Blendon Woods Metro Park — Attraction in Columbus

Wonderful local park tucked in there off of 161. They have a cool natural playground for kids and a bunch of little trails that have a variety of scenery and terrain to navigate. The dirt trails have some really nice loops to walk or jog. Most all of the trails are shade covered which is awesome if you are there in the summer during a hotter part of the day.

We were hiking last year and go caught out in a rain storm and hardly got wet thanks to how dense the canopy was. It was really nice being out there with how cool the shade made it plus the air from the rain was wonderful.

They do events here all the time too. We went to a 4th of July cookout last year during the day and they were giving out free hotdogs and such. Their nature center is quite large as well with a lot of cool information about the plant/wildlife. The rangers are super friendly and always welcoming.

They also have a nice dog walking trail as well that is a grass trail that is just a little loop but it was so nice for older mastador before he passed away. He loved going over there and probably could have lived out there if we let him. It is not hilly either which is awesome for older/bigger dogs who may not be able to climb very well like our older boy couldn't do very well towards the end of his life. I see dogs on it all of the time when we are out there, its awesome to see.

We have also seen quite a few wild turkeys over here from time to time and it makes everyone stop start taking pictures, its so cool to see them just kinda hop on the trail, walk a few hundred meters, then pop back into the woods. My wife and son always get a kick seeing them.

If you are in the area or even on the east side of town, I would honestly recommend Blendon Woods over Blacklick Woods any day of the week. Definitely a great place to go decompress, learn about local wildlife, go exercise, or just about anything you would want in a local metro park. Blendon Woods is an awesome park that you should not pass up if you like taking a tour of local parks. I am looking forward to a new spring/summer/fall this year with my...

I love Blendon Woods.

Just the drive to get to the park (from the main entrance) is beautiful. The drive from the entrance to the various areas of the park is totally shaded and full of wildlife.

It’s virtually impossible to visit this metro park and not encounter wildlife. Turkeys everywhere. So many birds. Deer. Turtles. Waterfowl. Butterflies (in fact they raise and release monarchs at this park. Frogs galore. More owls than I imagine are typical for this area.

I never hike at the park without stopping at the nature center (which was remodeled since I last visited). It’s an amazing center (possibly better than Highbanks). It has a bird viewing window where without fail you will see a Turkey, Cardinal, blue Jay, various woodpeckers, and most birds native to Ohio (if you are patient).

The nature center has an incredible amount of “stuffed” animals for observation. It’s amazing how lifelike a taxidermist can make a dead animal. The taxidermic animals at the park are amazing. Fox, ducks, owls, turkeys, hawks. Additionally, there are several educational areas with living creatures.

We typically hike the loop from the nature center, to the duck viewing facility, over to the tip of the parking lot then back along the creek. It’s a gorgeous, flat for the most post hike. There’s one manageable, but climb and descent.

I’ve enjoyed so many fires in the non-reservable shelters with my family. They are ideally placed near attractive in the park (playgrounds, etc). Each shelter is necessarily covered, but with arching A-frame like structures. There is always a charcoal grill and picnic tables, too. Also, there are always bathroom facilities nearby.

It’s been years since I’ve participated, but the rangers and volunteers still conduct bird spotting hikes on Saturday mornings. The park is widely respected for the number of...

My father in law passed and my mother in law requested a Buckeye tree be donated to the park in his memory. We were able to rent THE pavilion where this tree is planted for the celebration of life event. There were plenty of other pavilions obviously rented out for the same purpose as we drove in.

Having the rented area was really great for the privacy of the event. The area was immaculate when we came and a Ranger checked in with us shortly after arriving to go over a few things.

There were enough tables for the 70ish family members we had present. The shelter over most of the tables was beautiful and even had lights inside it that could be turned on.

We accidentally left a pair of flip flops behind and called the Ranger station. They said they had found them and were holding onto them through the evening before putting them in the lost and found. We were able to drive right back and pick them up from the Ranger.

Some really great customer service and we're going to look into having another tree donated and planted soon. 💗 My father in law's tree is just pending it's...