What a nice and relaxing day at Schnormeier Gardens! We went Friday (6/9/23) and the weather was…read moreperfect, and around 78 degrees. We had the opportunity to visit in 2020 and so happy we took some time off to visit again this year for 2023! Booked tickets online a couple weeks ago, drove up from Columbus, checked in at the gate, and spent the afternoon enjoying the grounds and gardens. Price is $50 per car, there were only 2 of us but we would have been the same for a full car. The experience was simply breathtaking, tranquil, and fun to explore the 9 gardens and art. The gardens consist of: the Waterfalls Garden, Stream Garden, Serenity Garden, Hofstra Garden, Chinese Cup Garden, Japanese Garden, Meadow Garden, Woodland Garden, and the Quarry Garden. My personal favorites are the Quarry, Stream, Serenity, and Woodland Garden and I absolutely love all the art and the various shapes and sizes of the trees and shrubs throughout. The stroll took us about 2 1/2 hours this trip. Open to the public this season from Jun 1st - Jun 25th, 2023. Located in Gambier, Ohio (Knox County) It's about an hour outside of Columbus. Second visit in three years and hope to be able to return again as it is simply a treasure. For more info visit schnormeiergardens.org

The June tour of the Japenese/Chinese inspired gardens was so much better than I was even…read moreexpecting!! The self-guided tour of the gardens allowed for literal roaming of the property off path (as there are no official paths). I had thought this would be a drive-through tour to protect the garden space (pricing is by the car load). I thought I would have 1 hour. When I learned I could walk the grounds at my leisure and literally stay as long as I wanted, I was amazed and ended up staying for almost 3 hours tracing and retracing my steps! Thank you, Schnormeier family, for sharing your treasure with all of the public who want to come!

Growing up, this was my favorite park, and now I love sharing it with my kids…read more It's all wood, and it's huge. It has tons of slides, castles, tunnels, swings, balance beams, and boat to play in, and fun tire stuff. It has ample seating throughout the park for moms and dads. Has play areas for most any age. It's well taken care of with nice touches throughout. A great park to take the kids to in Licking County.

Such a clean and fun park for all ages! Enough seating for parents. Clean bathrooms. Next time we…read morewill be packing a picnic because the shaded areas are so nice. We live in pataskala (about a 20 minute drive) and we will be back. We were use to Dublin's parks and this meet are expectations. Best in licking county.

This is a great park. Lots of fun stuff to keep children entertained for a long time. Swings, zip…read moreline types, musical instruments, slides, comfortable seating, large rocks, and even a concession stand (not open today but that's ok.) Lots of ways to engage children to use their minds and their bodies.

christmas run park is one of the two best parks in wooster, imho. (freedlander park on the north…read moreend of town is the other.) at christmas run, you will find a kickass playground, tennis courts, short hiking trails, a stream and pond (some people even go fishing), ducks, and a swimming pool. they hold some really fun community events here like art in the park and the kiwanis strawberry social.

This trail is a converted railroad bed. Awesome. Mostly covered by trees which is perfect for sunny…read moreday hikes. Cyclists love this route. We hiked from Gambier to Mount Vernon (approx 2 hours and 6.5 miles as we went to a restaurant off trail). Great condition and beautiful bridges and river scapes.

Just went back to the trail, this trail is also known as the Kokosing Gap Trail if you have trouble…read morefinding it on a map. The trail was busy from the nice weather with people of all ages. There are water fountains at several points as well as bathrooms. The bathrooms in Gambier are in a normal structure, not porta potty, and the woman's was well maintained and clean. This trail is fully volunteer maintained so a clean bathroom, freshly planted flowers, and smooth asphalt is impressive. Every town stop also has a bike repair kit and manual air pump to keep you rolling.

This is a nice park with a lot of neat options. There's a great amphitheatre, a little playground…read morewith climbing and balancing options, slides, and a direct connection over to the small Splash Pad. Nearby is a solar picnic pavilion that generates solar power and offers great shade and picnic tables to take a break from all of the fun. There's a large pond near the parking lot, a memorial located behind the municipal buildings and police department, and winding paved paths that take you around to all of the sights and sounds of the park. The parking lot is good sized and offers some EV charging stations.

Super cute! Has a playground in one side and splash pad in the other side! My kids love it!read more

This is a very cool park! My children tend to gravitate toward parks and playgrounds where there…read moreare open-ended and tactile features available, and this park has that. There are boulders to climb, outdoor musical instruments to play, a treehouse to play pretend in (and is wheelchair accessible!), a merry-go-round, swings, a traditional playground structure with slides, and lots more. The playground area is lined with wood chips. There is also lots of space to run around, and lots of trees. Like the name of the park suggests, this is a very sensory-friendly park, and there are nature stations set up all around where you can use your senses to explore. There is also a short, paved trail that goes around the park, which is wide and smooth enough for strollers and wheelchairs. The trail goes by a creek, which is nice. As of right now, this is the only sensory-friendly park in the state of Ohio! It's definitely worth a visit.

This is a really neat and wonderfully inclusive park. This features a short, paved path that is…read morewheelchair and walker accessible. Along the path are a variety of interactive stations that are also designed to be accessible. If you start near the entry sign, you'll find a Little Free Library, which, on our recent visit, was loaded with a lot of great kids options. Just ahead is a variety of benches and a little music garden, featuring musical instruments that can be played, and you can also interact with the Rough Bark Tactile Display to learn more about different tree barks. A little further down are the cutest animal looking instruments that can also be used. As you continue down the path, you find a swingset with a variety of swings that include both traditional and accessible options. There's a nice little shaded bench area with information about the creek, Fetter's Run, that can be seen from the location. As you proceed along, a very exciting find is the Treehouse, which is built within the forest trees as opposed to up in one, which allows a wheelchair ramp to make it accessible. This overlooks the creek and has things to explore, like neat nature art and a second floor (not accessible) with a fire pole. At the end of the path is a shelter house with picnic tables and nearby grills. Most, if not all, of the signage included Braille translations, as well. There is a large parking lot here, but I do note that this is located behind a school, so I'm not sure how that would affect parking for a visit during a school day.

I loved it! A nice little walk on a bridge with pretty views of the creek. When you get to the…read morefalls there's a lot of locks on the what im going to call the fencing with couples initials. Beautiful!

This park has a very limited parking area. It is located on the side of the road and has maybe…read moreeight parking spots. Then you climb four steps, cross a small platform area and next it is 48 stairs straight down. The walk from there is a nice boardwalk to a relativity small waterfall.

Amazing spot to swim, fish, and explore. With the new trail biking is now better than before and…read morewould recommend on a good weather day!

Love this place! Long trails with lots to see. The bike path is spacious and has amazing views.read more

One of our favorite outdoor spots. A shaded waterfall area, shallow pool and creek and smooth…read moretrails. There is also a path to the top of the waterfall. The kids have fun for hours here. Some nice benches and plenty of large rocks to hang out on. Parking is just across the road and there are a few porta potties by the parking. The waterfall isn't far once you get on the trail. The river is a farther walk but does have a very strong current so no swimming over there.

This is a great little park near Howard, OH, not far from Danville. The waterfall is a short walk…read morefrom the parking lot and can be accessed from an upper and lower level path. The fall colors were beautiful when we were there.

Birding hotspot!…read more It's a little more than an hours drive East of Columbus. It's kind of out in the middle of nowhere but it's worth the drive to see some beautiful wildlife, especially birds. The wildlife area consists of seasonally flooded moist soil meadows and bottomland hardwoods. You can expect to see migrants, shorebirds, waterfowl, Bald eagles andantes other birds that aren't usually seen in the city. Be sure to bring your spotting scope if you have one and a good pair of binoculars. Enjoy the fresh air and everything that nature has to offer.