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Cohasset Express offers ‘new angle’ for MetroParks guests
Cohasset Express prepares to roll through Park
By kalea hall
canfield
For years, the Mill Creek MetroParks board wanted the guests of the park district to experience it in a different way.
Then, executive director Dennis Miller just happened upon a trolley outside a car-sales business.
Now, the new Mill Creek MetroParks trolley, the Cohasset Express, is available for public use.
“We are very excited for the possibilities,” Miller said. “[There are] endless possibilities.”
The idea of having a trolley has been in the mix for several years, but last summer, Miller and the directors at the park realized how
essential a trolley would be to send out the MetroParks message. The group went on a tour through the MetroParks and wanted visitors to have the same experience.
The trolley would serve as a gateway to serving both residents and nonresidents of the Valley and give them unique insight on the MetroParks through guided tours.
“We are more than just a park district,” Miller said.
The trolley also will be available to rent. The white trolley with wooden interior seats approximately 14 people. The actual trolley cost about $25,000. Approximately $7,500 was spent to update the vehicle.
“We wanted to match the look of the MetroParks,” said Leslie Cusano, marketing manager for Mill Creek MetroParks.
The trolley is named after Lake Cohasset, the oldest lake in the MetroParks. The idea is, if more trolleys are obtained, they will be named after Lake Glacier and Lake Newport.
“This is important just to give people an opportunity to see the MetroParks in a new angle,” Cusano said.
The tours will be all throughout the MetroParks, including the regional facilities the parks operate such as the Nature Preserves, MetroParks Farm, etc. The topics include everything from horticulture, nature, architecture and the history of the park.
Three tours are scheduled for the month of April, but they are now booked. The April 22 tour, Earth Day Breakfast, Birds and Bloom, was $10 for residents and $12 for non-residents. The April 24 and 27 trolley tours were $5 for residents and $7 for non-residents.
More tours will be added each month with a variety of prices.
The rental fee for the trolley will be $350 for the first two hours and $150 for each additional hour. The trolley must be rented for a minimum of two hours. A guide is available for an additional fee of $25 per hour, and the guide must be reserved for entire rental time.
For more information about future Cohasset Express tours and costs, go to millcreekmetroparks.org or call 330-702-3000.