Hudson has one of the finest park systems in the area to explore and adventure in!
The natural beauty visitors enjoy today has evolved over millions of years; can you believe that the picnic areas and trails were once buried beneath giant glaciers from the last Ice Age, or that the playgrounds and baseball fields may have once been an ocean floor? Hudson’s first settlers realized that the beauty could also be bountiful. Remnant rock ledges combined with the native trees and plants we see in our parks today help tell a story of Hudson’s past, and why people chose this township as their home.

Throughout our 300 year history, Hudson’s community has documented interesting facts and colorful tales that our parks are proud to be a part of. You can read all about some of these stories on the park timeline.

Most importantly, the establishment of our park system is the result of  the thoughtful vision, strategic planning and financial resourcefulness of the Hudson Park Board beginning with its establishment in 1959  and the ongoing support of the Hudson community by passing key park levies and providing donations of both private funds and land. Between 1959 and 1994 the Park board worked diligently to secure 628 total acres of large attractive parcels of land to be used as public park space for the community. In the late 1990’s a regional trend began to emerge where many efforts to maintain and improve city parks were not supported and failed as a result. Despite this challenge, the Hudson Park Board continued to boldly envision additional park land and even bike trails to provide city wide connectivity. Board members recognized that Hudson was in need of additional open land space to both facilitate future recreation for an expanding population and to soften the impact of  growing commercial and residential development. To meet this need, The Land Legacy Levy was developed to raise $7.3 million over 20 years to acquire 410 additional acres of land to be developed into city parks. According to Hudson Park Board member Bob Kahri, the Land Legacy Levy “will provide a legacy of open space for future generations, and new recreational areas for active sports, picnics or just admiring nature.” The citizens of Hudson passed the levy in 1997 and 6 residential properties were identified and purchased. These new parks were Ellsworth Meadows, Barlow Farm Park, Maple Grove Park, Robinson Field, High Point Park and Docs Wood’s . The latter 3 parks remain undeveloped.

The mission of the Hudson Parks Department is to acquire park land and to provide the citizens of Hudson with a park system for the conservation, preservation and enjoyment of their natural environment and to facilitate the usage of the pavilions, trails, playgrounds, fields, lake and other aspects of of the park land.

Friends of Hudson Parks supports this mission by providing educational and recreational opportunities to encourage the use and enjoyment of the park legacy we have been gifted–hope to see you at one of our many fine parks!

*The Friends of Hudson Parks would like to express gratitude to Gwen Mayer, the archivist at The Hudson Library and Historical Society, for aiding in the discovery and access of archived documents and records related to park lands, and to Tom Vince, the historian and archivist for Western Reserve Academy, for sharing his knowledge about the history of the people who lived here before us.

Many of Hudson’s citizens have authored books and publications about the town’s history. Their writings can be found in the Hudson Library and Historical Society. Stories related to these publications are referenced within the individual park links.