Highlights

• First Board of Cleveland Metropolitan Park District is formed on July 23, 1917
• William Stinchcomb begins his tenure as Executive Director (1921 -1957)
• First trails created in Rocky River, Brecksville and Bedford reservations
• Metropolitan Park District Police Department established

Openings

• Little Met Golf Course (Golf Course 2)
• Big Met Golf Course (Golf Course 1)

Land Acquisitions

• John Huntington Estate
• Hinckley Lake
• Squire’s Castle
• 8,600 acres in nine reservations

Highlights

• Civilian Conservation Corps in Euclid Creek Reservation and Brecksville Reservation established
• Arthur B. Williams contracted through the Cleveland Museum of Natural History to serve as first park naturalist

Openings

• Look About Lodge in South Chagrin Reservation
• Trailside Museums in North Chagrin, Rocky River and Brecksville reservations

Land Acquisitions

• 11,300 acres in ten reservations

Highlights

• Wallace and Baldwin Lakes are created on the site of the former Berea Quarries
• Alice Porter becomes the Park District’s first female full-time naturalist
• First female lifeguards hired

Openings

• Camp Cheerful 

Land Acquisitions

• Manakiki Golf Course
• 13,300 acres in ten reservations

Highlights

• Nature Education department becomes independent of Cleveland Museum of Natural History
• Harold Wallin becomes first Chief Naturalist
• Harold W. Groth becomes Executive Director (1957-1974)
• First Buzzard Sunday held in Hinckley Reservation

Openings

• Shawnee Hills Golf Course
• Stinchcomb Memorial in Rocky River Reservation

Land Acquisitions

• 14,300 acres in ten reservations

Highlights

• Park Police become Park Rangers and welcome first graduates from ranger training school

Openings

• Manakiki and Sleepy Hollow golf courses open for public play
• Mastick Woods Golf Course
• Chalet and refrigerated toboggan chutes

Land Acquisitions

• Bradley Woods Reservation (first new reservation since the 1920s)
• 17,400 acres in 11 reservations

Highlights

• Cleveland Metropolitan Park District assumes ownership and management of Cleveland Zoo
• Harold Schick becomes Executive Director (1974-1980)
• Mobile Education Unit “Parkmobile” goes into operation
• “All People’s Trails” open
• Cleveland Metropolitan Park District renamed Cleveland Metroparks System and new logo created

Openings

• Rocky River Interpretive Center

Land Acquisitions

• Mill Stream Run Reservation
• 18,500 acres in 12 reservations

Highlights

• Lou E. Tsipis becomes Executive Director
• Administrative offices moved from downtown Cleveland to former Zoo administration building
• Vern J. Hartenburg becomes Executive Director (1988 – 2010)

Openings

• Sanctuary Marsh Nature Center
• Sunset Wildlife Preserve
• Bunn’s Lake
• Tall Grass Prairie Observation Deck
• Garfield Park Nature Center

Zoo Openings

• Sohio Amphitheatre Rare and Beautiful Animals of China Exhibit

Land Acquisition

• Garfield Park is leased from the City of Cleveland
• 18,900 acres in 13 reservations

Highlights

• Institute of the Great Outdoors (IGO) is created
• Cleveland Metroparks wins AAPRA National Gold Medal Award for the first time (1994)
• Youth Outdoors created

Openings

• Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation
• CanalWay Center

Zoo Openings

• The RainForest
• Wolf Wilderness

Land Acquisitions

• Assumed management of Brookside Reservation (formerly Brookside Park)
• 19,700 acres in 14 reservations

Highlights

• Cleveland Metroparks wins National Gold Medal Award from AAPRA for the second and third time (2001 and 2007)

Openings

• Mill Creek Falls Overlook
• Viaduct Park
• Ranger Headquarters and Park Operations Administration Building
• West Creek Reservation
• Washington Golf Learning Center
• Ohio & Erie Canal Mountain Bike Trail
• Lake-to-Lake Trail

Zoo Openings

• Australian Adventure
• The Sarah Allison Steffee Center for Zoological Medicine

Land Acquisition

• Washington Park
• Rising Valley Park
• 21,300 acres in 16 reservations

Highlights

• Brian Zimmerman begins his tenure as Chief Executive Officer (2010)
• Celebrated 100^th Anniversary
• Cleveland Metroparks wins National Gold Medal for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management for the fourth time (2016)
• Awarded federal TIGER grant of $8 million for Re-Connecting Cleveland trail projects

Openings

• Merwin’s Wharf
• Euclid Beach Pier
• Watershed Stewardship Center
• Edgewater Beach House

Zoo Openings

• African Elephant Crossing
• Rosebrough Tiger Passage
• Ben Gogolick Giraffe Encounter 
• Asian Highlands
• Circle of Wildlife Carousel
• Stillwater Place

Land Acquisitions

• Lakefront Reservation
• Rivergate Park
• Seneca Golf Course
• Acacia Reservation
• 23,800 acres in 18 reservations

Highlights

• Cleveland Metroparks wins National Gold Medal for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management for the fifth time (2021)
• Received $13 million gift from the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation
• Cleveland Harbor Eastern Embayment Resilience Strategy (CHEERS) project begins
• “Baby Gorilla Cam" and “Baby Animal Cam” stream on Netflix

Openings

• Red Line Greenway
• Wendy Park Bridge
• Brighton Park
• Lindsey Family Play Space
• Towpath Trail Extension Project
• Cleveland-Cliffs Bike Park
• Euclid Creek Greenway
• Karen’s Way Play Space

Zoo Openings

• Daniel Maltz Rhino Reserve
• Susie’s Bear Hollow

Land Acquisitions

• Parmadale
• Hawthorne Valley Country Club
• Gordon Park South
• Ironwood Golf Course
• 25,200 acres in 18 reservations