Read an Excerpt
Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park
Scenery: 4 stars
Trail Condition: 5 stars
Children: 5 stars
Difficulty: 3 stars
Solitude: 3 stars
GPS TRAILHEAD COORDINATES: N39° 53.490' W83° 12.787'
DISTANCE & CONFIGURATION: 3.9-mile figure eight
HIKING TIME: About 3 hours
HIGHLIGHTS: Woodlands, American Indian mound, creeks
ELEVATION: 855' at trailhead to 928' at highest point
ACCESS: April–September: daily, 6:30 a.m.–10 p.m.; October–March: daily, 6:30 a.m.–8 p.m.
MAPS: At bulletin boards, tinyurl.com/battelledarby
FACILITIES: Restrooms, drinking water, picnic areas, playground, Natural Play Area
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Only on the Darby Creek Greenway Trail
COMMENTS: The Natural Play Area allows children to experience hands-on nature activities. Pets and bicycles prohibited on nature trails.
CONTACTS: 1775 Darby Creek Drive, Galloway, OH 43119; 614-891-0700; tinyurl.com/battelledarby
Overview
Battelle Darby Creek is the largest park in the Metro Park system. The Big Darby and Little Darby Creeks, both designated State and National Scenic Rivers, run through its center. The Ancient Trail travels along the Big Darby where American Indians once maintained a village. The Terrace Trail explores a forest standing 100 feet above the fertile creek bottom. The blend of prairies, woodlands, and waterways creates an oasis for wildlife—and wildlife observers. The 7,060-acre park offers lots to see and do, and a hike is a great way to get started.
Route Details
Adventures abound year-round at Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park. You’ll find picnic areas for free use, lodge rentals, fishing ponds, creek access, sledding, cross-country skiing, skating, canoeing and kayaking, a Natural Play Area for the kids, a public hunting area, and, of course, hiking. The park’s landscape and waterways are as diverse as the activities they support. The trails detailed here feature two types of environments—creek bottomland and deciduous forest.
The Indian Ridge Picnic Area lies in the center of the park, but it may be the park’s least-used picnic area. From the north side, near a restroom, the Terrace Trail starts into the woods. The trail is wide, topped with crushed limestone, and well graded. The winding climb up the hillside is not abrupt, but a gradual incline that still gets the blood flowing. A trailside interpretive sign provides facts about wildlife species that inhabit the area, while a nearby bench offers a good resting spot. As the hill levels out, you’ll cross the park road on which you entered.
The forest opens up with less understory and larger-trunked hardwoods as the trail curves back toward the west. This stretch of deciduous forest provides the perfect setting for practicing tree identification. Consider bringing along an Eastern forest guidebook and see just how many different species you can recognize. At 1.1 miles the trail passes a piece of modern history, which many visitors will miss unless it’s a season with no vegetation. Then it sticks out like an old truck—because that’s what it is, or what’s left of it. To the right of the trail you’ll see a rusty red object sitting in the woods. A slim path makes its way to what’s left of the 1950s Chevrolet.
The trail continues through oaks and maples and down an appealing ravine with rocks from hand-size to those measuring a few feet in diameter scattered about the seasonal creek bed. A bench and interpretive sign sit on the edge of this ravine. The sign reveals how today’s landscape was carved out during the last glacial period, which also produced the peculiar looking stones. Leave the forest briefly and cross an opening dotted with wildflowers and shrubs. Then you’ll enter a younger woodland, and at 1.5 miles reach the Ancient Trail intersection on the left.
Follow the Ancient Trail along Big Darby Creek and its creek-bottom habitat. Wildflowers and riparian plants grow under the sporadic tree canopy shading most of the creek bank. Not only is the Big Darby a scenic river to view and paddle, but also the river’s underwater environment is just as appealing. The creek, which seems as wide as a river, supports threatened and endangered fish and mussels. Both the Big Darby’s and Little Darby’s mussels have been considered by some aquatic experts as the most diverse collection in North America.
A rise in the land takes the hike to the north corner of a meadow of approximately 50 acres. Also at this point is the dead end of Harrisburg-Georgesville Road. Signage here informs visitors arriving in vehicles that parking is allowed and points out the trail directions. The trail appears to be a dirt farm road with stands of trees on both sides.
Positioned just above the creek and along the meadow’s edge, at 2.2 miles, is the Ancient Mound. A comprehensive interpretive sign inspires many to gaze across the meadow and imagine what the long-gone American Indian village would have actually looked like. Nearly 1,000 years ago, what is now a meadow of wildflowers was then a field growing the “three sisters”: maize, beans, and squash. Now follow the trail on the mowed path south, then east, then north to return to the point where the road dead-ends, and enjoy the shaded walk to the Terrace Trail.
On the Terrace Trail, 3.6 miles into the hike, an intersecting dirt footpath leads down to the creek. The pathway to the Big Darby Creek is an extension of the 8-acre Natural Play Area that spreads out through the trees and shrubs to the right. Kids and accompanying adults are encouraged to take a hands-on approach as they explore the forest and creek. About 400 feet straight ahead, the Terrace Trail is met on the left by the Indian Ridge Trail. Turn left and walk about 100 feet around the bend to find a scenic vista of the Big Darby and Little Darby confluence. An iron train trestle crosses overhead, and creekside rocks, the perfect size to sit on with feet dangling in the water, line the gravel beach between creek and trail. Two interpretive signs stand here too, revealing the history of the railroad passing by and sharing white-tailed deer facts. Turn around and return to the Terrace Trail. Hike east 0.1 mile to an opening through the brush on the right, which leads to the Indian Ridge Picnic Area and your ride.
Nearby Attractions
With more than 7,000 acres of park, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding something interesting nearby. At the north end of the park, walk the Darby Creek Greenway Trail, starting at the Cedar Ridge entrance and parking area near the park office. Travel north on the wide gravel multiuse trail for about 1 mile to reach the fields that hold several bison—yes, buffalo. To the south of the park center, just south of Interstate 71, on the outskirts of Springlawn off OH 3, you’ll find a small fishing lake and a couple of miles of hiking trails circling the lake and passing through a woodlot and prairie.
Directions
From I-270 take Exit 7 and travel west on US 40 for 5.1 miles to Darby Creek Drive. Turn left and continue south 4.1 miles to the Indian Ridge entrance on the right.