotted lanternfly. Palagyi said that the invasive insect has been seen in the parks and elsewhere in Northeast Ohio. “We have a very thoughtful process of evaluating what invasive species are we encountering and what can we do to try and control them and to protect the native species?” he said. “So we will often go out and control invasives through a wide range of tools and try to protect those native species as much as we can. “But it’s tough,” he added, “when it seems like every time you turn around there’s a new one.” Looking to the future Palagyi said that Lake Metroparks is planning to make improvements to Children’s Schoolhouse Nature Park in Kirtland. The park includes historic displays and nature programs for young children, and the Metroparks board recently accepted a $10,000 grant from the Osborne Charitable Trust for improvements there. The park district is also looking at making repairs and improving an outdoor space at the Pine Ridge clubhouse, Urbanski and Palagyi said. They said that other plans include adding stepping stones to cross Paine Creek at Indian Point Park by the fall, adding flush restrooms and other improvements to Arcola Creek Park, connecting the “Early Bird” parking lot at Gully Brook Park to the rest of the park’s trail system and upgrading the hydroponics exhibit at Lake Metroparks Farmpark.