Recommended by Kid K's teacher, this is a beautiful nature preserve. K wanted a playground, of course, and there is a natural play area that is, well, just logs and rocks. Not much of a much. Maybe it is being rebuilt? But there is a small building with bathrooms and what looks like it will be a nature center, and tons of trails up and down the hills. Surrounded by development, but fairly quiet, at least on an early spring weekday afternoon. Saved because of its creeks and hills and gullies, surely. Lots of shale outcrops, some decent elevation changes, well-developed paths mixed with more basic ones, decent parking. Far from our usual routes, but worth a detour. read more

Great park with walking paths, picnic tables and natural kids play areas! Named after the round shale rocks found in the park! read more

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This is one of our family's favorite parks! We enjoy bringing our large breed dog here for a walk on the shorter dog friendly trail. Every view in Shale Hollow is so picturesque it's hard not to stop and snap a photo after every few steps. The creek for small children (or adults!) and the natural play area is fantastic too! Their facilities are always super clean and it's not ever very crowded when we go in the evenings. read more

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Nice little park- part wooded part prairie trail so a little hot and exposed for a bit. Short trail- maybe a mile- but really lovely, well cared for park. Dog friendly on leash! read more

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Super cute park with amazing play area for kids. It has a "natural" playground with shallow brook for kids to splash and play in. We did a 1.5 mile nature hike around the area. read more

Shale Hollow Park - Parks Near Me - Lewis Center, Ohio

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This is my favorite little park in the area. I love the beautiful, shallow stream. It feels like a magical little fairyland with the gorgeous trees and rock formations and tiny waterfalls. There is also a really nice, short walking loop that goes around the hollow. read more

Shale Hollow is a gorgeous and serene spot. Don't listen to any of the navigation systems that send you on a wild goose chase through the nearby neighborhood - once you turn onto the road between Olentangy Mini Golf and the marina, follow the actual signage to the entrance of the park. Once you're in the park, there are two parking areas - a smaller upper one and a larger lower one. The small one you first pass puts you in proximity to a trailhead for the Great Horned Owl Trail, which is pet friendly. The lower one puts you near the building, which has the restrooms, the natural play and exploration area, and trailheads for both the Great Horned Owl Trail and the Overlook Trail, half of which is pet friendly. The trails are nice, winding through forest and meadow, depending on which one you opt for, and there are some really great views into the ravine. Even if you aren't interested in playing in the natural play area, it's well worth it to cross the bridge and take a look at the stunning shale cliffs and follow the path along the winding stream. There are some really neat features, including potato chip shale and concretions to enjoy, plus depending on how the water is running, some waterfalls run down the cliff sides. If you are interested in playing, there are a lot of neat features - a log table, a small swinging bridge, plenty of lots and sticks to build forts with, figuring out how to cross the stream to explore the other side, or even wading right in when the weather is warmer. It's a great place to take a hike or do some light exploring! read more

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We had a full-on five star creeking experience here today. Located in Lewis Center just across 23 from Kroger, this newly opened natural playground has features reminiscent of Hocking Hills, including cliffs, views, old growth forests and cool shale walls bordering the stream. We creek walked, hiked, splashed and stayed cool on a hot day. We were delighted to find the attractive lodge building houses sparkling clean restrooms. I cannot wait to go back - and my only hope is that it will stay a somewhat hidden gem and so lovely and unspoiled. For the best creeking, drive all the way in and park nearest the lodge. See the sign that says pets prohibited? That path leads you down to the stream. Pets are welcome on-leash on the hiking trails, just not down by the creek. Truly a gorgeous spot! read more

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It's a really cute park. A bit on the small side, but bigger than some. The sphere shaped rocks and shale cliffs are really cool over at the natural play area at the front of the park. Lots of wild flowers and saw a deer while we were there. read more

Great park right off 23 in Lewis Center. Easy to miss, so look for brown signs. Enjoyed a late afternoon hike, at an easy pace it's about 30-40 min. A hidden gem and parking is easy! read more

This is a great area if you're looking for a light hike or walk with your pets or family. It isn't too strenuous. It is kind of difficult to find though and required a few u-turns before I could find it. It's located directly behind Paul's Marine and can be best accessed by cutting through Olentangy Crossing (the neighborhood directly across from the Kroger Marketplace). For some reason most GPS take you to the locations of the sign with the parks name on it which is way past the entrance. But once I did find it, it had plenty of parking and adequate informational signage. read more

Shale Hollow Park - Shale hollow entrance and parking - Parks Near Me - Lewis Center, Ohio

Beautiful park close to Columbus and Downtown Delaware. I was looking for a new place to take my dog and ended up at Shale Hollow Park. They have a 1.1 mile loop that says it takes about 45 minutes. I think it did take about that at a leisurely stroll (stopping to sniff every other tree) but the trail is so beautiful the time flew by. They have another large trail but I was unable to explore that one because dogs are not allowed on that one. It looked just as tranquil. There are restrooms, and they even have picnic tables for a packed lunch. It is right near the Olentangy Putt-Putt course. Close enough for even more outdoor activities. I like the location because it is easy to get over the to the Alum Creek Dog Park. After the hike I felt like my dog needed more exercise and the dog park was only 6 minutes away. I will be returning here often to get an easy 1 mile loop in. read more

This is a really cute little green patch in the middle of the rapidly growing area around Lewis Center. The topography by the creek is unique, with some ridges. pretty scenery, and interesting rocks. All of this has been kept safe from the increasing suburban sprawl by turning it into an "exploration area" down by the creek, a few rambling paths, and a gravel trail. There is also a nice new shelter house/meeting room/restrooms. While I would have adored the free-for-all "exploration area" down by the water as a kid, these days it is the trails that interest me most. The longest, it seems, is the gravel path, which goes through some trees and a lovely meadow where you can see wildflowers, insects, and deer. ....Up close and personal on my visit. While it's not as long as paths in some of the bigger metroparks, it's just perfect for a shorter walk/run by yourself or with a friend...two-legged or otherwise. Also, not being as big as Highbanks down the road a bit, Shale Hollow isn't as crowed (at least not when I went). This makes it a nice, calming place to walk....even though the gravel path does lead right up to the chaos of Route 23. Definitely check it out if you live in the area and just need to get away for a bit. read more

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Dude can you please stop telling people about this place? It's getting crowded and some Bigfoot Conspiracy Theorist was trying to get in my ear about Bigfoot so I just walked away from him. Anyway if you have kids then they will love playing in the river so bring a change of clothes my dude. For them. Or maybe for you too, I don't judge. This place is very cool and fun. read more

This place is like a mini Highbanks in some ways as it has all of the trees and a creek running through it and cliffs.. I didn't have enough time to explore the it fully but it looks like it could be very interesting and I have every intention of going back and seeing what else is there. It's a nice respite of back to nature in the middle of subdivisions galore. Glad they didn't take it out to build more homes. read more