Of all the parks in Hancock County, this is what I would consider to be the most visible. I’d also call it the most scenic, but I’ve yet to see Van Buren State Park. I’ll fix that shortly. This park is more or less centrally located and is also the location for the city swimming pool. They’ve been known to host FAST(Findlay Area Swim Team) swim meets and Red Cross swimming lessons for quite some time. I haven’t been at the swimming pools for ages, but it’s still well maintained and good Saturday afternoon fun for the kids. Near the swimming pool, there’s a bandshell used for concerts during the Summer. The shell itself was an old WPA projects from the Great Depression. They seemed to have done a good job with it, as it’s still in use today. When it comes to viewing the Blanchard river, you have the options of a bike path, walking trail, or paddle boat. There is a kiosk in the middle of the park which is the place to pick up a paddle boat or canoe. Several trees line the walkways, so the Summer sun isn’t a problem at all. It’s actually a very pleasant walk. Their operating hours are from sunrise to dark, and I know the park rangers to enforce that fairly stringently. I do recommend going, but make sure it’s at a time you can enjoy it for a few hours.
