Date: 12/12/2021 – Distance: 6.2 mi – Elapsed Time: 3.0 hr – Ascent: 679 ft – Descent: 930 ft – Difficulty: Difficult
This is my fourth hike of the Columbus and Franklin Park Metro Parks Winter Hike Challenge. I have to do 6 assigned parks for 3 months, and a total of 18 to complete the challenge.
Highbanks Metro Park is a large 1200 acre park on the north side of Columbus, Ohio and features many miles of trails, Nature Center, picnic areas, some Native American mounds, many deep ravines, and a nesting pair of eagles, which can be observed from an observation deck high above the Olentangy River.
Entrance to Highbanks off US 23 just south of Powell/Polaris Road.
I parked at the Nature Center. This lot can get full and if so, there are numerous other parking areas throughout the park.
The Nature Center is decorated for the seasons.
Map of the trails in this park.
Black or Grey Rat Snakes are a common site on the trails. They are non-venomous.
I’ve witnessed the aggressive tail vibrations.
Some other stakes you may encounter.
Great Horned Owl.
Common birdfeeder birds in Ohio.
He’s a big one.
This is a concretion. These round rocks are found embedded in shale. They are caused when decaying matter settled into the mud and caused a bubble. Later the after the sediment around it had hardened, this bubble then was replaced with minerals creating the distinctive shells around these rocks. They are commonly found in central Ohio. A few good places to see these are just north of Highbanks at Shale Hollow Park, and at Metzger Preserve in Williamsport, Ohio.
A little about the concretions.
How they were formed.
The trails around the Nature Center are decorated with lights at night.
The ravine behind the Nature Center is a big one.
An observation deck for the ravine.
I visited one of the mounds.
It’s a small one.
Highbanks has some big trees.
Observation blind at the wetland area.
To the eagles.
If you look closely you can see another indian mound. This one is a fort.
The trail crosses over it.
There is a small moat around it, which supports salamanders.
The eagles were out on their usual tree.
You can see their nest here.
The Olentangy River is high today.
From the observation deck. Look north along the river to where it bends. The eagles are in a large Sycamore tree at the bend.
A little about the eagles.
Some other things you may see here.
Another example of a large ravine here.
The ravines expose shale layers, which may contain fossils.
The Pool family cemetery is reconstructed using the original headstones found elsewhere in the park. The original cemetery location is unknown.
A little about the Pool’s.
Another ravine.
Some info about Red Foxes.
The trail goes under a bridge.
Erosion is a big problem.
The stream which carved the Dripping Rock ravine.
White oak is particularly resistant to moisture swelling and was used for constructing water wheels in the mills.
Here’s a big White Oak.
It’s an old one.
An observation deck over a prairie on the north end of the park.
It always surprises me how big this place is.
Dripping Rock ravine.
There is some nice exposed shale in this part of the ravine.
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