Metro gardens offer magical places for kids to explore

Inniswood Metro Gardens in the Columbus suburb of Westerville is a scenic nature preserve that’s delightfully kid-friendly. The 121-acre site at 940 S. Hempstead Rd. contains colorful flower gardens, easily navigable walking trails and – best of all – a children’s area where kids are encouraged to frolic about a storybook maze and a secret garden.

I recently took my daughter Rosie to Inniswood to escape the summer’s heat. We headed for one of the park’s six walking trails, some of which wind through the woods. We walked along a boardwalk trail called Frog Talk Walk that extends a tenth of a mile and ventures through the woods, past an herb garden and alongside a small pond where you’re sure to see and hear a frog or two. The path is especially good for toddlers because the boardwalk has raised sides to deter them from wandering off. The path also is great for strollers.

Rosie and I then walked among the park’s 10 feature gardens that showcase more than 2,000 species of plants and flowers, some of which attract big, bold-colored butterflies. The Woodland Rock Garden features a cascading waterfall that rushes down a manmade stream alongside a winding path. It’s a favorite spot for picture taking.

Children will enjoy the Sisters’ Garden, named in honor of Grace and Mary Innis, whom the park is named after. The sisters lived on part of the property before it was turned into a park in 1972. They enjoyed gardening and wildlife, and their joys have been translated into a magical place for kids to explore. They can walk across a wobbly bridge, investigate marbles inside a wall of the secret garden or cool off in a misty spray at the garden’s entrance. They’ll also enjoy climbing a ladder into a tree house and playing in Granny’s House, which is a miniature-sized playhouse that has furniture and portraits of frogs painted on the walls.

Inniswood is open daily from 7 a.m. to dark.

For more information, visit www.inniswood.org.