After-hours Park Access

WCAS members now have exclusive access to visit Hisey Park and Gulley Park after hours for astronomical purposes without advance notice.

The Warren County Park District agreed to the change in December 2024 so our members can go to the parks for stargazing whenever you have the time and when the weather and sky conditions cooperate. 

The previous three-day notification requirement has been removed.

WCAS is responsible for managing how our members use the parks. Here’s how we’ll do it:

• When you plan to visit the parks, notify WCAS on our GroupMe app channel for After Hours Visits.
• Include your name, mobile phone number, and email address.
• List the names of all guests who visit with you.
• Share your park arrival time and planned departure time.

In addition, carry your WCAS membership ID card and identify yourself as a WCAS member to park staff or sheriff’s deputies. All members will soon receive their 2025 card.

We ask all members to follow these steps for your safety and to help WCAS and the park district track how many members privately visit the park after hours. We’ll use the attendance numbers when applying for grants that fund our educational outreach activities.

• You’ll need the GroupMe app. Download it onto your phone or tablet. (It’s free and available for Android or Apple. There’s also a version accessible on a web browser.)
• Create a GroupMe account and search in the app’s directory for the Warren County Astronomical Society. Ask to join the WCAS group.

We use GroupMe to quickly and privately communicate with members about events and schedule changes plus weather and sky conditions at our observatories.

Many members already use GroupMe to ask and answer questions and share their astronomy knowledge and photos in our GroupMe topic channels. It’s a tool we can use to help each other grow in our shared hobby.

Here’s what our GroupMe area looks like:

You control how GroupMe notifies you and displays our messages. Members are required to notify WCAS on GroupMe for after-hours park access. How and when you utilize GroupMe for other WCAS activities on your devices is up to you.

Three final notes about after-hours park access:

1. In an emergency, call 911. Do not use GroupMe to summon emergency services.
2. WCAS members who are trained observatory operators can use the Fred Bay Observatory after hours to gain additional time and experience on the 9-inch refractor telescope. The Hisey Park security alarm must be turned off before you enter the observatory building. Text Chris Celek at 937-681-4120 and/or Brian Retterer at 513-360-8855 before heading to Hisey Park. They can remotely disarm the security system. Text them when you are done and have locked the observatory.
3. You may bring a small number of guests (immediate family members, friends). Visits by large groups (schools, youth, community, church, business) must be coordinated with and approved by WCAS leaders and/or the park district in advance. Contact info@wcas-oh.org.

Expanded after-hours access to the parks is a big benefit to WCAS members. I invite you to take full advantage of it to expand your time observing and imaging the wonders of the night sky.