Today is National Visit a Cemetery Day (who knew?)! Whether you are a native Cincinnatian or relatively new to the city, you’ve at least heard of our famous cemetery, Spring Grove Cemetery. But did you know that it’s a wonderful place to explore with your family? My fellow CMB co-founder, Jesika, and I have started making a fall trip to Spring Grove a yearly tradition, and here’s why:
- It’s beautiful. If you have never been, you have no idea what you are missing. In addition to being a cemetery, it is also an arboretum. The grounds crew takes tremendous pride in their work and it shows. They also really enjoy seeing a living patronage out enjoying the fruits of their labor.
Playing in nature engages all 5 senses. From the cool touch of the marble, to the crunchy leaves. The smell of dirt and flowers. Bridges and steps to climb. Colors and textures are everywhere. We have yet to go where the little ones have had any problem entertaining themselves.- The wildlife. Jesika and I highly recommend bringing bread to feed the geese and swans, but there are also turtles, frogs, bugs. Not sure what it is about the stone surfaces of the graves, but there are daddy long-legs literally ALL OVER this place. We recommend packing a picnic lunch for yourself as well so you can just sit and watch your surroundings for a while.
Opportunity for gross motor play. Spring Grove is huge. There is a ton of space to run and explore. There are bridges and trees to climb and in the fall… plenty of leaves to play in.- Really unique trees, plants, flowers. As I mentioned above, this cemetery is an arboretum. One of my favorite places to visit is Cedar Lake, just beyond the entrance. The trees around this lake are unique in that the roots grow down and then pop back up along the water line.
- Cemetery’s should be a place for life as well as death. It is of course, important to be respectful, but hearing children laugh and seeing people out enjoying nature is a beautiful reminder that while temporary, life is wonderful.
A positive way to introduce the topic of death. Of course, your two or three year old may not understand the concept of a cemetery and I am not suggesting you give them a lecture on death at that age. But, this year, my almost 5 year old does understand that people live and then they die. We talked about how cemeteries are the way that people remember those they love. She even picked some wildflowers and put them on some of the graves. And then she went back to climbing trees.- History. Did you know that Johnny Appleseed is buried here? So are a number of Civil War heroes. This cemetery is truly a glimpse into the past.
- Art and architecture. One of my favorite mausoleums is located in Spring Grove. It has 3 floors, complete with a chapel on the top. It overlooks one of the lakes and has beautiful flying buttresses off of the sides. The art history geek in me loves looking at it every time we visit and my girls think it looks like a castle. You can’t go inside, but it is impressive to look at. This is just one example of the interesting structures you can find around the cemetery.
So, go visit a cemetery and take your kids. If you have never been to Spring Grove, you can stop at the main office just inside the gates and pick up maps and walking tour information to help you not get completely lost once inside (the roads wind aimlessly, so it’s easy to get turned in circles). Also, for those of you with younger kids, there is a public restroom in this lobby as I discovered on my last visit when my 3 year old emergently had to go go to the potty! They also offer tram tours and guided walking tours for adults.
Have you taken your kids to Spring Grove Cemetery? We would love to hear about it!
When I was a teenager, we believed that Superman was buried there, too.