With all the moving and serivce, Tom and I are being deliberate about taking time to explore parks and take walks.  In the midst of everything else, we took a couple of hours off one afternoon to explore Sharon Woods Metro Park.

Sharon Woods Metro Park is part of the Central Ohio Park system.  It is one of the many metro parks that surround the Columbus area.  Sharon Woods has 761 acres with a big ring trail around the outside of the park.  We walked the four mile ring trail.

The park surrounds the Edward Thomas Nature Preserve and forms a nice buffer against I-270 and I-71.  The proximity to the interstates, however, means that the rim trail can be a little noisy.  The park has picnic areas, a natural play area, fishing ponds, forest, prairie, and a sledding hill.  Trails crisscross the area of the park away from the nature preserve.

One of the very nice things about the rim trail was the bikes go counterclockwise and walkers / joggers go clockwise around the trail.  We appreciated the two lanes as well as the frequent signs reminding people about which way to go.  There were plenty of people on the trail but it didn’t feel like it because we didn’t see the other walkers much.  Bikers rode by and were soon out of sight.

We descended to a bridge crossing Spring Creek, part of the Alum Creek watershed.  Despite very little rain, there was still water in the creek.

After our hot and dusty four mile walk, Tom and I felt like we deserved some ice cream.  Fortunately there are lots of Dairy Queens all around Westerville and Columbus.  We found one less than a mile from Sharon Woods and enjoyed our ice cream on the way home.

Sharon Woods is a beautiful park and a wonderful green space in the middle of the city.  I’m sure we will go there frequently.