Highbanks Metro Park: A Creek Adventure

It is no secret that I absolutely love our Columbus Metro Parks and feel very fortunate to have them in our backyard. They have been such an amazing resource to safely get us out of the house during the last few months.

Last weekend, we decided to go to one of our favorites – Highbanks. Typically, we go to the Nature Center (currently closed) and don’t get much further because it is AWESOME and has a great trail right behind it. This time, we were set on creeking and knew Highbanks had a great spot. My husband has been creeking here years ago, but I don’t think I have? Maybe I have and just don’t remember. Either way, it was amazing. The best experience we’ve had so far with the girls.

The number one question I’ve been getting is, “Where is this at in the park!?” Like I said, I never venture further than the Nature Center, so I had no idea where it was. With that being said, it was VERY EASY to find. If you turn into the park and follow the road towards the back of the park, you’ll go until you see “Big Meadows Picnic Area.” You will see the sign on your right and the parking lot on your left. Once you’re parked, you’ll see a pathway on your right. Take that to the sign that has a fish on it. It tells you to turn left. Follow that until you hear/see the water! To get down the water, you go down a dirt type of path, a few bumps and sticks. We took the wagon down and were totally fine. This might sound confusing, but once you’re there – it is easy to find. There is also a playground over there and (I think) I saw a HUGE zipline!

We went around 3:30PM on Sunday afternoon and it was not busy at all. When we got there, I saw 1-2 families and a few kayakers in the distance (not close and on other side of water). The area is very big, making it VERY easy to social distance if needed. We ended up walking down a bit further and were the only ones there. It was fantastic. The water wasn’t deep at all, above the ankle and below the knee on the girls. You could clearly see the bottom. In the distance, on the other side, it did look a bit deeper – but, we didn’t venture off the shore that far. We saw a few little minnows, but nothing bigger. We stopped at the Dollar Tree before (the one where everything is $1) and picked up a few shovels/buckets/net for the girls to play with. They used them half the time. They were mostly interested in all of the flat rocks and shells!