Olentangy-Scioto Multi-Use Trail

We started at the north end in Worthington Hills Park.
*****free bike pump at The Hills Market*****
This came in very handy as we forgot to check the tire pressure before leaving the house.
The trail is beautiful and very scenic. There is a portable toilet when you first enter the park. As far as water goes, be sure to take your own. However, once you get to Antrim Park, about 4 miles south, there is a drinking fountain.

If you are a runner, walker, biker, dog-​walker, or any other person who likes to be active outdoors, this trail is definitely worth checking out. Running all the way from Worthington to downtown, you can almost get to all of the main areas of the city right from this trail. There are plenty of access points along the way. I really enjoy taking the trail to Antrim Park and Whetstone Park of Roses. On long runs training for the Columbus Marathon, this is perfect because you can tailor your run along the trail to any distance, really. It’s flat and there is plenty of shade as well. The reason I don’t give 5 stars is because there really aren’t any water fountains along the trail and that would be so helpful for us runners/​walkers. Also, some bikers can get a little intense on the trail… nothing against bikers at all, but if you’re biking super fast around a bend in the trail, PLEASE alert your fellow trail users on foot that you are coming. My life has flashed before my eyes a few times because they just zoomed by from out of no where and even when I’m on the right side and all the way over, that is a little unnerving. But I digress…

This trail is worth seeing for a nice, winding ride or jog along the Olentangy River. It provides easy access to many streets that cross High St., from Worthington through downtown.
It has one of my favorite vistas of downtown Columbus at the confluence of the Scioto and the Olentangy, right over the river itself. At night, you can get a good view of the Boat House and its patio.
The worst aspect of the trail is that there are no drinking fountains anywhere. It would be nice to get a few bike service stations with an air pump and bike racks, too.
I enjoy the woody scenery, the wetlands nature preserve, and the Park of the Roses at Whetstone, by which the trail goes.
If you’re going North to South in Columbus, this is just about as fast as using High St or Summit, and far, far safer than Olentangy River Rd.

Olentangy/​Scioto trail is my home away from home. Knowing that I can ride my bike down the path and enjoy the greenery, is enough to get me out of bed on a hungover Sunday morning.
I have never had any problems with harrassment, but then again, I tend to ride with headphones in. (safety hazard, I know!)
I completely agree with previous users– there needs to be water fountains! I was so dehydrated by the time I rode back to my apartment, a refreshment would have been nice.
You can’t beat the views when you get in the downtown area and get to bird watch!

This trail doesn’t get its stars for scenic beauty; it’s rather bland and has its faults like the lack of water fountains and bike racks mentioned earlier. OSU also rerouted the trail right along the riverbank meaning that when it gets rainy you’ll have to take a detour off the trail due to the higher likelihood of flooding: thanks OSU! However, from a utilitarian perspective it’s actually a nice alternative to High St during the day at least, since there’s no lighting at night.
It can serve as a sort of car-​less highway and for visitors it gives easy access to all of our best neighborhoods on or near High St. I regularly use it for my Clintonville-​Downtown commute and while I haven’t had any safety issues I could see harassment by OSU students being an issue for those traveling down 8^th & 9^th Ave to get to the trail which are really the only two fratty streets just south of campus, since I’ve experienced plenty of verbal abuse from the fine intellectuals at OSU who like to yell, «Fag!» and throw something at you every once in a while over on East Campus. Thankfully, if you take any of the side streets down through Dennison Place/​The Circles to the trail head at 3^rd Ave it’s actually a lot more visually pleasing with shady streets and stately homes and a distinct lack of typical OSU hooliganism.
If you want just want a scenic bike ride you’ll want to go to the Alum Creek trail on the edge of Bexley and head south. And yes, you have to watch out for the spandex cyclists who, if they were as bike savvy as myself, would be riding in traffic on streets like Broad or N High from Clintonville up north where traffic lights are timed for continuously moving traffic instead of buzzing other trail users, although you have a fair share of oblivious walkers, some of whom are walking against traffic.

Picking up the southern end of the trail from campus can be a bit sketchy. I’ve heard horror stories of runners & cyclists who have been on the receiving end of some verbal harassment and the occasional rock. Sad, right? The surrounding neighborhood isn’t the safest when you start from there so I’d advise ALWAYS using the trail with a buddy.
With that said, I’m not sure what I’d do without access to this stretch of cardio-​inspiring wonderment. It’s not much to look at from campus through Clintonville but once you reach the «crest» at about Mid-​Clintonville, your scenery gets a little more motivating.
It’s nice and flat and the mile markers really help you keep track of your distance if you didn’t map it out beforehand.
Bring some resistance bands and you can knock out a solid workout all in one swoop!

I Really Don’t Like the «real» outdoors, and I’d almost surely get killed riding my bike on the city streets, so something like an urban bikepath along the green parks and rivers of Columbus is perfect for me. The Upper half of the path runs north from Clintonville to Worthington Hills Park, while the Lower half run south from Clintonville to downtown at about West Broad Street. Personally, I’m a big fan of the Upper Olentangy multi-​use trail. Though the closet entryway to the path to me is technically on the Lower half of the path, I basically ride the entire Upper path (+2/​3 of a mile on the Lower) for exercise in the summer — it’s about 15 miles to the trail head and back. It’s pretty awesome. Just be sure to hydrate!
This part of the path is nice because there are only two spots where you have to ride on the road, and those are short distances in areas with little traffic (except crossing W. North Broadway). The path itself is paved and for the most part has two lanes so there is plenty of room for bicyclists, rollerbladers, dogwalkers, and joggers to go north and south without being in each others way. There is also an excellent mix of people on the trail, of all fitness levels, and for the most part, everyone is very friendly. Do watch out for the expert cyclist types in spandex though, as they can whiz by you and sometimes startle you if you’re not paying attention. I usually ride during the day, because evenings *are* more crowded.
My only complaints about the trail are the distinct lack of water fountains and bike racks. I’ve noticed the water issue before but especially today because it was SO hot out. There are actually no water fountains on the trail… and there really should be — you know, the types you find in state parks and such. I usually end up drinking all my water by the time I get to Worthington and end up having to buy gatorade or water from the gas station at Worthington Hills Park. This is fine, but there was a biker wiped out on one part of the path (the police came, don’t worry), and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was from dehydration — because he didn’t seem hurt otherwise (at least I hope not). And as for the bike racks — it would be really nice to lock up my bike in some spots and enjoy the many parks that you go through while on the path. Antrim Park does have one rusty old bike rack, but it would be nice to see more of them along the way.
Otherwise, I am very glad this trail exists. The 15 miles barely seem like anything in terms of exercise because it’s so relaxing and frankly, «inside-​my-​own-​head» time, but it’s actually the same amt. of cardio I would do at the gym, if not more… and it’s oh so nice in Ohio in the summer. :)