Metro Parks (Columbus, Ohio)

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The Metro Parks are a group of 14 metropolitan parks near Columbus, Ohio. They are officially organized as the "Columbus and Franklin County Metropolitan Park District". The Metro Parks system was organized in 1945 under Ohio Revised Code Section 1545 as a separate political division of the state of Ohio. The Metro Parks are overseen by a Board of Park Commissioners consisting of three members appointed to three-year terms by the Judge of the Probate Court of Franklin County, Ohio. The Board in turn appoints an Executive Director responsible for operations and management of the parks.


The Metro Parks system includes over 23,000 acres (93 km²) of land and water and, contrary to the official name, extends over seven counties in Central Ohio and the Hocking Hills area. Facilities and programs include trails, shelters, lodges, nature centers, educational facilities and programs, natural resources management, stormwater management, picnicking, boating, and other recreational activities.

[edit] List of Parks

  1. Battelle Darby Creek, Galloway
  2. Blacklick Woods and Blacklick Woods Golf Course, Reynoldsburg
  3. Blendon Woods, Westerville
  4. Chestnut Ridge, Carroll
  5. Clear Creek, Rockbridge (located in the Hocking Hills)
  6. Glacier Ridge, Plain City
  7. Heritage Trail, Hilliard
  8. Highbanks, Lewis Center
  9. Inniswood Botanical Garden and Nature Preserve (Inniswood Metro Gardens), Westerville
  10. Pickerington Ponds, Canal Winchester
  11. Prairie Oaks, Sycamore Plains Trail, and Darby Bend Lakes, West Jefferson
  12. Scioto Audubon (under development; announced 2006, to open 2008), Columbus
  13. Sharon Woods, Westerville
  14. Slate Run and Slate Run Living Historical Farm, Canal Winchester
  15. Three Creeks, Groveport

[edit] External References