Hoover Mudflats Boardwalk

Walk on bridge over muddy water in Galena will ease your mind

I like boardwalks. Whether they’re situated at a beach, through a wetland or over a stretch of water, I find these wooden walkways enticing. Plus, they usually signal that there’s something interesting to look at beyond the path.

Such is the case with a 1,500-foot boardwalk over the Hoover Reservoir in Galena, 30 minutes northeast of Columbus. It’s a popular spot for strolls at sunset, offering a view of wildlife, fishermen and kayakers, all drawn to the 3,000-acre body of water.

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The Hoover Reservoir is formed by the Hoover Dam blocking the Big Walnut Creek in Westerville. It was created in 1955 as a major water source for the city of Columbus.

Columbus Parks and Recreation Department oversees the reservoir and the boardwalk. Water depth in the reservoir is lower in the fall, making the area near the boardwalk more favorable for migrating shore birds such as the heron, egrets, gulls and sandpipers and the occasional bald eagle.

Even though the water gets murky, fall is the perfect time to spy wildlife from the boardwalk and take in the colorful trees. Bring binoculars to get a better view of birds pecking the mud in search of worms and small fish.

Afterward, have a meal at one of the nearby restaurants – Mudflats Bar & Grill or the Galena Diner. We ate grilled cheese sandwiches at the diner, which is open seven days a week.

To get to the Hoover Mudflats Boardwalk, travel northeast on S. Old 3C Road toward downtown Galena, where the road is called Columbus Street. Turn right onto Front Street, just before reaching downtown. The parking lot is on the right.

Learn more about Hoover Reservoir Park at http://columbus.gov/recreationandparks/parks/Hoover-Reservoir-Park.

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Gardens at Gantz Farm

Smell flowers, wade in a stream, walk a labyrinth

The Gardens at Gantz Farm is more than a pretty space to look at flowers. The Grove City park also is a learning grounds for thoughtful landscaping, a natural play place for curious kids wanting to turn over rocks in a stream, and a fine spot for contemplating life as you twist and turn through a brick-paved labyrinth.

Plus, it’s got a good playground.

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But, like its name implies, Gantz is first a garden. Visitors can pick up a brochure and take a self-guided tour through the gardens, situated alongside a historic farmhouse. Plant species are categorized by usage: cooking, floral arranging, producing natural dyes, making medicines, landscaping and even their pollution-fighting abilities.

My kids, though, were mostly interested in walking the labyrinth. Unlike a maze, the path of a labyrinth has one entrance that leads to its center with no dead-ends. I was delighted to see how much my children enjoyed this ancient, meditative activity.

Rosie and Max also joined other children in a nearby stream. Those, who didn’t join the fun, sat on the grassy embankment and watched others partake in another simple pleasure – flipping over stones in search of snails and crayfish.

The Gardens at Gantz Farm is located at 2255 Home Rd., Grove City. For more information, call 614-871-6323 or visit parks.grovecityohio.gov/gantz.

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Topiary Park

Walk through a work of art in downtown Columbus

There’s a magical place in downtown Columbus that gets better with age.

The Topiary Park, a 7-acre landscape with 54 figures made of bronze frames overgrown by yew trees, has nicely taken shape since the attraction opened in 1992.

Figures of women with parasols and men with top hats have become pleasantly plump with greenery, and sculptures of dogs, a monkey and a cat have fattened since I’ve last seen them. The attraction, located at the Old Deaf School Park at 480 E. Town St., is a great place for quiet reflection or a fine backdrop for family photos.

My family and I visited the park on a cloudy day, the perfect kind of weather for taking pictures of flowers and landscaping. We began our adventures by stopping at the nearby visitor’s center, where we picked up an information sheet before taking our self-guided tour.

The park is a sculptural interpretation of Georges Seurat’s Post-Impressionist painting, “A Sunday Afternoon on the Isle of La Grande Jatte.” It’s the only known topiary representation of a painting.

I remember the large artwork composed of tiny brush stroke dots from the film “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” As a teenager I relished seeing the oil painting at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Visitors can see the work from the artist’s view by standing on a hill near a bronze plaque. The tallest figures, measuring 12 feet, were placed in the foreground, giving the scene depth of field.

A local sculptor named James T. Mason envisioned the attraction. The project took shape in 1988 as James built bronze frames and planted the shrubs. His wife, Elaine, sculpted the topiaries and trained other gardeners to help with trimming. Hills were added later, along with a pond representing the Seine river in Paris, with boats and water lilies.

The park is maintained by Columbus Recreation and Parks and the Friends of the Topiary Park.

The visitor’s center, gift shop and restrooms are located in a nearby chateau-style gatehouse.

Admission is free. Hours are from sunrise to sunset. On-street parking is available. For more information, visit www.topiarygarden.org or call 614-645-0197.

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Indian Run Falls

Uncover a waterfall at downtown Dublin park

There’s a small, hidden park with a waterfall in the middle of historic downtown Dublin.

I didn’t know about it until recently, and I wonder how many people do.

Indian Run Falls makes a perfect picnic spot, photo op or place to skip rocks, concealed from the businesses along High and Bridge streets in Old Dublin.

Once the stomping grounds of Native Americans in the area, the park features walking trails, picnic shelters and observation decks overlooking a gorge and stream with a series of cascades.

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One entrance to the park is near the Dublin Library at 75 N. High St. My children and I, though, entered via a parking lot at 700 Shawan Falls Dr.

We walked along a dirt path, passing a field of wildflowers, to an observation deck. It was tough to see the waterfalls from atop the gorge because of the trees, so we descended a staircase to the creek below.

There were no signs telling you to stay out of the water, but common sense says it’s probably a good idea. Wearing water shoes, my son walked in the shallow stream, venturing farther than I wanted him to go. Not knowing where the stream led, I jumped into the water wearing my tennis shoes and went after him. This was by far the most exciting part of this adventure! I quickly retrieved him and held his hand from then on.

Otherwise, this park is low-key, best kept as a secret. So, shhh.

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Cedar Bog Nature Preserve

View rare plants and animals at protected swampland

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon, and my husband and I had just dropped off Rosie for a play date. With nothing else to do, we decided to take our son, Max, on a driving adventure.

We made our destination Urbana, Ohio, for a walk in the woods and lunch with flying colors.

The first stop was Cedar Bog Nature Preserve, about an hour’s drive west of Columbus. The bog is a haven for rare plants and animals common after the Ice Age, such as small purple foxglove, leathery grape fern and the blue-spotted salamander.

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Created about 18,000 years ago when glaciers retreated, the bog is one of 58 designated “Historic Sites” in Ohio that’s overseen and protected by the Ohio Historical Society.

A mile-long boardwalk guides visitors through the 450-acre preserve.

When we arrived, the visitors center, which offers displays and a gift shop, was closed but a sign stated the boardwalk was open. A $5 donation is suggested and can be deposited in a box on a post.

It was fun walking on the narrow boardwalk. It starts in a marshland then leads into the woods. The warm, swampy atmosphere made it feel like we were in Florida.

We soon learned, though, that the seclusion came at a price — the woodsy areas of the path were populated by swarming mosquitos at 2 in the afternoon. So we jogged along the majority of the path, slowing down at openings in the woods. If you go during times of high humidity, take bug repellant.

Minus the pests, Cedar Bog is peaceful and educational. You can learn about the area by reading signs that are positioned at children’s height. For instance, one warns you not to touch the poison sumac or anything else off the path. The woody shrub can cause painful swelling on the skin if touched.

In April, the bog boasts one of the best displays of marsh marigolds in the state.

Cedar Bog is located at 980 Woodburn Rd., off U.S. 68, in Urbana.

For more information, call 800-860-0147 or visit www.ohiohistory.org.

Learn about our next stop to Doug and Michele’s Airport Cafe.

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Battelle Darby Creek

Investigate an indoor stream or see a bison calf in a clover patch

Several photographers train their telescopic lenses on a newborn near the entrance of Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park, appearing like paparazzi ready to make a news headline.

This baby, however, is a far cry from royalty. Covered in fur and weighing 45 pounds at birth, the young bison is the newest member of a herd that roams at the park on the west side of Columbus. Resembling cattle from a distance, bison may be overlooked at the zoo, but America’s largest land mammal is revered here, an atypical attraction among white tailed dear, squirrels and birds. But seeing them is tricky. They regularly take naps in a 600-acre prairie, camouflaged by a bouquet of purple clover, Queen Anne’s lace and daisies.

What’s the best way to see them?

Introduced to the park’s Darby Plains, bison can often be seen via the 4.7-mile Darby Creek Greenway Trail. They graze in the field, munching on native plants that were hand-collected along railways and roads to restore the lush prairies. A bison looks like a cow with a thicker body, rounded hump and a wispy beard. Their grazing is important to the prairie ecosystem, and the bison are protected here.

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The park also protects more than 20 miles of the Big Darby and Little Darby creeks, which are considered among the healthiest aquatic systems in the Midwest and home to 100 species of fish and 44 species of muscles. Battelle is the largest of 16 parks in the Metro Park system with more than 7,000 acres of forests, prairies and streams.

Visitors can learn about bison and the nearby creeks at the nature center. It features a 53-foot living stream stocked with creatures found in Big Darby Creek. It also has several interactive exhibits and a barrel full of hand-puppets.

Battelle Darby Creek park offers educational programs including canoe trips on the Big Darby, full-moon hikes and photography outings. It’s pet-friendly, with a designated pet trail. Dogs can swim in Osprey Lake, a pond that’s stocked with bluegill, catfish and bass for anglers.

Battelle Darby Creek park is located at 1775 Darby Creek Dr., Galloway, and the park’s nature center is at 1415 Darby Creek Dr.

For more information, visit www.metroparks.net/parksbattelledarbycreek.aspx.

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Caves at Indian Village
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Indian Village

Discover caves in Columbus

How did I not know there were caves in Columbus?

I’ve lived here for more than 20 years and thought I knew just about every hidden geographical gem in central Ohio including waterfalls, quarries and ravines.

But caves?

Albeit little, there are several genuine caves in Columbus along the west bank of the Scioto River near Griggs Reservoir.

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I learned about them while attending a “Family Nature Club” day with my children at the Indian Village Outdoor Education Center, 3200 Indian Village Rd.

The center, operated by the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department, promotes environmental education and outdoor exploration including a handful of caves located on the property. The free, monthly event is a good time to discover the caves, if you haven’t already.

“It’s a diamond in the rough,” said Stephanie Ransom, an Indian Village employee who was onsite leading a craft. “I’m pretty sure I heard ‘How did I not know about this place’ at least five times today.'”

Ransom, an Ohio State University student majoring in environmental sciences, told us she’s known about the caves since she was 6 years old. That’s when she started attending a popular summer camp held at Indian Village.

She encouraged us to set out on a short trail to see the caves for ourselves.

My two children and I walked in the rain along a leaf-filled creek, soon feeling like we were deep in the woods – save for the occasional glimpses of apartment buildings through the trees.

Seeing the caves was exhilarating, because I had no idea they were there. It was thrilling for my kids because there were enticing little coves in which to play. A couple were just nooks in the rocks where a 4- and 6-year-old could take shelter from the rain.

Two others were true caves. You could walk inside and see a deeper pit of darkness that was a bit scary to enter. We hung outside until another family accompanied us into the black chamber. It turned out that the dark tunnel didn’t go far – just a few adult steps deep.

We had fun escaping the rain in the dusty, rock-covered shelter. My kids immediately pretended they were Native Americans at home among the rocks. This, I thought, was surely inspired by the teepee located near the lodge.

The Ottawa Education Lodge is a red, wooden building facing the river. It’s available to rent for birthday parties, and its spacious interior lends itself well as a meeting space for kids during summer camp. There is a fireplace with a comfortable couch and chairs near a collection of books and games. There also are aquariums with fish, snakes and turtles.

Before we left, we made headbands by taping leaves to a strip of construction paper. It was a crafty end to a surprisingly fun day.

For more information about Indian Village Outdoor Education Center and upcoming Family Nature Club days, click here or call 614-645-3380.

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Alum Creek Park

Find fun playground, sand volleyball, charcoal grills

Some of my favorite memories of childhood involve impromptu outings to neighborhood parks with my brothers and sisters.

As teenagers, my older siblings were surprisingly adept at selecting fun places for us to visit. They often packed a picnic of hotdogs and hamburgers that they’d cook on the charcoal grills that dotted the landscape in the 1970s.

Recently seeing several charcoal grills alongside a picnic shelter at Alum Creek Park in Westerville brought back this fond memory. It made me want to return to revive the park picnic in the near future with my family.

On this day, however, I was content enough to appreciate all the park’s other fine offerings, including a sand volleyball court, ball diamond and basketball court that’s lit up at night.

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My young children enjoyed the plentiful playground equipment with uncommon features such as a climbable train donned up in primary colors, and a spinning contraption that allowed them to rotate in a circle while hanging by their arms. “Again, again!”

Operated by Westerville Parks and Recreation, Alum Creek Park is situated on 12 tree-filled acres alongside Alum Creek at 221 W. Main St. It’s home to many events throughout the year, including a free summer concert series that gives center stage to the domed-shaped amphitheater with its natural, stadium-style seating.

The park also offers a nearby bike path, canoe launch and clean restrooms – a must for families with young children.

For more information, visit www.westerville.org.

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