Glen Echo Park

Very beautiful park! Glen Echo is a ravine in the Clintonville area which offers a nice respite from the busy streets above. There are a couple of ways to access the park, all of which take you below street level to a quiet natural area. The Indianola Avenue bridge has some terrific bird paintings beneath it to enjoy. A path leads through the park, which has been nicely fixed up with informational signs about the nature in the area and about how the sloping walls of the ravine have been adjusted with plantings. A creek meanders through the area too. There are also some picnic tables available.
The park is not huge, but it links up nicely with the streets via service road on one side and stairs on another, so you could go for a longer walk/​jog by using the sidewalks, as well.

To truly know Columbus’ green spaces one must start with the cities many ravines that randomly cuts the landscape in the heart of the city. There is no better example of them then Glenn Echo, the Olentangy watershed gouge whose stream starts at the origins of Summit/​4^th Street and makes its way to the river until obstructed by High Street, then flows through a draining pipe known locally as Hell’s Gate.
The park is a wilderness escape in the midst of the cities most dense neighborhood.
Looking down from its steep cliff on Cliffside Drive one is impress by its natural beauty. A wooden staircase brings one down into the ravine, where a small bridge takes explorers over the ravine’s stream. There are not many man made things – the path, some picnic tables, and a few informative plaques are the only reminders of civilization. The wealth of trees, plants, birds and other critters makes this a goldmine for those interested.
Towards the cliff one can see exposed the bedrock that the Wisconsin Glaciers rubbed away thousands of years ago to make the ravines.
The path continues with the stream to the scenic Indianola Bridge (a side trail takes you under impressive hillside apartments to a bridge supporting Arcadia Avenue that is pretty ugly in comparison.) Underneath the bridge is a nice mural celebrating the bird life found in the park.
Beyond is a small foot worn trail that leads towards High; with the chlorophyll green of the wilderness crowding around you, one would think you were in the boondocks of Hocking Hills, not in a busy neighborhood. If one blacked-​out during a bender and awoke here, one would wonder if he was abducted by aliens and left in the western wilds.
Glenn Echo has a place in my heart; as a student years ago, I would walk here from my slumlord student pad on Summit to shake off depression of school, money, or social problem. The quiet, peaceful beauty of the ravine would get the endorphins flowing, and recharge my gumption for life. That in itself is 5-​stars. Since then, the park has only gotten better, with help of a group of locals dedicated to keeping the park pristine and fighting the threats of erosion and urbanization. You can tell a lot of money and love has been put in action here.
This is truly a local treasure.