90 acres of lush, green park space nestled in the heart of Uptown’s urban neighborhood district, Burnet Woods was originally designed to be the Central Park of Cincinnati. Today, that park serves as the backyard to the University of Cincinnati and the many residents populating the surrounding community. We took advantage of Earth Week to do a live video session giving a tour of this special park and decided to expand this series to encompass parks all over the city. But for this week, we will stick with recapping the history of this public gem we are lucky to have so close at hand.
In 1872 two prominent Cinnatian’s, Robert Burnet and William Groesbeck, leased 170 acres of their land to the city for the creation of a park. The park was named in honor of Robert’s father, Jacob Burnet. Burnet Woods’ iconic fishing lake was constructed and opened in 1875 and remains the largest body of water in the Cincinnati park system.
The city formally purchased 164 acres of this previously leased land in 1882 and sold 74 acres of that to UC for relocation of the fledgeling school from its more downtown campus. The school’s expansion required more land in 1950 when it acquired another 18 acres from Burnet Woods.
The Trailside Nature Center, located just north of the lake, was constructed in 1939 from the designs of notable architect R. Carl Freund. This structure is home to a small planetarium, nature museum and meeting room. Since 1950 the park has remained at 90 acres; a mix of maintained meadow space for yard games and natural forest permeated by foot trails. This diversity allows for a wide variety of uses.
Today, the park is home to a wide biodiversity of native plants and animals. The space has been recognized as an important bird area by the National Audubon Society and supports dozens of species of both resident and migratory birds. On top of serving as a natural sanctuary, Burnet Woods offers a lot to the residents of Uptown and more temporary university students. The wide expanse of green space offers a release from the high octane urban community surrounding it, and the park is filled with entertainment options from fishing to frisbee golf. Next time you find yourself free on a sunny day, consider grabbing a friend and heading over and to check it out for yourself!
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