3 Best Hiking Trails in Columbus, OH

“Sharon Woods is a combination of forests and fields with towering oak, hickory, and beech trees and an 11-acre lake. Sharon Woods is an Edward Thomas Nature Preserve named after a well-known Ohio naturalist and one of the park system's founders. The park features one of the finest hiking trails in the neighborhood. The trail spans a total distance of 3.9 miles and is generally considered an easy route. The trail's elevation gain is 141 feet, and a loop-type trail. There are many seasonal ponds that provide valuable spring breeding habitats for amphibians and other wildlife. The park has playgrounds for children and trails that are friendly to dogs. The track within the park is designated for one-way bicycle traffic. There are many opportunities to take fantastic photos, and various animals can be seen throughout the park. The well-maintained trails make hiking in this park a memorable experience.”

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“Blacklick Woods Metropolitan Park spans 653 acres and is a great place to see a variety of songbirds, waterfowl, and other wildlife. The trail offers six hiking trails. There are plenty of parking spaces, and the trail is excellent and extensive enough to accommodate many people. This park features 652 acres of woods, fields, seasonal swamp ponds, a small prairie, and a golf course. Blacklick Woods Metropolitan Park is one of central Ohio's best remaining beech-maple forests and a buttonbush swamp. The forest areas are laced with trails that wind through a swamp forest with oak and white ash, red maple, elm, shagbark, bitternut hickory, and dogwood. The park's landscaping is always well maintained, with all the beautiful flowers and greenery.”

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“Blendon Woods Metro Park spans 653 acres and includes a waterfowl refuge, a nature center, disc golf, and ice skating facilities. The trail within the park is a loop type and is 2.0 miles long, with an elevation gain of 141 feet. Along the trail, visitors can enjoy breathtaking views of stream-cut ravines, beech-maple and oak-hickory woods, exposed ripple rock sandstone, and open fields. The trails are divided into easy, moderate, and difficult hikes based on distance. This is also a perfect place to see songbirds, fowls, and other wildlife. The 118-acre Walden Waterfowl Preserve, with its 11-acre Thoreau Dam, offers hundreds of birds, wetlands, and other wildlife as sanctuaries. The park includes two elevated shelters for watching waterfowl, with spotting scopes.”

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