Tag: columbus OH

Chestnut Ridge & Three Creeks Metro Parks

On By JC ThrashIn Bikes & Hikes, Dog Companion

Chestnut Ridge, sadly, is among those that just doesn’t want your fur-kids around much. With only one dog-friendly hike, there is much of the park we were unable to explore.

Milkweed Trail is a meager half-mile loop trail that is dog friendly. It is mostly a grassy meadow path, and the flowers were indeed gorgeous this time of year (August). It cuts into the woods for just a moment, with one small hill that is just steep enough to fire up some muscles in your quads (but not much). It’s a nice trail, and even though it is the only dog-friendly option, we might come back if it were a bit longer, but unfortunately just isn’t worth the drive for a .5 mi of walking.

We DID take advantage, however, to being a bit of ways down 33 to stop at Outerbelt Brewery, which brews some of our favorite local beers. The taproom is huge, with lots of space for dogs (and human kids!) to enjoy the space while not getting in the way of the drinking adults. Their food menu is small but decent; we really enjoyed our sandwich and sweet potato fries. They have dozens of beers on tap, and their Oktoberfest is among the best.

On to Three Creeks Metro Park. Much improved for doggie visitors over Chestnut Ridge, it still leaves much to be desired for those wanting more of a woodsy adventure. Despite having a large and nice dog park, the only dog-friendly trails are short, paved loops around the ponds and the Blacklick Creek Greenway. For those who live on the southside, it’s a convenient option to get some steps and sniffs in, but I wouldn’t recommend traveling to it.

As a cyclist, however, the park is a convenient entry point to the Blacklick Creek Greenway, my absolute favorite bike path in Columbus. It’s beautiful, shaded, smoothly paved, and not wildly crowded, especially once you get outside the park. There is also access to the 24-mi Alum Creek Greenway.

Columbus Metro Parks & Dog-Friendly Hikes

On By JC ThrashIn Bikes & Hikes, Dog Companion

One of my favorite parts about Columbus is the number, and quality, of their metro parks. It’s so easy to escape the city vibes and fall into nature. Many of these parks have miles of paved bike paths, which is also a huge plus.

The downside is the lack of dog-friendliness. Look, I get that a lot of dog owners are assholes and don’t leash their dogs or pick up their poop, but the good dog-parents suffer the consequences. If a metro park has a dog-friendly trail, it’s typically a grassy path through a meadow, which, hello tick-city. My dog is protected, but do I want to bring a bunch of those blood-thirsty bastards into my car and home by way of them getting lost in her massive pile of floof? Hellll no.

Despite my love for Columbus, I recognize it’s not the best place for woodsy or lakeside adventures, let alone the chance to get your heartrate up on a mountain hill. Well, we can’t just drive to Tennessee and West Virginia every weekend, so we have to make do with what we’ve got. There are hikes out there. And we’re going to find them.

So, it’s time to address which parks have decent sniffari opportunities for the fur-kids we love. Also to be discussed: how far into suburbia do these lesbians dare travel.

I’ll start with our go-to: Scioto Grove Metro Park. On the southside (thus, close to us) it offers more dog-friendly trails than any of the other metro parks we’ve been to yet. We also see park rangers while we’re there, indicating the park is well taken care of (and it does seem to be). Our most common trail is the Overlook Trail; this makes the trail sound a bit more exciting than it is, but there are wooden deck overlooks into the woods and over the river. Most are shaded, and some have tables to sit and enjoy the nature. The Overlook Trail is gravel, and though I wouldn’t say it’s crowded, there are also a good number of humans and their dogs enjoying the trail. The Overlook trail connects with the Arrowhead Trail, which loops back around to the large picnic area and playground. From there, we head back up the overlook trail to our car.

For a longer hike, you can continue on the Overlook Trail past the Lodge, which offers a nice wooded section of the trail, complete with a rope bridge that our dog is very frightened of (warning: it does get slipper when wet). Past the rope bridge is a very long loop trail (Mingo Trail) through meadows and woods, which we particularly enjoy after a good snowfall.

Lastly, the REI River Trail: a delightful trail through the woods, along the river and around the pond. It’s wooded and shady, but can get very muggy and buggy. I would not recommend this route on a humid day, but when the air is dryer, it’s really lovely.