We love our walks in Shale Hollow! Love that there is such a lovely preserved nature space in the…read morebackyard!!!! We just love all the nearby parks and walking trails - they're all over Delaware County! also all the well kept green spaces in Columbus Metro Park System!

Recommended by Kid K's teacher, this is a beautiful nature preserve. K wanted a playground, of…read morecourse, and there is a natural play area that is, well, just logs and rocks. Not much of a much. Maybe it is being rebuilt? But there is a small building with bathrooms and what looks like it will be a nature center, and tons of trails up and down the hills. Surrounded by development, but fairly quiet, at least on an early spring weekday afternoon. Saved because of its creeks and hills and gullies, surely. Lots of shale outcrops, some decent elevation changes, well-developed paths mixed with more basic ones, decent parking. Far from our usual routes, but worth a detour.

Hogback Ridge is a serene 41 acre preservation park nestled in Delaware County east of Alum Creek…read moreReservoir, just south of Kilborne. I love the park for its curated gravelled trails through several ravines. It also has a wildlife blind area near a pond great for bird watchers. There is a staffed nature center with educational elements and bird watching areas. The rangers are great with kids, and can address most any question about the park and it's wildlife. It's a wonderfully peaceful park near sunset, with the sun streaming through the trees every view is something to behold.

One of my favorite trails in the area, I hadn't been there in awhile but so glad to have went…read moretoday. Great trail system with plenty of mixed terrain and It's beautiful no matter what season that you go. There are horse trails also in the Preserve.

This was my first time camping and when I tell you, this was the best experience I could ever have…read moreMiss Susan she was the sweetest person ever very informative and just made me feel comfortable There is a big swimming pool. The bathrooms are nice and clean, and there are plenty of things to do. We've met so many different people that helped us start a fire cause we didn't know how to start a fire or to keep it burning and then the store they sold everything that you could possibly may need if you forgot it at home they do sell firewood. It was nine dollars or five dollars a bundle, which I didn't think was too bad in the locals sell firewood as well. There were so many kids there and they had their dogs there and there is an opening down to the water and my dogs had a blast playing fetch in the water

Only had a short amount of time to visit, but this is a beautiful, easily accessible gem I…read more"discovered" on a weekend road trip up to this area. Plenty of hiking, biking, fishing and "exploring" options, along with a busy, well used campground. Fall here must be ESPECIALLY gorgeous with all the tree-lined trails. Wish I had more time, but loved what I saw, and hope to make it back up there again soon... ENJOY!!

What a nice and relaxing day at Schnormeier Gardens! We went Friday (6/9/23) and the weather was…read moreperfect, and around 78 degrees. We had the opportunity to visit in 2020 and so happy we took some time off to visit again this year for 2023! Booked tickets online a couple weeks ago, drove up from Columbus, checked in at the gate, and spent the afternoon enjoying the grounds and gardens. Price is $50 per car, there were only 2 of us but we would have been the same for a full car. The experience was simply breathtaking, tranquil, and fun to explore the 9 gardens and art. The gardens consist of: the Waterfalls Garden, Stream Garden, Serenity Garden, Hofstra Garden, Chinese Cup Garden, Japanese Garden, Meadow Garden, Woodland Garden, and the Quarry Garden. My personal favorites are the Quarry, Stream, Serenity, and Woodland Garden and I absolutely love all the art and the various shapes and sizes of the trees and shrubs throughout. The stroll took us about 2 1/2 hours this trip. Open to the public this season from Jun 1st - Jun 25th, 2023. Located in Gambier, Ohio (Knox County) It's about an hour outside of Columbus. Second visit in three years and hope to be able to return again as it is simply a treasure. For more info visit schnormeiergardens.org

The June tour of the Japenese/Chinese inspired gardens was so much better than I was even…read moreexpecting!! The self-guided tour of the gardens allowed for literal roaming of the property off path (as there are no official paths). I had thought this would be a drive-through tour to protect the garden space (pricing is by the car load). I thought I would have 1 hour. When I learned I could walk the grounds at my leisure and literally stay as long as I wanted, I was amazed and ended up staying for almost 3 hours tracing and retracing my steps! Thank you, Schnormeier family, for sharing your treasure with all of the public who want to come!

The main loop trail here is quite excellent. There are certainly sections that get exceptionally…read morenarrow and are heavily overgrown, but the view is certainly worth it. The parking was easy. The location was also easy to find. Overall, it is a beautiful walk with lovely overlooks on the water as well as a very nice Center.

A year round free museum on the property. Many scheduled activities and a nice easy , mostly flat…read more1.5 mile hiking trail that follows the source of the Sandusky river. This is also the site of a native American site and the capture of colonial crawford. A historic gem, with a plaque to describe the capture.

On our most recent visit to Blues Creek, it looks like everything has reopened for use except for…read morethe water fountains. There is a restroom facility at the main parking lot, and those have reopened. There is a small playground (a few slides, activities, and a little bit of climbing) on the other side of the lot, along with two open-air shelters with picnic tables. This side also features the pretty pond, which offers catch-and-release fishing, and access to the Shagbark Loop trail, which is a gravel path through a meadow and a wooded section that is the longest available one at 1.1 miles, and is pet-friendly. It connects to the short grassy Bluestem Trail in a meadow, or can be looped back around to stay on Shagbark the entire time. This trail also shows the park's roots as farmland, as you can see old farm equipment in the woods along the way, and there is also a wetland area. If you take the Shagbark all the way back towards the front of the park, you will also encounter Blues Creek. There is another small parking lot available here, along with another trailhead for Shagbark. If you head out past the restrooms near the main parking lot, there is a sledding hill and a trailhead for the grassy Fox Run trail. There is currently a storywalk on this side, as well. You can connect to the grassy Meadowlark Trail. Both trails are pet friendly. They are mainly meadow, but there is a short section that winds through the woods. Blues Creek also has a "Be a Star" astronomy activities available right now as you explore the park - even the story walk featured a book about space. Very pretty and relaxing park!

This is a nice park with a lot of neat options. There's a great amphitheatre, a little playground…read morewith climbing and balancing options, slides, and a direct connection over to the small Splash Pad. Nearby is a solar picnic pavilion that generates solar power and offers great shade and picnic tables to take a break from all of the fun. There's a large pond near the parking lot, a memorial located behind the municipal buildings and police department, and winding paved paths that take you around to all of the sights and sounds of the park. The parking lot is good sized and offers some EV charging stations.

Super cute! Has a playground in one side and splash pad in the other side! My kids love it!read more

I loved it! A nice little walk on a bridge with pretty views of the creek. When you get to the…read morefalls there's a lot of locks on the what im going to call the fencing with couples initials. Beautiful!

This park has a very limited parking area. It is located on the side of the road and has maybe…read moreeight parking spots. Then you climb four steps, cross a small platform area and next it is 48 stairs straight down. The walk from there is a nice boardwalk to a relativity small waterfall.

Tried to drive through to check out all the available campsites for upcoming weekend - the employee…read moreat the gate said we couldn't come in because they were "too busy" we explained we weren't getting out of the car just driving to look at spots. She was SO rude of a state employee . Yelled at my husband and told us to turn around. State funded campground not letting in people is bizarre . Won't be back here to camp.

The drive to Delaware State Park is just under an hour from where we live in Columbus. This makes…read moreDSP a great spot if we want to go camping but want to spend more time at the state park than we do driving to get there. In addition to the full length Disc golf course that DSP has there is also a practice course. The practice course is adjacent to the campground office, to the right of the dog park area. The campground store, while small, seems well stocked with the standard things you might forget. Check out the shirts! Each Ohio State Parks has different t-shirts and Delaware SP seems to update theirs with relative frequency. We've camped a handful of times at DSP, usually in the same loop. Seems like a fair amount of the sites have low areas, it's a good idea to check out loops before booking a campsite with that in mind. Camping with an RV? The dump & fresh water fill has two lanes. There can still be a backup at times of folks waiting to dump or fill but the line moves relatively quickly. Bonus: there's a Kroger not too far from DSP.

One of our favorite outdoor spots. A shaded waterfall area, shallow pool and creek and smooth…read moretrails. There is also a path to the top of the waterfall. The kids have fun for hours here. Some nice benches and plenty of large rocks to hang out on. Parking is just across the road and there are a few porta potties by the parking. The waterfall isn't far once you get on the trail. The river is a farther walk but does have a very strong current so no swimming over there.

This is a great little park near Howard, OH, not far from Danville. The waterfall is a short walk…read morefrom the parking lot and can be accessed from an upper and lower level path. The fall colors were beautiful when we were there.