This is a cute little pocket park located in close proximity to the busy Shops on Lane Avenue area…read more Despite the location, it is a peaceful respite in a small bit of woods. It's a great neighborhood park if you're lucky enough to live within walking distance. There are a lot of crisscrossing trails in this small area (about 2 acres), so this isn't the park to go to if you're looking for a big hike or run. What this is great for is a quick 15-20 minute visit close to town to get a nature refresh, or a place for small children to explore. The younger set found it fascinating to run around and make sure they had seen all of the trails and checked out everything there was to see. It also includes some granite artwork, including an entryway and four benches. A spring visit was perfect because the area is filled with flowers and made for a lovely view. Street parking is available within the neighborhood.

Another fun park accessible from either the nearby neighborhoods or via the Alum Creek Greenway…read moreTrail. This one offers several amenities: basketball court, a nice large green space, picnic tables, and a nice playground and swings area. There's a neat little single kid spinning toy that they can sit in and use their momentum to spin around in too. There are woods on the side of the open space with trails to explore. This is a nice park to come play in or to take a break on your journey down the greenway trail!

This is a great little neighborhood park that I stumbled on while riding the Alum Creek Trail. The…read moreonly access is from the trail and from the neighborhoods- there is no parking lot, though you can park on the street nearby. The address on the city park site shows it on Morse, but it is actually well back into the neighborhood, just off Grinnell Rd. To get there by car, turn off Morse just west of Sunbury Rd., onto Trindel Way. Follow it back to the curve, then park in the short dead-end. There are some fields, ballcourts, a bike rack, a playground, benches, etc. A nice park if you live nearby, and a nice resting point during a ride or walk.

Westerville is known for having great parks and playgrounds, but the Johnston-McVay Park is a gem…read moreamong Westerville's network of parks. It is a relatively new park (about 5 years old) and has a somewhat non-traditional playground. The playground at Johnston-McVay is actually divided into two sections: * the upper section (closest to the parking lot) features the HAWK, a large wooden climing structure and some "roller slides". This area offers a lot of opportuity for climbing and creative play. * the lower section (closer to the road) has both traditional swings as well as a very unique swing that aloows up to 5 or 6 kids to swing togehter at the same time. My granddaughter and four or five newly found friends were swinging and singing a pirate ditty - pretending that the swing was a pirate ship. One of the nicest features of the park is that there are plenty of benches (some traditional - some large blocks of stone) for parents and grandparents to sit. The park also offers a nice mix of sunny and shady areas.

What a fantastic local park! Way to outdo yourself Westerville!…read more Just opened down the street near McVay Elementary its a beautiful addition to the neighborhood. Modern Nature inspired playground equipment: swings, climbing structures, and most recognizable - Hawk/Nest. The trail around the park has placards that mark a "story path" sponsored by Westerville Library. From the looks of it, it will be a rotating story every few months. Natural play area includes creek access and some large stones for crossing the creek. Park does have a restroom. Great fun for a variety of ages of children. Be sure to stop by!

This is a fun playground located just behind the Shawnee Hills Police Department on Reindeer Road…read more It is a very nice set up - there is a paved sidewalk that connects it to both nearby parking areas (one on Reindeer and one on Cherokee). A little free library, a bench swing, and a shelterhouse are all available. There are a number of picnic tables in the shelterhouse, which provides a nice shady spot for the grown-ups to sit if there are no events taking place. The playground itself is nicely sized and has a lot of options - a lot of slides, monkey bars, a little booth area that my kid used to make believe an ice cream shop, climbing options, a fire pole, and more. There is also a set of swings, both traditional and baby. The base was very soft - possibly recycled shredded tires? A very nice play area!

This is a good neighborhood park that is also nicely accessible via bike - we saw many folks riding…read morethrough, some stopping to play or take a break too. There are two playgrounds available, one for younger kids and one for older, a fun airplane to play on, great monkey bars, a set of swings (both baby and traditional style). A small paved area also offers a basketball hoop that has hoops set at three different heights for the kids to play with. There are benches and picnic tables around the area, as well as a small gazebo with seating. Street parking is available in the neighborhood.

This is a 22-mile, maintained, beautiful trail that connects to the Olentangy trail…read more It's a paved surface and wide enough for cyclists and pedestrians, similar to the Scioto or Olentangy trails. It's surrounded by trees and flows along Alum Creek. There are quite a few bridges you go over. We saw quite a few cyclists out in the morning. Colorful leaves were abundant along the trail, and it was peaceful - even on a Saturday morning.

We checked out the section near Ohio Dominican University, and it was really nice. It follows along…read moreAlum Creek and several areas have a good view of it. There were also small wetland/bog areas along the way, which were very pretty (home to some bugs though). It was also quite clear that the deer in the area were quite used to all of the passersby, whether on foot or pedaling, as they gave very little notice as we walked along. The trail is nicely paved, and there is good signage and trail markings where appropriate.

This is a neat park that seems to have two levels, in a sense. When you first pull in, there is a…read moreparking lot with a little free library. As you head over towards the park, you find several tennis courts, a basketball court, and a playground. The playground includes baby and traditional swings, a musical instrument area, and a very impressive structure with multiple slides and climbing pieces, a fun sound-making steering wheel, and a scavenger hunt. Just past these is a small green space and a gate beyond that. If you head through the gate, you can follow a winding paved path down into a natural area in a forest, with access to the Scioto River. If you follow the trail further down, you can see the remains of a former quarry before looping back around. We quite enjoyed our visit and exploring everything this park has to offer!

Great little park to walk or run in. Nice trail that goes through a meadow and back into the…read morewoods. Hidden Gem in Delaware.

Hickory Woods Park, part of the Preservation Parks of Delaware County, is newly opened in November…read more2021 with its first phase! There are several short trails available now, with a loop through the woods, a smaller loop through the meadow, and a short gravel loop near the parking lot that takes you by the sledding hill and fishing pond, and it connects back to the other two loops. There is a gravel parking lot with a nearby port-a-potty available. Several picnic tables are also available in this area. It sounds like there are future plans to add some more amenities, which will be a nice addition. It's great that they were able to preserve this section of land, which is located between an existing neighborhood and a second neighborhood that is currently under construction (and can be heard from the woods). It's a pretty area!