Pickerington Ponds Metro Park
Nature preserve
166 acres0.9 mi of trail
Yellowlegs TrailKilldeer Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Berniethomas68 at English Wikipedia · Public domainBOutdoors
Outdoors in Pickerington
5% of Pickerington’s land is conserved: 348 acres
The biggest trail networks: Pickerington Ponds Metro Park (0.9 mi). 88% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3.0 miles of mapped trail cross Pickerington, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns · #361 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
348 acres · of 10.2 sq mi of land
Trails
3.0 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
284 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
88%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
8.6 mi
0.8 mi lanes · 7.7 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is Pickerington?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Pickerington have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Pickerington is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns, #361 of 993 in Ohio. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Pickerington’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (284 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home88% of residents within a half mile of a park · OH 60% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 63%
LessMore
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 64%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to B+. 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 Pickerington Ponds Metro Park, with 0.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Sycamore Creek Park Arboretum
Managed by City Of Pickerington Park And Recreation Department
7 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Sycamore Creek Park
Managed by City Of Pickerington Parks and Recration Department
44 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Preston Trails Park
Managed by City Of Pickerington Park And Recreation Department
34 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 11 parks & preserves
Pickerington Ponds Metro Park166 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
DirectionsSycamore Creek Park Arboretum7 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · City Of Pickerington Park And Recreation Department
DirectionsWillow Pond Park7 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · City Of Pickerington Park And Recreation Department
Sycamore Creek Park44 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City Of Pickerington Parks and Recration Department
DirectionsVictory Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City Of Pickerington Parks and Recration Department
DirectionsPreston Trails Park34 acres · City Of Pickerington Park And Recreation Department
Simsbury Disc Golf Course31 acres
DirectionsBlacklick Woods Metro Park12 acres · Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks
Simsbury Park4 acres
DirectionsColony Park3 acres · City Of Pickerington Park And Recreation Department
Shawnee Crossing Park2 acres
Who protects it
348 conserved acres
5% of Pickerington’s land. Who manages Pickerington’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city210 ac
Regional agency138 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)78 ac
Local Park · 345 acConservation Easement · 78 acLocal Recreation Area · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pickerington Ponds Metropark Local Park | Regional agency | 138 | Open |
| Pickerington Youth Athletic Association Local Park | Town or city | 53 | Open |
| Sycamore Creek Park Local Park | Town or city | 48 | Open |
| Preston Trails Park Local Park | Town or city | 35 | Open |
| Simsbury Park Local Park | Town or city | 34 | Open |
| Diley Road Softball Fields Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Shawnee Crossing Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Willow Pond Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Victory Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Pickerington Community Pool Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
15 places to go in Pickerington
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Pickerington
Trampoline Park
DirectionsPlus 11 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Pickerington
Violet Township Dog Park
DirectionsScenic views in Pickerington
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Community gardens in Pickerington
Pickerington Community GardensIn Shawnee Crossing Park · City Of Pickerington Park And Recreation Department
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.9 mi
Yellowlegs Trail0.6 mi
Killdeer Trail0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
8.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.8 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
7.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
23Soccer
20Baseball
14Tennis
7Football
4Basketball
3Beach volleyball
2Softball
2Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Pickerington
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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 41 | 51 | 64 | 74 | 82 | 85 | 84 | 78 | 66 | 52 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.4 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 3.0 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Pickerington →
Next door
Pickerington 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pickerington | 5% | 0.3 | 12 | 88% | B |
| Columbus | 9% | 0.6 | 13 | 94% | A− |
| Violet Township | 4% | 0.3 | 21 | 69% | B |
| Madison Township | 9% | 0.5 | 70 | 86% | A− |
| Reynoldsburg | 12% | 1.0 | 22 | 66% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Pickerington
Where can I hike in Pickerington?
The longest trail networks: Pickerington Ponds Metro Park, 0.9 miles; Sycamore Creek Park Arboretum, 0.3 miles; Sycamore Creek Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Pickerington is conserved land?
5% 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 Pickerington’s trails?
Pickerington Ponds Metro Park and Sycamore Creek Park Arboretum don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Pickerington?
8.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.8 of painted or protected lanes and 7.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Pickerington?
11,659 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Pickerington or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 284 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Pickerington have?
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #361 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 Pickerington 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 →