French Park

I have been eager to get to this park for a while and finally explored it by myself the other day.

If you want a nice field to picnic in, if you want to do some hiking, if you want a creek, this is the place to be.

There was a group of kids that was having a great time walking in the creek. While there is a path right next to the creek, if you have shoes that are good with water, I say just go and walk right in the creek. It's a little under a mile long and you can see little fish, I've heard you might be able to spot a turtle, and I saw a snake! There are other trails that veer off from the creek and there's a good amount of up and down.

There are swings and a big shelter with picnic tables scattered around.

Interesting park. There seems to be one way in, and one way out. The park is a mix of nature trails, older playground equipment, green spaces and an event space. The event space is a stately old home. It looks to have been the grand home of the original land owner.

Several places to park may be found throughout. The largest parking area is up near the event space. During our vist, a wedding was going on. The event space does look to be handicap accessible. We did not investigate further due to the wedding.

Nature trails are fair to heavily wooded. The deeper one hikes the more shade that is present. The trails that we hiked had a good amount of soil loss due to water erosion. These lines show water flowing down the trail, and not into the creek. Crevices carved into the trails did make it harder to walk at times; particularly for our youngest hiker. I sliped once, and they fell three times. If we venture here again as a family, it probably wouldn't be for the trails. Our meandering from trail to trail did take us to a creek bed.

What looks to have once been a sizeable creek, (based on the width of the bed, and the height of the shore around it,) is now a rocky path with pools of water. There microcosms are fascinating. We stoped at several of the small ponds. Some had small fish between the size of my pinky and index finger. These fish seemed cautiously curious about people. The fish appeared to be trapped in these pools. Hopefully the creek fills more than it is during heavy rains. An old well, and other carved out areas show how drastically different water levels once were. It would be interesting to observe after a series of heavy rains. The creek may be accessed from a staircase near one of the larger parking lots.

This park is for those with pets and those who are not looking for a manicured trail. If you're looking for a nice stroll without fuss, there are the zillion other Cincy parks to choose from. If you're ready for a slightly dusty (or muddy if winter) walk with a few slips and slides (or a trail run), this is the place. And, if you have a trained and obedient furry friend that wants to run off leash for a little bit, this is the unspoken place (shhhhh!!) to do that (deeper into the trails). Don't get me wrong, you still need to have a leash with you at all times when entering and exiting the park with your dog, but there is a little more understanding from the frequent visitors if you let your dog run wild a little bit. The trails are marked but it's really like walking through the woods because nothing is paved. You can pick your distance in terms of the markers and if you want some elevation change, there is the option. Over 10 years and we've seen kids play in the creek, dogs run happily and trail runners do their thing. It's been amazing to watch the seasons change coming here weekly. French Park was our 15 year old dog's favorite park and we loved coming here so much we took our engagement photos (with our dog!) here. You can't go wrong. There are some picnic tables up at the top of the hill and the main house can be rented for events. Parking isn't too bad but can get crowded at times during peak sunny days. There isn't really a playground here except for an old swing set, so manage your expectations in terms of "park" (note: if you're looking for a playground type park go down Ridge toward Oakley and the CRC has a big playground there).

To me French Park gets a definite, "meh" rating when compared to some of the grand Cincinnati core parks.

The upside: they allow dogs
The downside: they allow dogs

COVID-19 French Park challenge: keep 6 feet of social distancing while dodging cars and doggo land mines.

The park is a bit unlandscaped (which could be part of the appeal), but it just doesn't compare in walkability/explorability to Mt. Airy / Ault / Alms / Mt. Echo / Eden (to name a few). The road is narrow and on busy days, you're constantly trying to dodge cars going one way or another... in some ways it's just worse than taking a normal walk on a public sidewalk.

We have so many beautiful parks in the Cincinnati core that I'm not sure French makes it too high on my list. It's a great thing, because it's a great park - just not great in comparison to our other options (IMO).

A fantastic park for hiking in the woods! And it's only minutes from the house. I have only been here twice and both trails have been beautiful but also a bit slippery in places so be careful. There's hills and valleys and streams you can cross so have fun.
I'm not sure how many trails there are but you can see it in google maps to get an idea. It doesn't seem that big but once you get going down a trail you lose track of time. There is also a picnic area and even a place you can reserve for parties.
It's very picturesque if you're into the nature thing.
Have fun!

Going here with my grandparents when I was little probably makes me a little biased, but I love this park! Never too crowded, and it's clean and quiet. You can relax, read, have a picnic or play ball with your 4 legged friend. They have hiking trails to. You can park at a few different spots depending on where you're going and there is only one way entrance in and one way exit out of the park. The park is patrolled frequently by local police.

Terrific Cincinnati Park with gurgling streams, multiple hiking trails & varied terrain, a beautiful shelter house, a special events center in The French House (a beautiful mansion that can be rented), playgrounds, grills, picnic tables & more.

The park provides ample parking. The big loop around the park gives you a little over 3 miles of hiking if you do the whole loop. Then you can take the creek trail for another 1/2 mile or so. The are also plenty of spots for picnic's and a few places for kids to play. They also do wedding there. Restrooms were not open for some reason.

French Park has such lovely tree-lined trails. It's a gem! I've only taken the D trail thus far and it's a perfect loop even giving you a chance to be a lookie-loo at some gorgeous adjacent houses. It also has the great advantage of having both a closely wooded part and one that widens into a gravel road. I'll definitely be back to check out some of other trails.

Very pretty park, and so close to downtown! I've driven the roads surrounding this park so many times, but never realized this was here.

As far as amenities, this park has pretty much everything. There's a playground, picnic area, large open lawn, gardens, trails and even a beautiful historic home that hosts events. We were there for hiking though, and the trails are pretty fun here. It was a much easier hike than some Cincinnati parks and the majority of the paths are wide and flat. It also alternates nicely between open meadow and wooded trail. Plus it's dog friendly (on a leash)! It was PACKED the Tuesday we went, and there were a bunch of people on the trails and hanging out on the lawn.

Overall, a very pretty park tucked away right in the thick of it all!