Ault Park

I LOVED this park. The drive towards the park has all these pretty houses, which is fun to look up on trulia and house-​stalk. The fort thing in the middle of the park is really pretty, as are all the trails. I also really like that the trails aren’t paved, which makes them really fun to walk, or jog for those who are either incredibly athletic or have really great connections in the ER for their inevitable sprained ankles.
What I like most about the park is that there are a wide variety of spaces to choose from. What to picnic like Yogi the bear? There’s an area for that. Want to pretend you are Lewis and Clark and strike out into the (semi) wilderness? Just don’t go during hunting season (there are posted signs). Want to walk cultured gardens like the lords and ladies of the old world? You’ll have to share with the joggers.

Hard to believe this is in the CITY of Cincinnati. Per a Cincy police officer it is the safest park as well. Gorgeous clean spaces and something for everyone. There are hiking trails, paved trails, picnic areas, gardens, and challenging running. Great views of the east side. Love to pick up some Elis BBQ and bring it up on a nice day.

This park is great! It has a ton of space for playing frisbee or throwing around a football. It has hiking trails with plenty of animals that you’ll see along your way. Watch out though! The deer can be seen walking through the roads often.
If you’re not the adventurous type though, you can do as I do and hang up a hammock and just relax the day away. Even with the quarry at the bottom of the hill, the view is still very nice and you can watch the planes come in to land at Lunken airfield.

This is a gorgeous park with awesome hiking trails and plenty of garden areas and overlooks.

Ault Park the beginning and the end. The Alpha the Omega.
With each step I feel the blades of grass bring me closer to the end.
My heart races.
I hear his call.
OHIR. I cry out my lord of iron.
The beauty surrounds me.
My head grows with warmth.
I see an image above.
OHIR.
He has come for me at last.
Good place to have weddings, shoot slim jim commercials or chill w/​homies named II Troy.

one of our favorite parks in the city. beautiful gardens. try the hiking trails off the map!

We visited Ault yesterday, a gorgeous spring day. Loved the views and the general feel of the Hyde Park area. This would be an excellent place to walk the dogs or have a family picnic and I’m sure many people get married here. We’ve decided to hit every park this spring staying in Cincy part time and we will be back to check out the trails for this one. It definitely reminds me of one of the Fort Worth city parks. Open and bright and landscaped beautifully.

Ault Park is one of the most beautiful parks in Cincinnati. And considering that it is surrounded by homes and in the center of the Hyde Park/​Oakley/​Mount Look Out residential area, it is huge! I am amazed that we can have such a beautiful, gigantic park so close to home.
I happen to live very close to Ault Park, so my puppy and I take regular trips up to see the view off of Observatory Circle. The magnolia trees in the Spring are just wonderful, and the park always has kids playing soccer, people taking photos, and friendly joggers. The trails are very nice for hiking as well.
I know there is a problem with parking in Ault Park, but since I live near it I don’t have an issue. I absolutely love this park, and I am so glad that the city takes such good care of it!

Beautiful park and great view. Can’t wait till all the flowers starts to bloom. My first time here was during the fall and that was so pretty. Seeing the changing of the leaves was amazing. It’s a pet and kid friendly place.

This park is so beautiful! It’s perfect for a romantic walk or anything else imaginable. I am blown away that I waited so long before visiting. I’ve already made plans to go back for a nice picnic in a few days. I’ll be here a lot from now on.

Ault Park is simply gorgeous. Besides the fact that it’s always clean and well maintained, the Pavilion is stunning. We had our wedding there on October 25, 2014 and all of our out of town guests were amazed at how beautiful it was that time of year.
If you are looking for a wedding reception venue and want something outdoors, I highly recommend Ault Park or any of the other Premier Park locations in the Cincinnati area.

A great spot for an impromptu cookout/​picnic with friends; hiking trails or going for a run; or for just a walk through the gardens.
Ault Park also boasts some fantastic outlooks and is one of my favorite hang out locales in the city.

Ault park used to be one of my favorite places in Cincinnati. The gardens always seem to have something new blooming, and the huge green areas are great for laying around, reading a book. I love to take out of towners here because it’s so lush and has great views of the Hyde Park area. When I was a nanny I also took the kids here and we would play for a couple of hours on the playground.
But then I got a dog. And guess what? Technically (although I don’t think anyone obeys this), the dogs aren’t allowed on those huge green spaces or in the gardens. What?! And all the dogs I always saw playing in the fountain there, also not allowed to do that. My dog and I started walking the trails, which I find confusing if you don’t stay on one of the three main paths. They are not well marked, and while my dog loves forging her own trail, I don’t like having to circle back because we hit a dead end somewhere. Another reviewer mentioned a map online, and maybe that would help, because there’s only three that I know of at the park– one at each entrance. Once you get into the trails you’re on your own.
So now, I rarely go to Ault, because I feel like I can’t share my favorite aspects of it with my four legged friend. And she loves to smell flowers!

Beautiful park for a picnic, a relaxing walk, or doing some nature or portrait photography. Free entrance and plenty of parking.
I was there most recently for an outdoor photography class and it was a great setting with lots of beautiful scenery to serve as subject and backdrop.

Okay, okay. I’ll admit, I kind of always thought of Ault Park as JUST the main pavilion and gardens. Fun fact: Ault Park is the fourth largest in the Cincinnati Park network. Another fun fact: Ault Park is much more than just the main pavilion and gardens.
There is an entire network of trails running through the park ranging from a pretty flat, easy to walk gravel path to some pretty steep, narrow, uneven inclines. It’s definitely one of the more varied, fun hikes I’ve been on. The trails are well marked and there is a good map at the Ault Park Advisory Council website. We ended up winding our way through the trail system eventually following the cliff trail up (and up and up) to the Heekin Overlook, which was a great reward at the end of the hike. You’re never far from the noises of the road, but it’s so muffled, it’s not distracting. The trail got pretty muddy at places, not an issue, just something to be aware of.
One thing that’s great is Ault Park kind of covers everything. Expansive green space for running around, picnic spaces, playgrounds, trails, gardens, event space, etc.

I love Ault Park and have spent many days walking around enjoying every aspect of it. There are nice trails that wind through the woods, up and down hills, and by the railroad tracks. There are so many different entrances to the trails from all sides of the park that it takes some getting used to if you are not already familiar with them. At the entrance to the park on Observatory Ave there is a nice grass hill with cherry trees that bloom wonderful white and pink flowers covering the hill in the spring. This winds down and back up to the main area of the park. There the grand looking pavilion sits surrounded by beautiful gardens and grass fields. There are many areas to picnic, walk around, or just relax and lay in the grass. The flower gardens are gorgeous when they are in full bloom.
There are also some wonderful views at Ault Park. At Heekin Overlook you can catch views of the corner of Lunken Airport as well as a section of the Little Miami River. Below Heekin Overlook is the beginning of one of my favorite trails at the park. The top of the pavilion is another great view. Here you enjoy sweeping views of the entire park and it just gives you the feel of being a king looking out from your palace. This is also a great place to catch a sunrise or sunset. I have witnessed many of both and it is the perfect spot for a clear of view of either. The sun rises from behind the park and sets at the front. Watching the sunset over the grand fields and gardens is a wonderful experience.
Ault Park also happens to be home to my favorite drinking fountain. This may be a little odd but I just love this water fountain. It sits just to the side on the front of the pavilion and is an old fashioned bubbler where the water gracefully and gently bubbles straight up out of the top of the fountain. It is perfect for drinking from and I always make sure to take a drink from it every time I visit the park.

As a native West-​sider, I’ve been accustomed to decent parks. Not so great, but good enough in my young mind because of the swings and such. Clearly, I was missing out. I’ve heard of Ault Park but had never really checked it out. One day, I decided that I wanted to go hiking and checked out trail maps in Cincinnati. Lo and behold, in my backyard, Ault Park has some gnarly trails or at least that’s what the map indicated.
I was overwhelmed by how gorgeous this park is. The roads are hilly and windy. Runners sprinkle the sidewalks as they power through borderline-​mountainous inclines. The shelter is pretty and the flower garden not far from the shelter is like a little peace of rest and relaxation. Seeing all the colorful flowers with the sunsetting in the background just brought a smile to my face. The flowers made me happy but the trails made me excited! Once you meander into the woods, you feel transported to the Smokey Mountains. There are steep drops, wild flowers, fallen trees to climb/​hop over (don’t try to hurdle these… you will end up with scrapes and bruises — yes, this is from personal experience) and makeshift wigwams. I’m not kidding. They are giant and a little startling to come across at first… perhaps startling is the wrong word, maybe confused?
Also, You can make a game of the trails by flipping a coin to decide which trail to blaze as you reach the many junctions.
Note: make sure you bring proper gym shoes and keep your eyes open! Don’t want to slip and hurt yourself! All in all, this is a decent hiking trail that will make you sweat if you put in the effort.

One of Cincinnati’s many parks, green abounds, well maintained, lots of activity throughout the year, you could say this is the Queen of East side parks in Hyde Park/​Mt. Lookout vicinity. It just can be hard to find a parking spot especially when there’s an event going on and you end up driving and driving and at times leaving.
During my recent visit a friend lives nearby, so parked at her house and walked over to the park which recommend for a future visit.

Ault Park is one of the reasons I decided yes, I could live in Cincinnati after four years of New York.
It’s no Central Park, but it has a few of the things that Central Park boasts without the crowds: beautiful, spacious lawns where you can sprawl and sunbathe or throw a frisbee (to the chagrin of the sunbathers), stunning views of the city, running trails, Greco-​Roman architecture, and stroll-​able gardens.

Ault Park… I think you are just A-​OK and here’s why:
Positives:
+ Beautiful green space. They really keep up with it.
+ Great view at the overlook
+ LOVE the castle in the middle (although you have to rent it out)
Negatives:
— SUPER annoying to maneuver. Weird round abouts and one ways that make no sense.
— There is ONE, and correct me if I’m wrong, ONE shelter for a picnic area. We had our potluck in the park here and it was raining so we drove around the entire park multiple times and only saw this teeny tiny one. With as much space as this park boasts you should have multiple shelters.
— Not a huge fan of the bathrooms. Seriously some of the girls were on the verge of peeing their pants and still refused to go in.
Great place to run, rollerblade or play Frisbee, but I’d avoid this park for picnics or other functions.