http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogNEW Travels and Journeys... Wed, 08 Sep 2010 02:00:26 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Copyright © 2010 Footsteps heather@heatherdugan.com (Heather Dugan) heather@heatherdugan.com (Heather Dugan) posts 1440 http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogNEW/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/powered_by_podpress.jpg http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogNEW 144 144 Footsteps Travels and Journeys... Travel, outdoors, adventure, Heather, Dugan, stories Heather Dugan Heather Dugan heather@heatherdugan.com no no http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogNEW/2009/01/27/in-town-tourist-three-creeks-metro-park/ http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogNEW/2009/01/27/in-town-tourist-three-creeks-metro-park/#comments Tue, 27 Jan 2009 19:10:22 +0000 Heather Dugan http://www.heatherdugan.com/blog/adventures/cycling/in-town-tourist-three-creeks-metro-park/ http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogNEW/2009/01/27/in-town-tourist-three-creeks-metro-park/feed/ 8 1:27 Three Creeks Metro Park Visitor Information and Map Three Creeks Metro Park is an easy afternoon escape in the warmer months. Less than thirty miles ... Three Creeks Metro Park Visitor Information and Map Three Creeks Metro Park is an easy afternoon escape in the warmer months. Less than thirty miles from my home, north of Columbus, it offers thirteen miles of paved trails, fishing ponds and streams, and an assortment of sports fields and playgrounds. Named for its idyllic setting amidst the confluence of three major streams, Three Creeks includes sections of two Franklin County Greenways trails -an interconnected recreational trail system being built along seven major waterways. I often ride the northern section of Three Creeks' longest trail. Someday, I'll be able to leave the truck at home and pedal all the way down. And back... I'm hoping they connect it all before my knees begin to notice the distance! Riding the Alum Creek and Blacklick Creek Greenway Trails back and forth in the park will give a cyclist an easy 22 miles. Loops such as the ones circling Heron Pond and Sycamore Fields add another couple of miles and some great people-watching moments. There are water crossings, shady wooded sections and wide open expanses of prairie fields that are great for speed and building up a good muscle burn. Picnicking possibilities are abundant; we often choose a grassy patch by Turtle Pond in the Confluence Trails area. My kids have passed through the playground stage, but there is a great climbing structure nearby. I've arrived in the parking lot with as many as four bikes and as few as one, and it's always a good ride. Three Creeks Metro Park Visitor Information and Map Three Creeks Metro Park (Columbus, Ohio) Miles and miles of hiking, biking and waterways at the confluence of Alum, Blacklick and Big Walnut Creeks 13+ paved trail miles, fishing, hiking, picnicking, playgrounds and sports fields "Yes" for pets (permitted on many trails) Address: 3860 Bixby Rd; Groveport, Ohio 43215 Phone: 614-645-3300 (Columbus Recreation and Parks Office) Park Website Directions: From I-270, take US 33 east to the South Hamilton Road exit. Travel right approximately one mile to Bixby Road. Turn right. Entrance is about 1 mile ahead on the right. View Larger Map Cycling, Ohio, Three Creeks Metro Park Heather Dugan no no http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogNEW/2009/01/20/pedaling-backwards/ http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogNEW/2009/01/20/pedaling-backwards/#comments Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:37:56 +0000 Heather Dugan http://www.heatherdugan.com/blog/in-town-tourists/pedaling-backwards/ http://www.heatherdugan.com/blogNEW/2009/01/20/pedaling-backwards/feed/ 10 1:10 Three Creeks Metro Park Visitor Information and Map Our waves of "warm" are riding a bit low. In the teens (Fahrenheit), presently... Wind chill? ... Three Creeks Metro Park Visitor Information and Map Our waves of "warm" are riding a bit low. In the teens (Fahrenheit), presently... Wind chill? Don't ask (but please commiserate). If you have to ask, you couldn't possibly understand. So why am I posting photos from a fall bike ride? Reread the previous paragraph. Ahhh... With these photos, I can almost remember when I craved a breeze and didn't need to bundle up against the possibility of one. -When I would freeze bottles of water to savor after a run or ride instead of discover them frozen solid, and undrinkable, in my cupholders. Here's to summer, fall and spring... Here's to sixty degrees and sunny (and for the record: I'm in no way opposed to sweating my way up to a more civil "ninety"). Here's to surviving what frequently makes us stronger, "psuedo-stoic" (having shivered away even the energy necessary for a good weather whine) and heightens the gratitude with which we will subsequently greet even the rainiest April day. Three Creeks Metro Park, with a trail system that winds through the confluence of seven major Ohio streams, is a worthy destination in any season. More details to follow... Three Creeks Metro Park Visitor Information and Map Three Creeks Metro Park (Columbus, Ohio) Miles and miles of hiking, biking and waterways at the confluence of Alum, Blacklick and Big Walnut Creeks 13+ paved trail miles, fishing, hiking, picnicking, playgrounds and sports fields Address: 3860 Bixby Rd; Groveport, Ohio 43215 Phone: 614-645-3300 (Columbus Recreation and Parks Office) Park Website Directions: From I-270, take US 33 east to the South Hamilton Road exit. Travel right approximately one mile to Bixby Road. Turn right. Entrance is about 1 mile ahead on the right. View Larger Map Cycling, Heart-to-Heart, Ohio, Three Creeks Metro Park Heather Dugan no no