Columbia Reservation
Managed by Lorain County Metro Parks
287 acres2 mi of trail
Oxbow TrailBlack Cherry TrailBriarwood Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: SilentMatt Psychedelic · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Columbia Township
Columbia Township has 776 acres of parks, 97 for every 1,000 residents
12% of Columbia Township’s land is conserved, about 1,953 acres. The biggest trail networks: Columbia Reservation (2 mi), Dorlon Reservation (1.5 mi), Columbia Park (0.7 mi). 16 miles of mapped trail cross Columbia Township, 0.6 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns · #177 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
1,953 acres · of 25.5 sq mi of land
Trails
16 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
776 ac
97 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
43%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.5 mi
0.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
7
What kind of outdoors town is Columbia Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Columbia Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Columbia Township is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #177 of 993 in Ohio. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Columbia Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (16 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land97 acres of park per 1,000 residents (776 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home43% of residents within a half mile of a park · OH 60% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 78%
LessMore
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 82%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Columbia Reservation, with 2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Dorlon Reservation
Managed by Lorain County Metro Parks
236 acres1.5 mi of trail
Dorlon TrailParking Lot Connector
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Columbia Park
Managed by Columbia Township
24 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
1,953 conserved acres
12% of Columbia Township’s land. Who manages Columbia Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners1,260 ac
Joint257 ac
Regional agency242 ac
County134 ac
Town or city61 ac
Private Park · 1,207 acLocal Park · 438 acConservation Easement · 257 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 52 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 256 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emerald Woods Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 324 | Open |
| Hickory Nut Golf Club Private Park | Private owners | 243 | Open |
| Lorain County Metro Parks Local Park | Regional agency | 242 | Open |
| Dorlon Park Golf Club Private Park | Private owners | 231 | Open |
| Columbia Hills Country Club Private Park | Private owners | 155 | Open |
| Royal Crest Golf Club Private Park | Private owners | 135 | Open |
| Columbia Reservation Local Park | County | 134 | Restricted |
| Riverside Golf Club Private Park | Private owners | 120 | Open |
| Columbia Park Local Park | Town or city | 61 | Open |
| Wildwood Lake Park Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 52 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Columbia Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Columbia Township
Plus 3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
5 named trails and 7 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.3 mi
Dorlon Trail1.4 mi
Oxbow Trail0.8 mi
Black Cherry Trail0.8 mi
Briarwood Trail0.4 mi
Parking Lot Connector0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Baseball
4Soccer
3Basketball
2Tennis
1Volleyball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Columbia Township: April to September
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 37 | 46 | 60 | 71 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 63 | 50 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 2.8 |
February is the driest month (2.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Columbia Township →
Next door
Columbia Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Township | 12% | 0.6 | 97 | 43% | A− |
| Eaton Township | 5% | 0.9 | 10 | 30% | B− |
| Liverpool Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 5 | 8% | D |
| Strongsville | 16% | 0.8 | 8 | 63% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Columbia Township
Where can I hike in Columbia Township?
The longest trail networks: Columbia Reservation, 2 miles; Dorlon Reservation, 1.5 miles; Columbia Park, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Columbia Township is conserved land?
12% of its land, against a typical 3% for an Ohio town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Columbia Township’s trails?
Columbia Reservation and Dorlon Reservation don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Columbia Township?
0.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Columbia Township?
9,561 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Columbia Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 776 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Columbia Township have?
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #177 of 993 in Ohio. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Columbia Township neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →