Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park
Managed by Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks (Metro Parks)
3,202 acres21.6 mi of trail
Ancient TrailDyer Mill Ski Trail ATerrace TrailWagtail Trail A+1
No dogs
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Photo: Sixflashphoto · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Pleasant Township
Pleasant Township has 4,241 acres of parks, 637 for every 1,000 residents
16% of Pleasant Township’s land is conserved, about 4,415 acres. The biggest trail networks: Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park (21.6 mi), Darby Plains/Wet Prairie Restoration Area (0.9 mi). 29 miles of mapped trail cross Pleasant Township, 0.7 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns · #107 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Conserved land
16%
4,415 acres · of 43.0 sq mi of land
Trails
29 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
4,241 ac
637 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
44%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.1 mi
4.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
4
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Pleasant Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Pleasant Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Pleasant Township is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #107 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 Pleasant Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land16% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (29 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land637 acres of park per 1,000 residents (4,241 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home44% 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 84%
LessMore
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 89%
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 Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park, with 21.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Darby Plains/Wet Prairie Restoration Area
Nature preserve
131 acres0.9 mi of trail
Harrier LoopDarby Creek Greenway Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
4,415 conserved acres
16% of Pleasant Township’s land. Who manages Pleasant Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency3,831 ac
Town or city407 ac
Private owners164 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)32 ac
Not recorded11 ac
Local Park · 4,070 acLocal Recreation Area · 178 acPrivate Park · 164 acConservation Easement · 32 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batelle-Darby Creek Metropark Local Park | Regional agency | 3,831 | Open |
| Parker Tract Acquisition Local Park | Town or city | 228 | Open |
| Hickory Hills Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 178 | Open |
| Oakhurst Country Club Private Park | Private owners | 164 | Open |
| Camp Chase Trail Local Park | Not recorded | 8 | Open |
| Unknown Local Park Local Park | Not recorded | 3 | Open |
Things to do
16 places to go in Pleasant Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Pleasant Township
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Pleasant Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Pleasant Township
4 scenic views without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Pleasant Township
Little Darby Picnic AreaIn Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park
DirectionsWhite Oak Grove Group Picnic AreaIn Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park
DirectionsPlus 3 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Pleasant Township
Shagbark Grove Group Picnic AreaIn Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park
DirectionsTrails & water
13 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 5.8 mi
Ancient Trail2.4 mi
Dyer Mill Ski Trail A2.3 mi
Terrace Trail1.7 mi
Wagtail Trail A1.4 mi
Darby Creek Greenway Trail1.4 mi
Cobshell Trail0.7 mi
Indian Ridge Trail0.5 mi
Dyer Mill Ski Trail C0.4 mi
Wagtail Trail C0.3 mi
Dyer Mill Ski Trail B0.3 mi
3 more trails
Harrier Loop
0.3 miRiffle Run
0.3 miWagtail Trail B
0.2 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Darby Creek TrailBike route
1.4 miCourts & fields
2Basketball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Pleasant Township
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 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.3 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2.9 |
February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.3 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Pleasant Township →
Next door
Pleasant Township and its neighbors
Pleasant Township has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Columbus138 miPleasant Township29 miJackson Township18 miGrove City17 miPrairie Township10 miScioto Township5.0 miDarby Township2.7 miFairfield Township0.5 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pleasant Township | 16% | 0.7 | 637 | 44% | A− |
| Columbus | 9% | 0.6 | 13 | 94% | A− |
| Prairie Township | 8% | 0.6 | 32 | 93% | A− |
| Jackson Township | 7% | 0.5 | 31 | 95% | A− |
| Darby Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 13 | 47% | C |
| Fairfield Township | 3% | under 0.1 | 81 | 24% | C+ |
| Scioto Township | 2% | 0.1 | 2 | 51% | C− |
| Grove City | 9% | 0.9 | 28 | 98% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Pleasant Township
Where can I hike in Pleasant Township?
The longest trail networks: Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park, 21.6 miles; Darby Plains/Wet Prairie Restoration Area, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Pleasant Township is conserved land?
16% 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 Pleasant Township’s trails?
Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park and Darby Plains/Wet Prairie Restoration Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Pleasant Township?
4.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.1 of off-road paths. Named routes: Darby Creek Trail.
Is there public land near Pleasant Township?
14,549 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Pleasant Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,241 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Pleasant Township have?
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #107 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 Pleasant 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 →