Dayton Grotto Gardens is free to visit and is open 24 hours a day. I am not sure how much lighting there is at night. It is located on the property of the Dayton VA Hospital. Permission granted by the American Veteran's Heritage Center.
During the late 1880s and early 1900s, the Grotto Gardens were a major attraction at the Central Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. Often referred to as the “Dayton Soldiers’ Home”, the facility was built as a refuge and home for disabled soldiers of the American Civil War, and at its peak, sheltered over 7,000 Veterans. The Grotto area and lakes were formed from the quarrying of limestone as building material for some of the Home’s initial structures (such as the Protestant Chapel), walkways and roads.
The Grotto’s water flows from natural underground springs, but the surrounding landscaping, rock walls and nearby lakes are all man-made. Seventy-five full-time Veteran gardeners planted and cared for magnificent gardens in the Grotto and adjacent areas, and it became a destination point for hundreds of thousands of visitors a year. Some came by train and often stayed at a hotel located on the grounds just north of the Grotto.
As the Veteran population at the Home declined during the mid-1900s, the Grotto Gardens fell into disrepair as the site became overgrown and mostly lost from view. Restoration began in 2012, and the next year, the OSU Extension Montgomery County Master Gardeners joined in a combined effort with Dayton VA Medical Center and AVHC to begin the restoration and maintenance of the historic VA Grotto Gardens.
As you tour the Grotto Gardens, you may want to download the Grotto Gardens Walking Tour Brochure. In addition, you will find that many of them have been named after historic figures from the early years of the Central Branch and Gardens. To learn more about some of these pioneers of the Grotto Gardens, download the Pioneers of the Soldiers Home Grotto and Gardens.. Both of these are available to download at the Grotto Gardens Resources tab:
Logging Requirement: Post a photo of yourself or your GPS or a personal item at the posted coords and include it in your log.
Take a Virtual Tour of the Grotto Gardens : Grotto Gardens : What We Do : American Veterans Heritage Center
A Big Thank You to BuckeyeFinnigan. He suggested this location that I had not visited before.
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