Ault Park
Rating
Price
Free
Duration
1 to 3 hours, and the number depends entirely on which version of Ault Park you came for. An hour covers the pavilion terrace, the gardens and a lap of the main lawn. Two to three hours is the picnic-plus-playground version, where you eat, let the kids loose on the grass, then drive or walk down to the Heekin Avenue playground before you leave.
Best Ages
Works from stroller age through teenager, but for a different reason at every stage. Babies and toddlers do best on the paved terrace and the garden walkways near the pavilion, where a stroller rolls fine and there is flat grass to put a blanket down. Kids 3 to 8 are the core audience once you add the playground on the Heekin Avenue side of the park, plus enough open lawn to let them run without a road anywhere near them. Big kids and tweens gravitate to the wooded trails that drop off the hilltop and to the long grass slopes, which are the kind of hill a 9 year old will roll down until someone stops them. Teens will give you a real hour if there is a concert on the lawn or if you come at golden hour for the view, and closer to 20 minutes if you do not.
About
Ault Park is the hilltop park in Mt. Lookout that Cincinnati families use for three completely different kinds of afternoon, and it helps to decide which one you want before you leave the house.
The first is the pavilion and gardens. You come in off Observatory Circle, climb to a broad stone pavilion at the top of the hill, and step out onto a terrace that looks down over formal terraced gardens and out across the east side of the city. It is grand, which is why it books solid with weddings on spring and summer weekends.
Kids do not care about the architecture, but they care a great deal about the garden paths, which turn into a chase-and-hide game roughly 90 seconds after arrival.
The second is the lawn. The open grass below the pavilion is one of the better kite lawns in Cincinnati and one of the better rolling-down hills, and it is far enough from any road that you can stop hovering and let a five year old just run. Bring a blanket and a cooler and this becomes a two hour picnic without much effort.
The third is the playground, and this is the part parents get wrong. The playground has its own address and its own entrance on Heekin Avenue, roughly a third of a mile from the pavilion. If the playground is why you are coming, drive to that side. Walking a tired toddler back up to the pavilion lot is a bad end to a good afternoon.
Wooded trails drop off the hilltop into the valley below for families who want an actual hike rather than a stroll. A stroller handles the paved terrace and the garden walkways fine, but not those trails, so bring a carrier if you have a baby along and want to walk them.
It is free. No admission, no parking fee, nothing to buy inside the park, which makes it one of the better zero-dollar half-days in the city. The pavilion and shelters can be reserved for private events, and that is the only line item here, so call Cincinnati Parks at (513) 357-2604 for current rental rates and availability.
That same number is worth using in advance to confirm restroom hours, which at Cincinnati parks are often seasonal and are not published clearly anywhere.
Timing matters. Weekday mornings are quiet. Late spring is the best-looking version of this place, when the gardens are in bloom, and the last hour before sunset is the one to pick if you are coming for the view. Saturday afternoons from May through October mean a full lot and a wedding party in the gardens.
Google reviewers give it 4.8 stars across more than 3,500 reviews, which is a remarkable number for a free neighborhood park and tells you roughly how Cincinnati feels about this hill.
Age Suitability
Parent Logistics
Stroller-Friendly
Limited
Nursing / Changing
Unknown
Kid Meals
N/A
Setting
Outdoor
Rainy Day
Not ideal
Plan Your Visit
Best Time to Visit
Weekday mornings if you want the park mostly to yourselves and the playground uncrowded. Late spring is the best-looking version, when the formal gardens are in bloom, and mid to late October is the runner-up for the wooded slopes. If you are coming for the view and the photographs, come in the last hour before sunset. Avoid Saturday afternoons from roughly May through October unless you do not mind sharing the gardens with a wedding party and a full parking loop.
Wait Times
No admission and no lines, so nothing to queue for. Parking is the only pinch point. The loop by the pavilion fills on event weekends and on the first warm Saturday of spring, and the Heekin Avenue playground side has its own smaller parking area that fills after school lets out. If the pavilion loop is full, most families find a spot within a few minutes by circling once.
Nearby Food
Nothing to buy inside the park, so plan around it. The Turf Club is the closest restaurant in our data, though it reads more as a grown-up dinner spot than a post-playground stop. The practical move is Mt. Lookout Square, a few minutes away, which has casual restaurants and pizza that will not blink at a stroller. Oakley Square is a short drive north and is the classic Cincinnati answer for afterward, with Aglamesis Brothers for ice cream. If you want the cheapest and easiest version, pack the cooler and use one of the picnic tables.
Why Kids Love It
The hill is the whole pitch. Kids come over the rise, see a stone pavilion at the top of a giant open lawn with the ground falling away in every direction, and immediately start running downhill because gravity is doing half the work. The formal gardens turn into a maze game within about 90 seconds of arrival, the wooded trails feel like a genuine expedition to a 7 year old, and the open lawn is one of the better kite-flying spots in the city on a breezy day.
Pro Tips from Parents
- Pick your entrance based on the ages in the car. The pavilion and gardens are off Observatory Circle, and the playground is a separate entrance on Heekin Avenue about a third of a mile away. Walking between them with a tired toddler is uphill in one direction, so if the playground is the point, drive to the Heekin Avenue side.
- Weekends from late spring through fall belong to weddings and private events at the pavilion. Expect a full lot, formal photos in the gardens and less room to spread out. Weekday mornings are a completely different park.
- This is not a splash pad. The water features in the gardens are decorative and may run only seasonally, so do not promise a four year old that they will get to play in the fountain. Check aultparkac.org for what is running before you go.
- Restroom availability at Cincinnati parks is often seasonal and the hours are not clearly published anywhere. Call Cincinnati Parks at (513) 357 to 2604 before you commit a newly potty-trained kid to a two hour visit.
- The Cincinnati Observatory is a few minutes away in the same Mt. Lookout neighborhood and runs public programs on a published schedule. If you want a two-stop afternoon that is not another playground, check its calendar and pair the two.
What to Bring
- A picnic blanket and a cooler, since there is no food service in the park
- A kite, because the open lawn on the hilltop is built for it
- Sunscreen and hats, since the main lawn has very little shade at midday
- A carrier instead of the stroller if you plan to take the wooded hillside trails
- Refillable water bottles, as drinking fountains at city parks are often shut off outside the warm season
Cost Info
Free Admission
Estimated Cost (Family of 4)
$0.
Ault Park is a free Cincinnati public park with no admission and no parking charge, so a packed cooler makes the entire outing cost nothing.
If you eat afterward in Mt.
Lookout Square or Oakley Square, budget roughly $50 to $75 for a casual sit-down meal for four, or about $15 to $25 if you stop only for ice cream.
The pavilion and shelters can be reserved for private events, which is the one thing here that carries a fee, so contact Cincinnati Parks at (513) 357-2604 for current rental rates rather than assuming a number.
Tips to Save
- There is nothing to buy inside the park, which is the whole savings strategy: pack a cooler, a blanket and a kite, and a half-day here costs zero.
- If you are planning a birthday party, price a shelter reservation through Cincinnati Parks against a commercial party venue, because a covered shelter plus your own food is dramatically cheaper for a group of kids.
- Stack the trip with another free stop in the same neighborhood rather than adding a paid attraction, and if you want the ice cream stop in Oakley afterward, order single scoops in cups and skip the sundaes, which cuts the tab roughly in half.
