Johnny Molloy - Best Hikes Near Columbus

Johnny Molloy is a writer and adventurer based in Johnson City, Tennessee. His outdoor passion started on a backpacking trip in Great Smoky Mountains National Park while attending the University of Tennessee. That first foray unleashed a love of the outdoors that has led Molloy to spending most of his time hiking, backpacking, canoe camping, and tent camping for the past three decades. Friends enjoyed his outdoor adventure stories; one even suggested he write a book. He pursued his friends idea and soon parlayed his love of the outdoors into an occupation. His efforts have resulted in more than forty-five booksso far. His writings include guidebooks on camping and paddling, comprehensive guidebooks about specific areas, and true outdoor adventure books covering the eastern United States. Molloy has also authored these FalconGuides:

A FalconGuide to Mammoth Cave National Park

Best Easy Day Hikes Cincinnati

Best Easy Day Hikes Greensboro and Winston-Salem

Best Easy Day Hikes Jacksonville, Florida

Best Easy Day Hikes New River Gorge

Best Easy Day Hikes Richmond, Virginia

Best Easy Day Hikes Springfield, Illinois

Best Easy Day Hikes Tallahassee

Best Easy Day Hikes Tampa Bay

Best Hikes Near Cincinnati

Molloy writes for various magazines and websites and is a columnist/feature writer for his local paper, the Johnson City Press. He continues to write and travel extensively throughout the United States, endeavoring in a variety of outdoor pursuits. His non-outdoor interests include American history and University of Tennessee sports. For the latest on Johnny, please visit johnnymolloy.com.

Thanks to all the people of Columbus who shared their favorite places to hike, including Jerry Urse and Ross Long. Thanks to Merrell for providing me with great hiking boots, hiking shoes, and sandals for the trail. Thanks to DeLorme for the fine GPS used to create maps for this book. Thanks also to the folks at FalconGuides/GPP, especially Jess Haberman and Katie Benoit.

Even fungi can be a beautiful woodland surprise.

This hike covers many diverse sites and scenery at big Prairie Oaks Metro Park. First it travels past several lakes that are part of an old reclaimed surface-mine pit where sand was once extracted. The hike straddles an elevated berm with Big Darby Creek on one side and the Darby Bend Lakes on the othertalk about a watery walk!then explores woods along lower Big Darby Creek. Visit creekside lowlands before climbing to the Sycamore Plains, a restored upland prairie displaying yet another ecosystem. Head back north toward the Darby Bend Lakes for more still-water scenery before reaching the trailhead.

Start: Darby Bend Lakes entrance road

Distance: 5.6 miles in multiple loops

Hiking time: About 3.5 to 4.5 hours

Difficulty: Moderate; does have some hills

Trail surface: Gravel and natural surface

Best season: Year-round; spring and fall for wildflowers

Other trail users: Joggers and bicyclists on Darby Creek Greenway Trail

Canine compatibility: Leashed dogs permitted

Land status: Metro Parks

Fees and permits: None

Schedule: Open daily year-round, 6:30 a.m. to dark

Maps: Prairie Oaks Metro Park; USGS West Jefferson, Galloway, Plain City

Trail contact: Metro Parks, 1069 W. Main St., Westerville, OH 43081; (614) 891-0700; www.metroparks.net

Finding the trailhead: From exit 85 on I-70, west of downtown Columbus, take Plain CityGeorgesville Road north for 2.1 miles to Lucas Road, which becomes Beach Road. (Do not turn into the main park entrance on the west side of Prairie Oaks Park.) Follow Lucas/Beach Road 0.7 mile to reach Amity Road. Turn right on Amity Road and follow it 0.4 mile to the Darby Bend Lakes entrance of Prairie Oaks Metro Park. At 0.1 mile, park on your right. Trailhead GPS: N39 59.610' / W83 15.541'

W hat I like about this hike is the ever-changing scenery. Its not just miles and miles of walking through endless forest, or open grasslands, or hill after hill; rather it is the fluctuating settings on many different trails, yet the way is clear and well-marked. Speaking of trails, even they are different from one another. At one point you may be on a wide gravel track, while at other times your trail will be grassy or composed of rocks and roots and other natural ingredients. So strap on your hiking boots and get ready for a multiplicity of environments on this hike.

Water is a big part of this adventure. It isnt long before you are walking alongside the shore of the Darby Bend Lakes on the Mound Trail. Yes, theres even a relic Indian mound that you can visit. Historic burial mounds, such as this one, are found throughout central Ohio and look like low hills of dirt grown over with grass and/or trees. Some have been systematically excavated, while others have not. Some have been torn apart by amateurs looking for something valuable. So even though you see what looks like a nondescript hill, having this mound inside a park increases its likelihood for long-term preservation.

Fall colors border the grassy track.

Four impoundments comprise the Darby Bend Lakes. The most northerly of the lakes are open to fishing and nonmotorized boating, meaning canoeing or kayaking, but anglers may be seen in johnboats vying for fish. The smallest and centermost lake is open to angling for children only. The southernmost lake is open to everyone for fishing.

The aquatic adventure increases when you come alongside Big Darby Creek. It is not often the hiker can walk a trail with a lake on one side and a moving stream on the other, especially when theres not a flood! You will stay alongside Big Darby Creek for a couple of miles, utilizing several different trails. At first the hike takes you around the actual Darby Bend. It was this pronounced curve in the creek that indirectly caused this park to be. Historically, in times of flood, sediment-filled water would cut across the bend, depositing sand with each high-water event. Later, the sand deposit was seen as an extractable resource and was mined. The trail travels atop a berm that was constructed to keep Big Darby Creek from flooding the mine pit. Ironically, this berm is now part of the trail system, after being lowered to allow flood waters into the Darby Bend Lakes. But after the mine was given up, it was purchased by the Metro Parks system and became part of Prairie Oaks Metro Park. We will never know, but perhaps this particular area might not have ended up a park if it wasnt mined for sand first.

Be sure to detour to the bridge over Big Darby Creek, near the Alder Trail junction. Good stream views can be had here. Once on the Alder Trail, walk beneath pawpaw, sycamore, ash, walnut, and honey locust. These creekside lowlands may be flooded in spring. You will enjoy prolonged looks at Big Darby Creek, though you do occasionally pull away from the stream in the wettest of areas. A portion of the Sycamore Plains trail network keeps you cruising along Big Darby Creek in big woods. Eventually you turn back away from the creek and climb up to the actual Sycamore Plains, a prairie area that is also growing up with young sycamore trees. The hike here is scenic, but the noise from I-70 can be loud with a south wind.