For my Columbus To List, I chose to the Nature and Outdoor Recreation. The first park we went to was the Battelle Darby State Park. For the remainder of our destinations, however, I went to the Olentangy Trail (of course), the Franklin Conservatory, the Topiary Park, and Goodale Park.The Olentangy Trail is a blessing to have behind Morrill Tower. When the weather is permitting, I will always choose to run on the trail rather than a treadmill at the RPAC. This particular day pictured was a beautiful, sunshiny Saturday, one of the first of the semester. Maureen, Mady, and I brought food and blankets and made our way down the path. We found a nice spot along the trail and set up for the day. We painted faces by the river and enjoyed the warm weather. It was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday, and I’m looking forward to many more living in Morrill next year. This was by far the easiest destination to reach on the list.The Franklin Conservatory is a beautiful park filled with flowers, trees, and happy people. Maureen, Jake, Matt, and I decided to venture here first, since it seems gorgeous in the pictures. This proved to be true. We walked along the paths enjoying the scenery and open green space. The conservatory keeps bees, something I was not expecting but very excited to see. The only issue at the conservatory was the price to enter the Conservatory itself. Though it was only 10$, we opted out of paying and decided to enjoy the outside instead. I will whole-heartedly return to the Conservatory, and perhaps suck it up and pay the 10$ to go inside.When we decided to go to the Topiary Park, I was unsure of what it entailed. The answer is shrubs. The Topiary Park had shrubs. However, these shrubs were cut into beautiful works of art, featuring bush couples dancing, a happy bush dog, and even bush kids on a canoe. It definitely seemed to be a place for couples, but the four of us enjoyed the scenery nonetheless. The only difficult aspect of the Topiary Park was figuring out that it was also known as the Park for the Deaf. We were quite confused that google maps took us to a park for the deaf, until we saw the artistic shrubbery. If I’m in the area, I would definitely take a stroll through the park again.
The Goodale Park is located a bit off the Short North, and was the last stop for our list. This park was beautiful and open, with people playing music, children playing, and a plethora of happy dogs. Needless to say, this park was my favorite. I enjoyed the sense of community, as well as the huge green space for playing with dogs or tossing a frisbee. It featured a beautiful lake with a fountain and some overall good vibes. Since it’s only a short bike ride away, I will definitely be returning to this park with a book, some food, and good friends. (We tried taking the most awkward picture possible here)/
I enjoyed this Columbus To Do List theme. I was able to spend my time outdoors with friends, enjoying sunshine and happy times. One thing that surprised me was how accessible these parks are by car. We experienced little to no difficulty reaching each destination. It is definitely something I will take into account in the future. While driving to each park, I enjoyed seeing the houses and neighborhoods. This led me to want to explore the various neighborhoods of Columbus. This is feasible by bus and extremely easy to do with a car. For anyone who wishes to complete this list, I recommend using a car to arrive at each destination, and choosing days with great weather in order to truly enjoy the outdoors. Bring some good friends along too.