Sunnybrook Preserve

Location

12474 Heath Road
Chester Township

Hours

Open 6 am until 11 pm today

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Trail Maps

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Something for everyone games, get-togethers & exercise

This 73-acre park was maintained for horticultural purposes for much of the 20th century. Four trails total 1.64 miles. Recreation areas include horseshoe pits, a bocce court and tetherball.

Sunnybrook Preserve Facilities

Facilities

Sunnybrook Lodge is a quiet, more reserved location perfect for events with a little less noise.

Sunnybrook Preserve Trails

Trails

This park offers a great asphalt trail, as well as several gravel trails, taking you through the woods.

Sunnybrook Preserve Habitat

Habitat

Visit this park and you'll be a guest in the home of an endangered species and a species of concern.

Sunnybrook Stream Restoration Project When Partners Make Positive Change

Sunnybrook Stream is a coldwater tributary to the Chagrin River that was a man-made pond prior to 1938 and modified by beaver impoundments thereafter. The stream suffers from morphologic instability, threats from invasive species, sediment erosion and channel incision. Restoration of Sunnybrook will restore in-stream habitat, alleviate sediment loading and protect the quality of downstream habitat.

In 2019, Chagrin River Watershed Partners assisted Geauga Park District in applying for and securing $191,500 in funding through the Clean Water Act Section 319(h) Non-Point Source Implementation Grant Award through the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

In the fall of 2020, RiverReach Construction, the selected contractor for this project, began working to restore approximately 500 linear feet of in-stream and riparian habitat. Natural channel design principles and bioengineering methods were used to stabilize the streambanks and allow the stream to better access the floodplain. Also, grade control structures were installed to prevent further incision along the streambank, sandstone riffles were added to help reconnect the floodplain and naturalize streamflow and alleviate erosion, and native woody vegetation was planted to enhance existing wetlands and riparian zones adjacent to the stream.

Restored and reconnected wetlands here will provide valuable services to the East Branch of the Chagrin River: attenuating floodwaters, filtering nutrient loads, reducing siltation and providing excellent wildlife habitat.