Sunrise

Prairie plantings and wildflowers draw in wildlife from the adjacent river habitat and make the park a serene spot for relaxing. Catch a glimpse of the large and graceful blue herons that frequent the area. Watch the Wolf Creek spill into the Great Miami up close from the paved river walkway at the foot of the stairs.

Latest News

Prepare for closures ahead of NATO Parliamentary Assembly this May

Updated April 17th, 2025

Dayton will host the Spring Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly this May, with a portion of downtown Dayton being transformed into “NATO Village.” The NATO Village footprint will include sections of the downtown Great Miami River Trail and all of RiverScape MetroPark, which means access to these amenities and facilities will be restricted to […]

Flood updates in your MetroParks – updated Apr. 7

Published April 7, 2025

Park users may be familiar with closures during inclement weather, such as snow or tornadoes; however, closures can also occur due to heavy or prolonged rainfall. Many of the parks, conservation areas and recreational amenities maintained by Five Rivers MetroParks are located near river corridors or associated with dams that provide flood protection, such as […]

More than 300 volunteers needed for this year’s Adopt-A-Park Earth Day celebration

Published March 10, 2025

Five Rivers MetroParks will host its largest annual day of service, Adopt-A-Park, on Saturday, April 26, from 9 a.m. to noon at multiple sites across Montgomery County. Hundreds of volunteers are needed to help MetroParks staff spruce up green spaces and work on special projects that protect the region’s parks and waterways. Registration is required […]

Park Features

Great Miami River Trail

The park is situated above the Great Miami River Trail, which travels both north and south along the river’s edge. The trails are ideal for walking, skating, running and bike riding.

Learn more about the Great Miami River Trail

Wolf Creek Trail

The Wolf Creek Trail begins at Sunrise MetroPark. A 1-mile stretch links the recreation trail along the Great Miami River to the bikeway that runs along James H. McGee Boulevard.

Learn more about the Wolf Creek Trail.

Planted Prairie Beds

Sunrise features landscape garden beds with native plants such as little bluestem, purple coneflower and oxeye sunflower to attract the birds, butterflies and other urban wildlife.

Friendship Park

The park borders the city of Dayton “Friendship Park,” on the banks of the Great Miami River, which pays homage to the Dayton Sister Cities Program. For visitors, it may be difficult to tell where one park starts and the other ends. Both are worth a visit!

Click to Explore

ADA accessibility is limited to immediate areas of the paved sidewalks. There are no restroom facilities at this location.

MetroParks partnered with the Sinclair Foundation to create a small wildlife observation area in the park, adding interpretive signs to aid visitors in viewing urban plant and animal life.

RTA Bus Route 9

Take Route 9 north on Main Street through downtown to Riverview Avenue and Edwin C. Moses Boulevard. The park is across from this intersection.

The park is accessible by foot or bike on the Great Miami River and Wolf Creek trails.

View more about the paved trails.

The park is situated at the intersection of the Great Miami River and Wolf Creek Trail, which are part of the regions 330-mile paved trail network — the nation’s largest paved trail network.

Learn more about the paved trail network.

The park opened as Sunrise MetroPark in 2001 and is intended to be a Wildlife Observation Area. It is a designated “natural” area planted with native southwestern Ohio trees, shrubs, prairie plants and other perennials. These native plantings draw wildlife for either food or shelter.

The park sits at the confluence of Wolf Creek and the Great Miami River, making it a popular spot for birds to feed as they gather in open water areas.

Sitting on the benches overlooking the river, a visitor could see a large variety of wildlife, birds and fowl, including a preponderance of Canada geese.

Both the Great Miami River and Wolf Creek offer fishing opportunities at Sunrise MetroPark. Bass, bluegill, catfish and carp can be caught in these waterways. An Ohio fishing license is required.

This area supports incredible wildlife diversity, including riverine invertebrates, turtles and the yellow-crowned night heron, which nests in only a few places in Ohio.

It is an excellent place to watch waterfowl, night herons, gulls and sometimes bald eagles and ospreys.

Geocaching is an activity combining technology and nature, using global positioning system (GPS) devices to search for and find “caches” hidden throughout the world. Visit www.geocaching.com and search by location to get started. Then head out on an adventure to find the geocaches hidden in this park.

Private Fair Soldiers Monument, which now sits on an island on Main Street near Monument Avenue in downtown Dayton, was originally set at Monument and Main in 1884, but was moved to Sunrise Park on the west bank of the Miami River from 1948 to 1991. This statue was modeled for Civil War veteran George Washington Fair, a bricklayer born in Dayton in 1834.

View park history.

Located at the juncture of Wolf Creek and the Great Miami River in Dayton, this small park is an excellent place to watch a surprising parade of wildlife including waterfowl, night herons, gulls and sometimes bald eagles and ospreys.

The aging Veteran’s Memorial Bridge over the Wolf Creek was replaced in 2010 as part of the city of Dayton’s citywide bridge replacement project. The new bridge features a span designed by RW Armstrong. Built by the Eagle Bridge Company, it includes an ornamental, neoclassic cable-stayed design with a V-shaped central tower and cables illuminated by LED technology. The new bridge replaces the classic concrete that was demolished in 2008 after 82 years of use. Architectural and historical elements of the old bridge have been saved and moved to the city of Dayton’s Friendship Park, which is adjacent to the south approach of the new bridge. Definitely a work of art in daylight and at night.