Clark County Park District acquires more land along Mad River

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The property extending from US 68 West to Old Mill Road is “home to some of the best climbing cliffs really in Ohio and the Midwest,” said John White, treasurer of the Ohio Masonic Home. The arrangement will allow the district to “expand the scope of their park,” White said.

“Eventually we’ll be able to open that side up for rock climbing, hiking, exploring, and things like that,” said Carol Kennard, Executive Director of the Clark County Park District.

There is no public access on the north side of the Mad River, but the district has applied for grant money to build a pedestrian bridge across the river and a limited access driveway, according to Kennard. It may be another few years until those projects are completed, Kennard said.

“We’ll find a way to do it,” Kennard said. “It just may take a little bit of time.”

The district received a $799,982 Clean Ohio Conservation Fund grant in 2016 to acquire, clean, and preserve three parcels of land, according to Kennard.

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In May of 2017, they removed 125,000 pounds of garbage from the gorge , Kennard said.

The Masonic Home has donated $4,500 of the total value of the land to the district, and they are making plans to construct paths for Masonic Home residents and employees to access the gorge, according to White.

This sale nearly doubles the size of the gorge, White said. The district is “creating a premier experience for the residents of the county and surrounding areas at a very low cost,” White said.

“We’re all able to do a lot more when we work together,” Kennard said. “There’s no way our park district would have been able to take on a project of this scope without help from the partners.”