This park can be found hidden beneath the streets of Clintonville residents, down in the ravine,…read morewhere water flows and wildlife takes over. I would have never known this was here if a friend didn't live nearby and tell me all about it. On my visit I accessed the park by traveling down some steep stairs and crossing a little bridge that gets you across the small creek that runs through. I quickly discovered a handful of miniature trails that sprawl out from the center of the park and into the little crevasses of the neighborhood bordering the area. I noticed a good number of other park goers, several super happy pups, and unfortunately a ton of trash. This is obviously what caused me to dock a star from my rating, such a bummer. Clean up after yourself people, there was seriously trash everywhere. My favorite part about this park is the tunnel with the giant birds painted across it. The acoustics once you're inside are major and during my visit there was a young man playing a flute. The sound carried so beautifully, it made my day. My second favorite part was spotting an owl high up in a tree. Owls are definitely my spirit animal, so cool! I'll definitely be back to this park. Fingers crossed it's cleaned up a bit.

Glen Echo is a fun ravine to explore, nestled amongst the streets of Clintonville. You can walk…read morethere if you're in the area, or use street parking. There are a few different ways to enter the park - pay attention to signage indicating private property areas and to when some entrances are closed (i.e. during the winter, the steps may be closed if ice is a concern). There's a main path running through the park, next to which are various signs explaining the history and nature of the area, which runs into the tunnel with the beautiful bird paintings, which is, unfortunately, showing its age these days. Other paths branch off, allowing you to explore the nearby woods, and you can also go down what used to be an old street and enjoy that too. It's a nice place to explore near the city!

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.

Great park with walking paths, picnic tables and natural kids play areas! Named after the round…read moreshale rocks found in the park!

The name really says it all. This is, indeed, a nicely sized green space on a corner just outside…read moreof historic Dublin. It is home to the historic Karrer Barn, which was built in the late 1870s. In 2011, a sculpture was added, The Simulation of George M. Karrer's Workshop, designed by Brower Hatcher. We checked out the sculpture, walked around the barn, and enjoyed the flowers blooming in the greenspace, but otherwise there is not a ton to do here. We combined it with a visit to the nearby Monterey Park and historic Dublin, and it was an enjoyable addition to that journey, but I wouldn't necessarily plan this as my ultimate destination. Street parking was available in the neighborhood.

Scioto River got its name from indigenous name for deer-Scioto, which is also a reason for funny…read moredeer sculptures all over the area. We found them really funny, and made search for one into family scavenger hunt.

Walking around Genoa Park is one of the best ways to explore the city of Columbus, OH. There is an…read moreeasy pedestrian pathway offering terrific views of Columbus' downtown skyline. I was impressed. The park is clean and well maintained. The perfectly mowed grass made for an ideal setting spending time outside on a lazy day in May. Being from out of town, I found a parking spot along a side street right near the park. Although I did have to pay a meter, I didn't care. I first walked over the Rich Street Bridge. Here you're afforded undisturbed views of the city backdrop. Plus you'll notice the paved walkway with benches to sit down on. The Scioto River cuts straight through the heart of downtown Columbus and adds another photogenic element to the backdrop. Continuing along...I passed beside the Center of Science and Industry, I believe it's called COSI. There appeared to be a charitable event happening, but still, this was a good spot take a seat on a staircase in front of the museum. Next I walked past the Columbus Civic Center Historic District. There was so much fresh green grass here and impeccably groomed. You can seriously just take a nap if you feel it, lol. You get good glances of Columbus' Main Street Bridge with high rise residential buildings in the distance. I spent an hour or two strolling the grounds. The park was a pleasant way to escape the (slightly busy, lol) downtown streets of Columbus without having to venture far away from the city aspect. All in all, it definitely had charming elements of NYC's Central Park, but obviously on a much smaller scale. In the end, for those visitors coming to Columbus, OH for the first time, I'd suggest making an effort to walk around Genoa Park.

This was one of my favorite places to visit in Columbus, OH... and it's free! Unless you have to…read morepay for parking... I highly recommend this place!!! The garden is so interesting and from different angles you'll see different views. I really enjoyed this place and taking pictures.

Gorgeous park with awesome trees and topiaries! I was here for the Columbus Book Festival as this…read morewas right outside of the library. Without all the tents I feel like the paths would have been less confusing. They looped around in a few directions to see all the different topiaries. I think this would be a great place to just chill out on a blanket with friends. Excited to come here when it's all empty so I can really see everything up close

This is what appears to be a relatively newer park, at least to my eye - I'm a big fan of Native…read moreAmerican culture. I stopped for a look because it caught my eye while traveling from one location to another location. While it is smallish, still a nice place to stop for a quiet breath of fresh air. Plenty of parking. The park features modestly sized but well maintained earthworks from the mound builder culture prevalent in pre-colonial North America.

I love the mission of the park, to preserve the existing earthworks for the future. We were…read moreinterested in viewing the three earthworks and five burial mounds on the site from the Hopewell era. They've added some very nice amenities - there's a nice little parking lot next to an interesting looking structure that houses the restrooms. A very nice bridge has been constructed over the creek, providing easy access to the existing farmhouse and the nearby earthworks and mounds. An announcement I had read had indicated that the farmhouse would be used an interpretative center, which sounds great, though it wasn't open on our recent visit. It likely would have been helpful, as there is no signage to be had that we saw. Educational and interpretative information would be a wonderful asset to this location. It is a peaceful and lovely area, despite how busy the nearby streets are.

Also known by its nickname "Sheep Farm Park," this is the new property purchased by Columbus…read moreRecreation and Parks that was formerly a (you guessed it!) sheep farm. It was actually a historic farm from about the 1880s, so it's a nice bit of history in the area. They've started with some basic set up: there's a nice large sign by a parking area, and signage directs you to the trail that's been mowed through the grassy field. Pet bags are provided at the trailhead so it seems dog friendly. It's a nice green area in the midst of neighborhoods and across from the OSU Airport. I've heard that they are discussing potential additional amenities/improvements, so it will be interesting to see what else they do. In the meantime, it makes for a nice place to take an easy walk and to watch airplanes heading out or coming into the airport across the street.

We were kinda disappointed at first that the gravel trails were closed but quickly realized we…read morecould still walk around and enjoy the park. We parked at the Ranger station where the GPS landed us. It was a 3.25 mile walk from there to the nature center. The nature center is very nice and the folks working were very friendly and polite. We got to see the bison running around playing because it was a nice cool spring afternoon.

I came here on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. This park was huge! After the entrance sign I had…read moreto drive a bit of a ways to get to the parking lot. However, the lot had a good amount of parking. There were 2 events happening that day and there was still plenty of parking. We went on a walk on a trail and saw lots of gorgeous trees and flowers. The trail was about 2 miles and I enjoyed every minute. I feel like we got to see a good amount of that section of the park and I can't wait to come back to walk the other trails as well!