Rush Run Parkland
Nature preserve
37 acres1.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainAOutdoors
Outdoors in Worthington
Worthington has 9.0 miles of mapped trails, 1.6 for every square mile of land
93% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Rush Run Parkland (1.7 mi), Olentangy River Parklands (1.6 mi), Linworth Park (0.6 mi). 8% of Worthington’s land is conserved, about 277 acres.
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns · #48 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
277 acres · of 5.5 sq mi of land
Trails
9.0 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
332 ac
22 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
93%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
9.0 mi
0.5 mi lanes · 6.8 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Worthington?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Worthington have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Worthington is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #48 of 993 in Ohio. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Worthington’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical OH town 3% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · OH 0.2 · U.S. 0.4APark land22 acres of park per 1,000 residents (332 acres) · OH 15 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home93% of residents within a half mile of a park · OH 60% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 90%
LessMore
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 95%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Rush Run Parkland, with 1.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Olentangy River Parklands
Park
183 acres1.6 mi of trail
Olentangy Trail Footpath
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Snouffer Road Park
Park
23 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 19 parks & preserves
Rush Run Parkland37 acres · 1.7 mi of trail
DirectionsOlentangy River Parklands183 acres · 1.6 mi of trail
DirectionsLinworth Park12 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsPerry Park20 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsEast Granville Park9 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsSnouffer Road Park23 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsPark Boulevard Park8 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsIndianola Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsPingree Park2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsAntrim Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
McCord Park16 acres
DirectionsHuntley Bowl Park7 acres
DirectionsHartford Park4 acres
DirectionsWilson Hill Park3 acres
DirectionsWorthington Village Green3 acres
DirectionsOlentangy River State Wildlife Access Area2 acres
DirectionsSelby Park2 acres
DirectionsShaker Square Park1 acres
Heischman Park1 acres
Who protects it
277 conserved acres
8% of Worthington’s land. Who manages Worthington’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city272 ac
State natural resources5 ac
Regional agency3 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1 ac
Local Park · 274 acUnknown Easement · 3 acState Conservation Area · 2 acLocal Historic or Cultural Area · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 23 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olentangy River Parklands Local Park | Town or city | 66 | Open |
| Perry Park Local Park | Town or city | 46 | Open |
| Rush Run Parkland Local Park | Town or city | 39 | Open |
| Antrim Park North Local Park | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Walnut Grove Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Mccord Park Local Park | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Linworth Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| East Granville Rd Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Huntley Bowl Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Village Green Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
33 places to go in Worthington
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Worthington
Evening Street Playground
DirectionsHighgate PlaygroundIn Olentangy River Parklands
DirectionsWhitney PlaygroundIn Olentangy River Parklands
DirectionsPlus 25 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Worthington
5 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
6 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.5 miUnpaved · 5.4 mi
Cardinal Cross-Country Course1.2 mi
Olentangy Trail Footpath0.9 mi
Cardinal Cross-Country Course: John Galipault Loop0.3 mi
Abolition Alley0.2 mi
Fox Lane Floodplain Dog Path0.2 mi
Walnut Grove-Selby Connector0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
9.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.5 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
6.8 mi
off-road bike paths
1.7 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
21Baseball
19Tennis
15Soccer
12Basketball
7Football
6Pickleball
1Lacrosse
1Multi-sport
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →30 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 6 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
New England LodgeBuilding · listed 1973
About itButtles-Johnson HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itWorthington Manufacturing Company BoardinghouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itJohn Snow HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itAurora Buttles HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itCapt. J. S. Skeele HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itDemas Adams HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itGardner HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itGilbert HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itGilbert-Wilcox HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itHorace Wright HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itHotel CentralBuilding · listed 1980
About it18 more on the History page.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Worthington
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 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 36 | 40 | 50 | 64 | 74 | 82 | 85 | 84 | 78 | 65 | 52 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.9 |
February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Worthington →
Next door
Worthington and its neighbors
Worthington has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worthington | 8% | 1.6 | 22 | 93% | A |
| Sharon Township | 19% | 1.6 | 74 | 94% | A+ |
| Perry Township | 31% | 4.0 | 3 | 60% | A− |
| Riverlea | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Worthington
Where can I hike in Worthington?
The longest trail networks: Rush Run Parkland, 1.7 miles; Olentangy River Parklands, 1.6 miles; Linworth Park, 0.6 miles; Perry Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Worthington is conserved land?
8% 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 Worthington’s trails?
Rush Run Parkland and Olentangy River Parklands don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Worthington?
9.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of painted or protected lanes, 6.8 of off-road paths and 1.7 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Worthington?
22,444 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Worthington or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 332 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Worthington have?
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #48 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 Worthington 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 →