Description
The Smith House Entrance is the primary entrance into Bill Yeck Park and is at the center or heart of the other 3 park entrances. Park here and you can hike to any of the other entrances and see many diverse plants and animals. The Centerville-Washington Park District aquired this 37-acre historic Smith farm in 2009. The Smith House at Bill Yeck Park is currently used for indoor Park District nature and recreation programs.
The Smith House Entrance offers a large circular parking lot and is right next door to Forest Field Park. Past the Smith House and at the end of the parking lot it opens into a large field of wildflowers, hiking trails, apiary, native seed nursery and is full of wildlife, insects, deer, and flowers during warmer months. Should you hike straight back of the field, it connects via a wooded path to another very large open field. This field contains a perimeter path and the Tri-centennial Time Trail. Established during the Centerville-Washington Township bi-centennial in 1996, the time trail is a tract of land representing 100 years of natural succession. Each year another unmown section is added, creating a trail that shows how a field turns into a forest. During many times of the day, this area is very secluded and you can find deer and many other animals if you are quite.
If you decide to you hike to the back left of the open field by following the mowed path, there is another wooded path that connects to the McGuffey Meadow Entrance. Go left behind the Smith House and you can follow another wooded path to the back of the meadow as well. Turn right and you end up in Forest Field Park (which at the end of this park, also connects to the Rooks Mill Entrance). Any way you turn (except at the road), you end up on another trail and in a different entrance eventually. Lots of places to explore.
Bill Yeck Park is a 194-acre natural area along 1.75 miles of Sugar Creek. The park is treasured by hikers, bird watchers and nature enthusiasts. It harbors many rare species of plant life, providing a home to a variety of animals in every season. Fossils from the Ordovician period can be found in Sugar Creek which flows through the park. The park connects with other parks and wildlife areas creating a large corridor of green space that extends from St. Leonard Center to the Little Miami River. This unbroken wooded area makes the park's wildlife abundant and varied.
Entrances (4):
Smith House Entrance, 2230 E. Centerville Station Rd.
Forest Field Park, 2100 E Centerville Station Rd (Located in the middle of Bill Yeck Park)
McGuffey Meadow Entrance, 7893 Wilmington-Dayton Rd.
Rooks Mill Entrance, 8798 Rooks Mill Ln.
This is the largest and in my opinion the best park in Centerville, Ohio. With 3 separate entrances (4 if including Forest Field Park) there are many places to hike and get lost in nature.
Park is open during daylight hours and closes at dusk.
