Scenic Big Creek flows past the picnic area, joins Kellogg Creek and empties into the Grand River at this park.
Helen Hazen Wyman Park was the first park acquired by Lake Metroparks in 1959. At that time, the park system was known as the Lake County Metropolitan Park District. This property was donated by William Wyman in memory of his mother Helen Hazen Wyman.
More than a century ago, this site was the center of a busy industrial area that included a sawmill, a leather tannery, a carding works for processing wool, an ashery for making lye for soap production and an iron furnace. A few foundation stones are the only remaining evidence of these enterprises.
Within the park boundaries, Big Creek flows past the picnic area and empties into the Grand River. Kellogg Creek flows into Big Creek near the parking lot. Fishermen cross the creek and floodplain to fish the river for steelhead trout and smallmouth bass. Look for bank swallows and cedar waxwings that catch insects above the waters of Big Creek.
To protect the health of anyone who eats Ohio-caught fish, an annual advisory for how often these fish can be safely eaten is prepared by the Ohio Department of Health in cooperation with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. Click here for more information.
Scenic Big Creek flows past the picnic area, joins Kellogg Creek and empties into the Grand River.