Outdoor & Nature
A federally designated scenic river with more freshwater mussel species than almost any comparable waterway in the country, a 27,500-acre park system spanning seven counties, and glacier-carved bluffs rising 110 feet over the Olentangy River.
Big Darby Creek
Big Darby Creek, which runs through Union, Madison, and Franklin counties past Hilliard on Columbus's west side, was designated an Ohio state scenic river in 1984 and added to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System in 1994. For a waterway its size, it has the greatest diversity of freshwater mussels documented anywhere in North America -- 40 species -- along with 72 recorded fish species and 86 bird species, a biodiversity record uncommon for a stream running this close to a major metro area.
Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks
Organized in 1945 as its own political subdivision of Ohio, the Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks system now protects more than 27,500 acres across 20 parks spanning seven central Ohio counties. Two of its parks -- Blacklick Woods and Highbanks -- carry National Natural Landmark designation, and its largest park, Battelle Darby Creek at more than 7,100 acres, maintains a restored tallgrass prairie with its own herd of American bison.
Highbanks Metro Park
Highbanks Metro Park, designated a National Natural Landmark in 1980, is known for steep bluffs above the Olentangy River -- some rising 110 feet -- carved by glacial meltwater roughly 10,000 years ago and exposing rock formations up to 350 million years old. The 1,200-acre park, the most-visited in the Metro Parks system at roughly 1 million visitors a year, also contains Adena-culture earthworks listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has hosted a nesting pair of bald eagles since 2010.