According to the Metroparks website, www.metroparkstoledo.com, Side Cut is where the Metroparks system began more than 90 years ago and remains a signature Toledo-area destination today. The flat rocks that extend into the river between Maumee and Waterville are known as the Maumee River Ledges, a rare form of a little-known habitat called an alvar, found in only a handful of places on the Great Lakes. The name, Side Cut, is derived from the former “side cut” extension of the Miami and Erie Canal that connected the main line of the canal with the city of Maumee. Three of the six original locks from the canal system were preserved by WPA workers during The Great Depression. The federal work project employees also built a number of shelters in the park.
Melissa Moves Maumee 