Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park Nature Center — Attraction in Pleasant Township

Battelle is good for nature walks, jogging, running, and bike riding along the trails full of nature. Darby Creek is easily accessible within a short distance from the park. There is plenty to do for children for a day of fun. They have several parks, basketball, volleyball, and nice open fields for fun. The park is pet, kid, and family-friendly. There is a nature center accessible just a short walk or drive adjacent to the main park.

All the trails are very well-kept. You can access the creek from most of the trails. Maps are available. They have pet-friendly trails as well. The creek is accessible for canoeing and kayaking. You can fish the creek. It is okay for family, friends, kids, and dogs to play in the creek too! Bring your own water safety devices. The park equipment has been recently updated just this year. It is nice because they have different areas for play for the toddlers, little ones, and the bigger kiddos. There is plenty of open space for any one's desire for playtime, picnics, napping, yoga, etc. Hammocks are welcome too! They have shelter houses for cookouts, parties, etc. There is no reservation required for shelter houses throughout the park. They are on a first-come basis. There are public grills available for use. Restrooms are available for the public. All the grounds are very well kept by the park rangers. They also have cabins/lodges available for rent for events. They are private and tucked away nicely surrounded by nature. They are clean and cozy. They come with kitchens, bathrooms, and plenty of seating. At the nature center you kind find the bison. They have plenty of free roam space so it may take a moment to spot them. Inside you can see the live stream with native species and much more.. All the rangers are full of knowledge, friendly, and respectful. Battelle is a top pick for a...

Biggest Nature Park in the central Ohio area for sure. In fact it's one of the few parks that you can actually do a hike on and it's more than just like a flat land paved trail type of thing. Rangers there are pretty nice for the most part however I will say that even though I was the only person in the park and the dead of winter once and I just had my dog throwing the ball for her I got yelled at by a ranger for having my dog off-leash. I've done this at multiple other Metroparks and never really had a problem even with the Rangers driving by me as long as I've been far away from anybody else that is actually at the park or of course if nobody else was there. Technically they're in the right of the law of course so I'm not going to deduct any stars for that I just find it to be a little extreme when you're the only person there in the dead of winter. Plenty of nature places to hike on, it connects with the huge bike trail that goes from Cleveland to Cincinnati, lots of streams for fishing, and lots of hunting grounds even though I'm not a hunter but I've driven by them. Most of the parks in the central Ohio area are more of City type parks oh, this is one of the few other than maybe highbanks where it's actually a real Nature Park. Watch out for ticks for sure I have pulled dozens in my years going there off...

I went here on a Saturday with my family in the late afternoon. We viewed the bison in the summer pasture and hiked the trail between the nature center and the park.

After the hike, we visited the nature center around 6pm. It was very empty, which was great for us since we are still practicing social distancing.

The nature center itself has nice public restrooms, including family restrooms. It has so many great activities for young kids, and it's all free! (We brought our two-year-old, and he loved it.)

They have an indoor stream featuring wildlife like fish, turtles and frogs-- all of which you are encouraged to touch.

There is also a room with the different skins/furs of local wildlife you can touch and feel (such as a bison, grey wolf, badger, skunk, hare, etc.).

They also have an area to learn more about bison with various facts mixed with an interactive activity module. There is a place to look at bugs under a microscope, with various boxes of preserved bugs like spiders, beetles, bees, etc.

The whole place is full of taxidermy of the local wildlife, as well. And there are some areas with actual live animals, like a tree frog, snakes and a salamander.

I highly recommend this nature center and I can't wait...