Gorgeous park! Came here on a Saturday with some friends and walked almost 4 miles in trails. We loved how there were trails, paved pathways, small parks, and play areas for children all in one place. It was beautiful and very unexpectedly large. You could easily spend an entire day here walking multiple trails. We would recommend bringing water because we did not see water fountains or stations, and some stretches of trail were quite long. We would also recommend exploring and seeing what you find. We found a fun area with wooden exercise and play equipment. We spent about 30 minutes playing with all of the pieces. It was so much fun and we are already planning our next trip back! read more

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Best park in Columbus. The paths are extensive and challenging. Great place for trail running. The playgrounds in the back are fantastic for kids of all ages. The nature center is also a great place to learn and explore. Definitely worth a trip to visit. read more

High Banks Metro is one of our favorite local walking/hiking places! We go here often as it's very close to home. The Columbus Metro Park system in general is quite good - all the parks we've been to are well maintained. Meeting spaces and picnic areas are convenient to parking.... From trails to playgrounds to restrooms they are all in good condition. The High Banks Park is very popular (many Columbus people drive across the city to come here) so especially on weekends finding parking can be a challenge. Plan way ahead if you want to get a picnic spot (shelter houses are by reservation most of the time). Kudos to Columbus for investing in the area's green spaces! read more

GORGEOUS metropark, which I had almost to myself on a cool, rainy, mid spring evening. I'm sure it gets MUCH more crowded, but DEFINITELY looks to be worth a visit any time of year. I just got a small taste of this wonderful spot, but I'll be sure to return with more time to EXPLORE asap!! read more

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My go to spot for my morning walks! Great nature trails and lots of history posted along the way. Turkeys even stroll along with you.

Another perfect day for a Winter hike, wearing crampons makes the experience much better! Glad I got to use my spikes for the first time in a while. read more

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I appreciate that Highbanks is super accessible to the city, yet it's big enough that you can feel like you're exploring the in woods. I missed the peak fall foliage, but still had a lovely stroll to the overlook trail this afternoon. Lots of people, but also just enough parking for the amount of visitors today. Note that many of the trails are NOT dog friendly. I've brought my dog before, but I've been very limited to which trails I can take her on. Overlook is not dog friendly. The one by Coyote Run is. read more

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Visiting Highbanks for the 2024 Central Ohio Folk Festival. Fantastic event in a fantastic park. read more

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We are lucky to have access to such a great metro parks system here in central Ohio. High banks is no exception: well-maintained trails, gorgeous green space, and host to a fun (and free!) festival, the Central Ohio Folk Festival. Upon driving 1.5 miles into the park to reach the fest, we saw some nice park pavilions with hosted parties. Made a mental note that it's a great location for an outdoor party! Scenic, fun to spot wildlife (we saw turkeys!) and easily reached from the highway. About the fest: It was our first time visiting the folk music festival and, on a gorgeous sunny day, we couldn't have asked for more. Friendly volunteers, gorgeous green open area, talented musicians throughout the 2-day event, a handful of great vendors and food choices, and awesome kid's crafts. It's family and dog-friendly. It's not crowded nor overpriced. I look forward to visiting next year! read more

Highbanks Metro Park - Central Ohio Folk Music Festival in Highbanks Metro Park - Parks Near Me - Lewis Center, Ohio

While trying to make the most of my first Staycation, I decided to check out one of Columbus' many parks. It was such a beautiful day, I thought a hike sounded fun. For today's adventure, I landed on Highbanks Metro Park. It's a quick 20 min drive north of downtown Columbus. Super easy to find. I popped into the Visitor Center at Dripping Rock and the worker there recommended I hike the loop to get a good view of the park so that is what I did. The park wasn't busy so it felt almost like I had the park to myself. Most of the creeks were dry and there wasn't much wildlife on this hike but that didn't spoil the beauty of the green space. I saw some great areas for family gatherings or simply a picnic in the park. Overall the hiking trail I took wasn't too strenuous, so I would think most in decent shape should be able to enjoy a half day here. read more

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Great park Monday through Thursday Overcrowded, slightly dangerous on the weekends ( get out by 10am). read more

Highbanks is a fabulous park, featuring a lot of trail options (bikes and pets permitted on some - read the signage), a nature center, shelter houses with grills and picnic tables, several playgrounds and a natural play area, and areas for winter activities when it snows (cross country skiing, sledding). It is also home to the Edward F. Hutchins nature preserve and Native American mounds and earthworks. There is also a newer section of the park, the River Bluff Area, with two shorter trails that can form a loop together, and provides easy access to the Olentangy River for canoeing/kayaking or fishing. The Nature Center is located towards the front of the park and offers some great displays with live animals to look at, a very impressive fossil replica in a light-up case, a room dedicated to the history of the Native people of the region, and some nature replicas, including a giant tree and a wall with rocks and the like. There are a lot of neat habitats to see, depending on where you go in the park: fields, forest, creek and river areas, wetlands, and ravines. There's also a great overlook deck high on the bluffs accessible via the Overlook Trail. Sometimes eagles nest in the area. On our most recent visit, we did not see any eagles (sadly, I heard their nest failed this year), but we did see several hawks and other birds. We also came across a group of turkeys when we were heading back. There are multiple parking lots available throughout the park, so if one area is full, keep going and you may find more elsewhere. All of the naturalists and rangers we have encountered have always been friendly and helpful, and the programs are educational and fun! read more

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My friend and I went on a hike to get our metro parks hike card punched ! We met at the nature center and wandered in to use the restroom. It was so interesting looking in there, we decided to look at it more after our hike. We did the dripping rock trail... it was marked as 2.8 miles. We got to talking so much that somehow we did 4 miles. The trails are a mixed of paved and crushed rock/dirt. They are all very well maintained. It must be quite the task with so many trees, branches, and undergrowth. When we returned to the nature center we sat in the library area and watched the birds flock around all the bird feeders outside. Then we asked the park naturalist to take our picture to remember our fantastic experience and she gladly did. Thank you, metro parks. read more

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My favorite Metro Park in Columbus. The trails are well maintained and provide a full range of difficulty all with "interesting" destinations and views. Highly recommend! read more

One of my favorite parks to explore with my kids and pups. It's well maintained and you feel like you are disappearing into another world once you get into the trees. There are plenty of trails, picnic areas and play areas. read more

We've come here a couple of times now to go on a walk or hike while in Columbus. The parking lot can get crowded on nice days, but we've always managed to find a spot. It's pretty easy to meander through the different trails. There are quite a few interconnected ones, so it's fun to string them together. We most recently walked on the dog path which is nice, but I prefer the hiking trails in the middle of the park. This is a great place to come to get outside close to the city. read more

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A great place to bring lunch on a autumn day! The picnic shelters had the middle tables roped off so it was clear where to sit to be social distanced. Lovely to be be surrounded by nature! Trash cans available. Clean and clear paths to walk. Perfect for social distance times read more

Highbanks Metro Park - Picnic shelter with roped off middle tables to social distance - Parks Near Me - Lewis Center, Ohio

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I love checking out all of the various metro parks, and this has become one of my favorites. There is always plenty of parking and a diverse set of trails for biking and walking. read more

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The is a perfect nature center for kids and adults. My kids 2 and 3 year old played inside for 30 minutes, which is a lot for my kids. They enjoyed the fish tanks, stage, library, coloring, and watching the birds out the window. They have a great mix of kid sections and a beautiful section of the library for adults. We were able to walk around outside and see all of their Christmas decorations. They have beautiful trees decorated, lights around the trail and cuts for kids to put their heads through. Such a great place! read more

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Looking for something fun to do that's free? Columbus Metro Parks winter hikes has a BONUS this year. A beautiful display of lights at Blacklick Woods, Highbanks, Homestead, and Scioto Grove Metro Parks. Everyday from 5-8 pm through the end of December. read more

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It was my first time visiting highbanks metro park, and it was much bigger than I expected. There were different parking areas depending on where you want to start. There were a couple of dedicated picnic areas for family and friends to do bbq together as well. My husband and I parked near the Oaks Coves Picnic area, and we walked both Overlook trail and Wetland Spur trail. The overlook trail led to an observation deck that was 100 feet above the Olentangy River and had a nice view. read more

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Love this park. It also helps that it's only a mile away from my house! It has great pathways to walk, jog, and run. It is a great place to have picnics as well. Most of the sheds are first come first serve, so if you're planning one with a big party, show up at 6am and grab one. They are pretty high in demand in the summer. Great spot to enjoy nature and all its creatures. From deers to various types of birds. The nature center located at the beginning of the park is nice to visit your first time in to see what kinds of animals reside within the park and to learn some things in regards to its history. This park is one of the great ones to visit during Fall too, to catch all the beautiful foliage. We went towards the end of October this year when most of the leaves have already fallen, but still a treat to enjoy. Many festivals and activities happen here, especially ones centered around families, so you should follow their website to be alert of these events. read more

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Love this park. The parking is plentiful, there is a variety of hiking trails, nice paved walkways, along the river, hills and flat areas. It's perfect for anyone. It has accessible trails which is perfect for a wheelchair. I've spent many happy hours there hiking and taking pictures. The trails and such are well maintained and well marked. Stay on the trails and you'll be good. My kids love to explore. It's perfect for exploration. Most kids no matter their age are going to have fun out doors. I've been there in each season and it's beautiful all year round. It's safe and the rangers are available if you need. There is an area by the main entrance that is geared towards kids. Also there are several areas with swings if hiking and walking, running aren't your thing. It's a lovely park and one of my favorites. read more

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We had some free time this past Saturday and the sun was out. So we decided to get out and visit one of the Metro Park's in town. We had been to Highbanks before and enjoyed it, so we decided to go back. It was a beautiful day and the sun made a couple of appearances while we were hiking as you can see from some of the photos. The park was really busy and made it tough to find parking, but we eventually found a spot! They had (Park rangers? security?) they had people in trucks close by making sure protocols were being followed. They are limiting gatherings to 10 people in the park. So if you wanted to grab a pavilion and hang out, they are limiting the gathering to 10 people. Swings are open, playground is open, and they are taking measures to make sure pavilions are only able to accommodate gathers of 10 or less. They also had trash bins spaced out well and the park was very clean. The trash bins also seemed like they had been emptied recently. Everyone has been to a park where the trash was overflowing and it wasn't pleasant to walk by...this wasn't that experience! I would advise bringing a large bottle of water, all of the fountains are closed to drink out of. I did, however, notice that there was a specific spot to refill water bottles that was open, but I only noticed one of those! Overall, very clean park and lots of parking spaces. Make sure you pick a day with beautiful weather, fill up your water bottles and some snacks and go enjoy this park! read more

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It is a beautiful park that is well maintained with many play areas and cute overlooks. It has lots of great walking paths with some areas that allow biking and pets. There are plenty of sign posts with a trailmarked or map zo you can easily find your way. I will say that the map and posts do not align for some reason. If the path is dripping rock then why is the trail mark a woodpecker yet there is no woodpecker on the map? Luckily there are plenty of markers so the conflicting posts still guide you. read more

Nice long trails and pretty easy to navigate. Overlook takes about 3mi round trip from lodge and back. Mostly dirt trails but all well cleared and defined. read more

Highbanks Metro Park - Parks Near Me - Lewis Center, Ohio

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I have always enjoyed coming here, there is so much to do whether you want to run, hike or walk on the trails, bike around, play at the park with your kiddos. The beautiful scenery has always put a smile on my face the whole time. This is a perfect place for some Vitamin D. read more

So many trails! Beautiful park with tons of things to do and see. There is outdoor exercise stops. Paved and gravel trails. River access. Come and get lost. Burn some calories or cook out and put them back in! Perfect for social distancing as well read more

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Although we have been many times, we went for a quick hike. We didn't come across many other hikers. It was very nice Loved the bridges over streams and such and we even stopped off at a playground to swing. There are many places to hike or use playgrounds, even fly kites and you can hike down by the river too. Check them out the next time it snows really well! read more

Highbanks Metro Park is one of the biggest. It's also one of the most popular. There always seems to be many people on the trails. It can make it not as fun but that doesn't mean you should avoid it. The park is still big enough to find a quieter spot. If you're coming for the first time you will be stunned that it's so big. It's one of the most popular parks in Columbus so be prepared to get run into constantly. The good thing is the park is big so that helps. It's located along the county border near Lewis Center. The park is best known for its trails. It has miles of hiking trails which often are crowded with runners. There's many easier ones and if you're just looking for a casual stroll it has some very beautiful sight seeing. A few trails go into an open area. This may be unpleasant when it's hot. It also has a trail for pet owners so it's fairly pet friendly. The observation deck is one of the coolest areas of the park. It also has a big sledding hill. This is located at the entrance near a parking lot. I like a lot about Highbanks. It has some of the nicest scenery and trails. The park is very popular so unfortunately it means it's often crowded but don't let it stop you. read more

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Miles and miles of beautiful hiking trails, shelters and grills for group gatherings. One of my favorite metro parks in the Columbus area. Not sure why Yelp won't let me save my mileage counter bur we were able to knock out 7.8 miles on our hike. read more

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Great park with different trails and beautiful views. Close to the river. Moderate hike. read more

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Highbanks, arguably the premier metro park of the Central Ohio system, holds features of anthropologic and geologic significance. In among its 1,200 acres of forest and wild grass are ravines cut by glaciers eons ago into bedrock magnitudes older, rivers of historical importance and tributaries zig zagging the canopy and ragged cliffs, ceremonial mounds and earthworks by lost Native American cultures, and the chaotic tangled remains of the foliage that once ran the whole of the Midwest. This massive preserve in its quiet dark-wood shade emanates an animated spirit of ancient wilderness, forgotten invocations, and the ongoing drama of the Earth. The chief feature, the one that gives the park its name, is the 100-foot high shale bluff overlooking the Olentangy River. This rises on its west where the river section is a National Scenic River home to a least one nest of bald eagle which are sometimes seen--if luck be your lady. Also of interest are ovoid and spherical geological compacts of minerals called concretion found throughout the park. For the historical minded several earthen structures created ancient natives can be found here. This is home to Highbank Park Works, an eartwork complex and archaelogical site from around 1,000 AD created by the Cole Culture. Older are the two mounds here made by the Adena Culture. All sites can be found by trail and are well marked. For the nature watcher and tree-phile the grounds are stuffed with chestnuts, walnuts, buckeyes, shagbark hikory, evergreen pricky pines, decidous sycamore, black locus, black cherries and so much more. This foliage support ecology for every type of animal found in central Ohio including coyotes and maybe a mountain lion. ( Not that I ever seen the cat but have heard stories.) But what really attracts visitors here is the scenic trails that criss-cross the park. Ten in all. The most popular is the dark environs of Dripping Rock Trail which runs behind the Nature Center and curve up into wooded inclines and down into sylvan ravines. The end of its 2.5 mile round trip takes you across the entry-road to an Adena Mound. Almost parallel is Coyote Run, an moderate hike cutting through forest and grasslands--in winter makes a good cross-country ski when snow has fallen. Scenic River is a quiet curve of gravel that run beside the Oleng. Sycamore is a half-mile jog through sycamore and cottonwood trees. My favorite is Overlook, a 2.3 mile cut the dips by wetlands and up through woods to the high shale observation deck. Another runs off of it to a state nature preserve. Center is the cabin holding the park's nature center. Here with wonderful displays, sculptures, and art is a view of 360 million years of changes, the product of continental drift that inched the landmast for eons around the earth and once sat Ohio at the equator holding a great sea. It is this sea in the Devonian period which formed the shale and limestone bedrock which the glaciers later cut to make the ravines found in the middle of the state. Take a moment and visit, and meditate when you come here the massive geologic time scale on evidence here. read more

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Great park. The paths are well maintained and access to the river is fantastic. I can't believe I have lived in Columbus and this was my first time actually enjoying the trail. read more

Highbanks Metro Park - Parks Near Me - Lewis Center, Ohio

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Really enjoy this park. I've hiked here a lot and I would say it makes my current top five favorite Columbus Metro Parks. It's moderately dog friendly and has a decent variety of trails. Lots of parking spread out over the length of the park. The river is pretty went it's not flooded. But. . . As of right now nothing has been able to dethrone Prairie Oaks as the best in my opinion. read more

This park was a lot bigger than I thought! It's not true hiking if that's what you're looking for. It has more of the feel of a neighborhood park. I came in March and it was still cold. I didn't know what to expect or how long I was going to be here so I wore hiking boots and brought my Camelbak. My friends and I walked almost all the trails. I think we did about 5 or 6 miles. You can do a lot of mileage here! It was around 9am on a Saturday and there were still a lot of people, mostly elderly couples and middle age women. Some of them would jog and walk. I also saw a lady carrying a camera. It's a place to spot deer and birds. A lady I know always spots cardinals here. It was still winter though, so the trees were bare and there wasn't much to see. There are a lot of hills which give you a good workout and can strengthen your ankles if you decide to run them. Everything's paved so don't worry about not spotting a snake. Although, I don't know if you're likely to see a snake with how busy it is here. Parking isn't hard at all. There are a lot of lots. I would suggest getting here early as it seems to get busy. read more

Columbus is truly blessed with the amount of metro parks available to the public, especially in this age of COVID-19. So far, this is one of our favorites as a family. There are trails that do not allow pets, which is a big plus in our family. Our children break out in hives if a dog licks them. Unfortunately, there is a large percentage of dog owners in Columbus who allow their dogs to avoid stranger's children without asking if it's ok. So no dogs on the trail is great! Don't get us wrong - both of us love dogs and are previous dog owners - but seriously, control your dog! There is also an awesome creek with a small waterfall which the kids treated as a natural outdoor water park. We came totally unprepared for the water but they didn't care one bit. They committed and we went home sopping wet. There are also larger creeks to go shell hunting and crawdad hunting. Some of the trails are mostly in the shade, so even in ninety plus degree weather, you can have a nice hike. There plenty of places to roll out a blanket in the shade to have lunch, even on a busy Saturday morning. read more

First of all I LOVE THIS PARK! The reason for four stars is that I have a 13 lb dog named Tucker that I love to take with me on adventures. There is only one path at this park that allows dogs and I wish that weren't the case. If your dog isn't friendly or you're not sure I get it but I wanted to do more and couldn't because of the trail rules. I don't want to leave him at home but I guess I'll have to in order to experience the entire park. Maybe someone could explain the reasoning to me at some point. There were children and elderly on the paths so navigation isn't the issue. In the end it's a wonderful experience. Allow 2-3 hours to get parked and take a nice hike. Once you know your way around you can probably hit it for a lunch break! Bring a map or a smart phone because it's large enough to get lost in! read more

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I absolutely love walking the many trails at Highbanks. There are paved trails as well as dirt trails. Trails with hills and trails without. Trails for dogs and trails that no pets are allowed on. They have thought of everything at Highbanks. Along with the many trails at Highbanks they host events, have playgrounds, shelter houses, and clean restrooms throughout the park. If you walk down to the river in the spring you are likely to spot a bald Eagle! read more

Wonderful place to take a walk/hike. There are numerous trails that can be used for running as well. Tends to get very busy on nice days in the afternoon. There are many parking spots and areas so if the first few show as full, keep driving and there will be more parking areas. read more