Lithia Park is the green spine of Ashland, and one of the genuine pleasures of staying downtown. A hundred acres unfurl from the Plaza and follow Ashland Creek up into the hills, so you can step off Main Street and be under old sycamores within ninety seconds.
The lower park is the polished half: manicured lawns, a Japanese garden, two duck ponds, a bandshell, pickleball and volleyball courts, and a playground that has saved many a family afternoon. Keep walking and it turns wilder — the paths narrow, the creek gets louder, and you’re in undeveloped woodland with barely a soul about.
Go early. Between 7 and 9am the light through the trees is beautiful and the park is almost entirely yours. Summer afternoons bring the swim reservoir crowd; autumn is our own favourite, when the sycamores turn and the whole valley smells like woodsmoke. There’s no admission and it’s open year-round.
It also makes an ideal pre-theatre walk — the park entrance and the OSF campus are barely two hundred yards apart. Coffee on the Plaza, a loop through the park, then curtain up.
Several of our Ashland homes sit within walking distance. Check availability for your dates.
