Side Cut

Enjoy fishing, sightseeing and communing with nature where it all began.

Side Cut is the first of the Metroparks and an interesting slice of American history. Today, Side Cut is a refuge for fishermen from around the country as walleye swim upriver to spawn. The "spring run" is the largest of its kind on the Great Lakes.

A former extension of the Miami and Erie Canals.

The unusual name, Side Cut, is derived from the former "side cut" extension of the Miami and Erie Canals that connected the main line of the canal with the city of Maumee. Three of the six original locks from the canal system were preserved by WPA workers during the Depression. The WPA workers also built a number of shelters in the park.

Infused with tradition and history, Side Cut is one of a series of riverfront parks. The flat rocks that extend into the river between Maumee and Waterville are known as the Maumee River Ledges, a rare form of a little-known habitat called an alvar, found in only a handful of places on the Great Lakes.

Activities and attractions within Side Cut include river and canal access, a sledding hill, playground, indoor and picnic shelters, and wildlife feeding stations with indoor viewing areas, called Windows on Wildlife.