Explore Historic Sites on Walking Tours of Dayton

Famous landmarks dot the landscape surrounding Dayton, where AARP is offering three exclusive walking tours of some beloved community sites.

You are invited to join with fellow AARP members, meet new people and reconnect with friends at upcoming member tours of Woodland Cemetery & Arboretum, Garden Station & Art Park, and Hills & Dales MetroPark. AARP is serving refreshments and all the tours are free. Please reserve your spot on any or all or the tours by calling toll free 1-877-926-8300 and join us to explore Dayton during these organized walking tours.

Sept. 12 at 5:30 pm: Historic Woodland Cemetery & Arboretum

Founded in 1841, Woodland Cemetery is one of the nation’s oldest rural garden cemeteries, with many notable burials including Wilbur and Orville Wright, and Paul Laurence Dunbar. Over 3,000 trees and 165 specimens of native Midwestern trees and woody plants grace the rolling hills. Many of the trees are more than a century old and nine have been designated “Ohio Champions”. The highest point in Dayton is within this 200-acre cemetery, which became a place of refuge during the Great Dayton Flood of 1913.

Sept. 20 at 5:30 pm: Garden Station & Art Park

Garden Station is an urban community garden with murals, sculpture and gardens. Until four years ago, the property, adjacent to the railroad at East Fourth and Wayne, had been vacant for more than 50 years. Now there are murals and sculptures by local artists, including a giant dream catcher and a giant easel that has different works rotated on it. Buildings are constructed using sustainable techniques, including a straw bale garden shed with a green roof and bottle wall and a greenhouse made of pop bottles


Oct. 3 at 10 am: Hills & Dales MetroPark

This historic urban park has been a natural refuge for Daytonians since 1907, when it was opened to provide a place for city dwellers to conveniently enjoy lush, natural scenery. Park Founder John Patterson’s original design included a scenic pond that was lost in subsequent years but now is fully restored and features a picturesque waterfall and a trail loop around the pond. Visitors can stroll through a forested area along a handicapped-accessible boardwalk for a chance to see wetland vegetation such as skunk cabbage and marsh marigolds and various migratory birds.