My family and I love exploring on the weekend! Columbus has amazing options for food, festivals, and family-friendly destinations. We also try to check out as many of the awesome metro parks in Columbus as we can. We have many favorites, but the one we sometimes overlook is the one closest to our home - Glacier Ridge.
We do like visiting Glacier Ridge though. It’s our closest playground and we love that we can bike there as a family. It has plenty of great trails and bike paths to explore and they connect to the rest of the bike paths around Dublin. They also have some great events especially during the summer - everything from horseback riding to night hikes. Be sure to check the Metro Parks website for additional information.
I was surprised to find out that Glacier Ridge recently added a new and unique play area for children. As soon as we heard about it we headed over to check it out! Apparently, we weren't the only ones with the same idea. It was early in the day and the new equipment was already crowded with a number of families.
If you are familiar with the old play structure at Glacier Ridge (which still remains) - you will find the new play area just to the left. If you aren’t familiar with the park, it is hard to get lost. There is only one road. The park itself is just over 1,000 acres, but much of it was farmland, so the flat landscape lends itself to easy navigation.
Glacier Ridge is located on Hyland- Croy Road just off of 33 in Dublin. Take the exit where the new Dublin Costco is located and follow the signs. The portion of the park where the new play structures are located is the main park across from Glacier Ridge Elementary School. The entrance is north of the first park entrance at the Honda Wetlands portion and it’s easy for first-time visitors to get confused.
There was plenty of parking for all of us that had come to check out the new play area. The new area consisted of three main structures each made of wood. I guess I would describe the group of play pieces as a minimalist, modern and natural playscape. The largest piece is a climbing structure with areas to climb through and with ropes to climb and swing from. Next to that is another structure you can climb up, but the highlight for this one is a mini zip line for children. Needless to say, it was crowded and everyone was having fun. The final piece looked like a piece of ninja training equipment. It was a type of obstacle course you could climb your way through. This structure was the most crowded of the three, but there seemed to be some confusion on which direction the kids should be going.
If you are an adult looking for a ninja challenge all you need to do is look across the street. There is a huge adult obstacle course. It reminds me of those mud challenges without the mud. There are climbing walls and balance areas among many other items. It made me tired looking at it, but if you are up for a challenge this would be a great course to try out.
The new play structure at Glacier Ridge is great and well worth a visit! You and your family will enjoy your visit to the park. Be sure to add it to your list of things to do this summer.
