Blendon Woods

Blendon Woods covers an area of 653 acres, containing stream-cut ravines with exposed ripple rock sandstone, forests, and wide varieties of songbirds, waterfowl, and other wildlife. Located in Columbus, Blendon Woods is a pleasant haven from the hustle and bustle of daily life!

Visit Blendon Woods

Blendon Woods has seven trails, most of which are easy and quite short hikes. Along the trails you will find beech-maple and oak-hickory forests.

There is the 118-acre Walden Waterfowl Refuge with the 11-acre Thoreau Lake, providing sanctuary for hundreds of birds, ducks, and other wildlife.

When visiting Blendon Woods, you will almost certainly encounter the flock of wild turkeys wandering about looking for food!

Blendon Woods Video

Trails at Blendon Woods

There are seven trails at Blendon Woods, one is pet-friendly and one is reserved for cross-country skiing when the weather permits.

Brookside Trail

0.8-miles | Easy | Hike | Gravel
This is a one-way trail that passes through woods, crosses Ripple Rock Creek and connects with the Hickory Ridge Trail and Ripple Rock Trail. You can expect this hike to take approximately 25 minutes.

Hickory Ridge Trail

0.3-miles | Easy | Hike | Gravel
The Hickory Ridge Trail is an easy, short one-way trail connecting Brookside Trail, Overlook Trail, and Ripple Rock Trail. This hike will take around 10 minutes to complete.

Overlook Trail

0.6-miles | Easy | Hike | Gravel
This one-way trail passes through woods, crosses Ripple Rock Creek and connects with the Hickory Ridge and Ripple Rock trails. You can expect to spend about 20 minutes completing this trail.

Sugarbush Trail

1.2-miles | Moderate to Difficult | Hike | Cross-Country Skiing | Grass
The Sugarbush Trail is a one-way trail passing through woods and a meadow where you will see many different species of birds. The trailhead for this trail is about 0.8 miles from the main parking lot, so if you want to hike out and back, your walk will be closer to 2 miles. This hike will take approximately 40 minutes to complete.

Goldenrod Trail

1.3-miles | Easy | Hike | Pets | Grass
This trail is an easy multi-loop trail passing through meadows. Dogs are welcome on this trail. You can expect this hike to take around 30 minutes.

Lake Trail

0.5-miles | Easy | Hike | Paved
The Lake Trail is an easy one-way hike leading to Thoreau Lake. This trail connects to the Brookside Trail, Hickory Ridge Trail, and Overlook Trail. As this is just a one-way trail, out-and-back is closer to 1 mile. This trail (one way) will take around 15 minutes to complete.

Ripple Rock Trail

0.4-miles | Easy | Hike | Gravel
This is a short and easy one-way trail passing through woods and connecting to the Brookside, Hickory Ridge, and Overlook trails. You can expect to spend about 15 minutes completing this trail.

Facilities at Blendon Woods

There are both reservable and non-reservable shelters available at Blendon Woods.

Reservable Shelters

Dogwood
An open-air shelter with a maximum capacity of 110 (80 under cover) and is ADA-accessible. A charcoal grill, prep table, serving counter, and two electrical outlets. There is lighting, a drinking fountain, restrooms, and a play area – featuring a field, swings, and a horseshoe pit with shoes. All-day and half-day reservations are available.

Hickory Grove
An open-air shelter with one wall. This shelter has a maximum capacity of 110 (60 under cover) and is ADA-accessible. There is counter space, a serving window, three electrical outlets, and lighting. A charcoal grill and prep table, drinking fountain, flush restrooms, and a wood-burning fireplace are also provided. There is a sand volleyball court and a play area featuring a field, swings, and a horseshoe pit with shoes. There is also The Around 9 disc golf practice game, with discs. All-day reservations only.

Shadlow
An open-air shelter. Maximum capacity is 50 (40 under cover). Counter space, one double charcoal grill, prep table, two electrical outlets, and lighting. There is also a drinking fountain, restrooms, and a wood-burning fireplace. The play area features a small field, a universal playset, swings, and a horseshoe pit with shoes. All-day and half-day reservations are available.

Sycamore
An open-air shelter with one wall. The maximum capacity is 130 (80 under cover). A kitchenette, serving counter, electric chest cooler, sink with running water. There is a large double grill, six electrical outlets, a water fountain, and restrooms. The play area features a field, a sand volleyball court, swings, and two horseshoe pits with shoes. All-day and half-day reservations are available

Non-Reservable Shelters

There are 5 shelters that are enclosed on three sides. Each seat approximately 30. Grills included.

Two further open shelters seating approximately 80, also with grills.

Available Activities at Blendon Woods

• Cross-Country Skiing
• Day Camps
• Disc Golf
• Ice Skating
• Natural Play Areas
• Nature Center
• Picnicking

There is a downloadable map of Blendon Woods available.

Especially gorgeous in the fall! There’s a fall colors driving tour, but I recommend getting out and walking around. There are a couple trails for pets, though they’re not generally permitted. There are a number of wild turkeys living here, which is fun to see. There are also several benches along the trail so you can sit and enjoy the view along your walk.

Beth D (Trip Advisor)

Blendon Woods Information

Blendon Woods is open:

• April 1 to September 30: 6.30 am to 10 pm
• October 1 to March 31: 6.30 am to 8 pm

Location of Blendon Woods:

• Address: 4265 E Dublin Granville Road, Columbus, Ohio 43081
• Phone: 614-620-1861 | Website | Facebook

Let’s Visit Blendon Woods

Have you visited Blendon Woods? How was your experience? We’d love to know! Leave a comment below and share with us.

The Metro Parks of Central Ohio are all beautiful in their own way, maybe surprisingly, they are very different from each other. Some of our favorites are Slate Run Metro Park, Clear Creek Metro Park, Glacier Ridge Metro Park, and Highbanks Metro Park. For more, check out our Metro Parks category.