The kids and I headed out east to explore Dawes Arboretum, and all I can say is, how have I lived in Columbus for 9 years and have not gone here before? 
Every Wednesday during the summer they have Little Buckeye's imagination session at 2pm. so we went to check this program out. The class meets outside the visitors center on a wood deck that surrounds a giant American beech tree (See I did learn something about trees)
After that the kids and I had a little snack on the picnic benches by the parking lot and they were thrilled to play/eat on the tree table and chairs. I'm not sure how much they ate but they sure did have fun and then we went on a hike. The trails are all gravel or mowed grass and very well marked. Pick up a map at the visitors center. We went and saw the Japanese garden and the log cabin. Both very cool! They have markers all along telling you what kind of tree or plant your looking at. At the Japanese garden there is a sign that explains what each of the garden features stand for. 
When the kids started to whine about being hot & tired I decided it was time to go. I made the impulse decision to drive through the park on the auto tour and I am SO glad that I did. We got to see so much and didn't have to lug the kids the whole way. There were places to pull over along the drive so if there was something you really wanted to stop and see a little better you could. The kids insisted that we stop at the observation tower. I will warn you that if your at all afraid of heights... you should stay on the first level.
We went to the top and I about had a panic attack. It's completely safe and well maintained but then some of our fears are just not logical! The kids thought I was CRAZY!!! That aside... I am so excited to have finally discovered Dawes Arboretum! It is breath taking beautiful! It's a great way to get out into nature without coming home completely covered in it! You'll want to bring the whole family, have a picnic and then walk the trails. All the trails that we were on would be stroller friendly.
The bottom of the visitor center is an nature center. It has a bird watching garden and a working beehive. They also had snakes and turtles for the kids to look at up close. The arboretum has several events that go on through out the year. check out their calendar of events on their website. http://www.dawesarb.org/events/
Over all rating A+... great environment, great facilities, family friendly, and FREE!!! We will definitely be going back it is worth the drive!
Every Wednesday during the summer they have Little Buckeye's imagination session at 2pm. so we went to check this program out. The class meets outside the visitors center on a wood deck that surrounds a giant American beech tree (See I did learn something about trees) It started with the kids making names tags and then they were each given a picture with a bug on it. They talked about water bugs/insects. I have to say that my oldest (9) and youngest (3) were not to hip on this part. The 3 year old wandered around and was more interested in the water fountain and the 9 year old thought the singing was a little dorky... but the 5 year old listened with great interest. After the brief lesson about the bugs we all walked down to a clearing and played bug tag. You were suppose to act like whatever bug you had a picture of on your wrist. 
They all loved that. Then they divided the kids and the younger one's went over to buckets with water bugs in them and got to fish them out with little nets and put them on a white tray with water to look at them a little closer. 
The bigger kids got to use BIG nets and went to a small pond to try and find water bugs. They found snails and beetles, and some other little creatures and they LOVED finding them all by themselves.
They all loved that. Then they divided the kids and the younger one's went over to buckets with water bugs in them and got to fish them out with little nets and put them on a white tray with water to look at them a little closer. The bigger kids got to use BIG nets and went to a small pond to try and find water bugs. They found snails and beetles, and some other little creatures and they LOVED finding them all by themselves. After that the kids and I had a little snack on the picnic benches by the parking lot and they were thrilled to play/eat on the tree table and chairs. I'm not sure how much they ate but they sure did have fun and then we went on a hike. The trails are all gravel or mowed grass and very well marked. Pick up a map at the visitors center. We went and saw the Japanese garden and the log cabin. Both very cool! They have markers all along telling you what kind of tree or plant your looking at. At the Japanese garden there is a sign that explains what each of the garden features stand for. When the kids started to whine about being hot & tired I decided it was time to go. I made the impulse decision to drive through the park on the auto tour and I am SO glad that I did. We got to see so much and didn't have to lug the kids the whole way. There were places to pull over along the drive so if there was something you really wanted to stop and see a little better you could. The kids insisted that we stop at the observation tower. I will warn you that if your at all afraid of heights... you should stay on the first level. We went to the top and I about had a panic attack. It's completely safe and well maintained but then some of our fears are just not logical! The kids thought I was CRAZY!!! That aside... I am so excited to have finally discovered Dawes Arboretum! It is breath taking beautiful! It's a great way to get out into nature without coming home completely covered in it! You'll want to bring the whole family, have a picnic and then walk the trails. All the trails that we were on would be stroller friendly.The bottom of the visitor center is an nature center. It has a bird watching garden and a working beehive. They also had snakes and turtles for the kids to look at up close. The arboretum has several events that go on through out the year. check out their calendar of events on their website. http://www.dawesarb.org/events/
Over all rating A+... great environment, great facilities, family friendly, and FREE!!! We will definitely be going back it is worth the drive!
Getting there
It really doesn't take that long to get there. I live on the West side of Columbus and it took me 44 minutes door to door so don't let the drive scare you off. Take I70 east toward Newark. Take the Ohio -13 exit 132. and go north 3 miles.Physical address 7770 Jackstown Rd. Newark, Oh 43056
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