A 32-mile bike loop from Upper Arlington: Griggs, the Olentangy Trail and downtown
A paved riverside path beside the Scioto in Upper Arlington on a clear morning
Four legs, roughly 32 miles and about three and a half riding hours, from Northam Park to the Scioto Mile and back on almost entirely paved, mostly car-free surface.
The shape of the ride: four legs, 32 miles, very little traffic
Upper Arlington itself is a poor place to ride a bike fast. Tremont, Fishinger and Lane Avenue carry commuter traffic with almost no protected lane, and the residential grid is a maze of curves that dead-ends into ravines. What saves the city is that it sits between two river corridors, both with continuous paved trail: the Scioto on its western edge and the Olentangy a mile and a half east. Ride out on one, come back on the other, and you get a loop of roughly 32 miles where perhaps three miles involve sharing a lane with cars.
Break it into four legs and it stops being an endurance event. Leg one runs north up the Scioto to Griggs Reservoir. Leg two crosses to Grandview and drops onto the Olentangy Trail. Leg three carries you into downtown and the Scioto Mile. Leg four climbs back north past Ohio State and turns west over the Lane Avenue bridge. A fit rider on a hybrid finishes in three and a half hours moving. Add stops and it becomes a full day, which is how most people should treat it.
Leg one: Northam Park to Griggs Reservoir, miles 0 to 8
Start at Northam Park on Northam Road, where there is free surface parking beside the tennis courts and a restroom block that opens in season. Roll west on Fishinger Road for about a mile of the least pleasant riding of the day, then turn north onto Riverside Drive and pick up the shared-use path that shadows it. From here you are beside water for the next four miles. Griggs Reservoir Park runs long and narrow along the east bank with picnic shelters, a boat ramp and a series of small gravel pull-offs where the water sits ten feet below the path.
This stretch is where the loop earns its reputation. The reservoir is a dammed section of the Scioto, so the surface is flat and often glassy before nine in the morning, and herons stand in the shallows near the wooded islands. Griggs Dam anchors the southern end. Turn around at the Hayden Run Road area, roughly mile eight, unless you are adding the Dublin extension. Bring water: there are drinking fountains in the park in warm months, but assume nothing between November and April and carry two bottles regardless.
Leg two: crossing to Grandview and picking up the Olentangy Trail, miles 8 to 18
Retrace south on the Riverside Drive path to Fifth Avenue, cross the Scioto, and you are in Grandview Heights within half a mile. This is the fiddly part of the loop and the only section worth studying on a map the night before, because the connection between the Scioto and Olentangy corridors runs through city streets and the exact best line changes with construction. Aim for Third Avenue eastbound, cross under the highway, and drop onto the Olentangy Trail near the river. Check the Columbus Recreation and Parks trail map for closures before you commit, since bridge work on this corridor is routine.
Grandview Avenue is the natural refuelling point at roughly mile 14. Stauf's Coffee Roasters has been on that strip for decades and there is a Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams a short block away, which is a better mid-ride calorie source than it sounds. Third & Hollywood on West Third does a proper sit-down lunch if you are treating this as a leisure day rather than a training ride. Lock up on the street; this is a walkable district and nobody minds a bike leaning against a parking meter for twenty minutes.
Leg three: downtown, the Scioto Mile and Audubon, miles 18 to 24
South of Third Avenue the Olentangy Trail runs beside the river to the confluence with the Scioto at North Bank Park, then feeds into the downtown greenway. This is the visual payoff of the ride. The Scioto Mile stretches along both banks with the Genoa Park lawn on one side and the fountain plaza on the other, and the riverfront was rebuilt wide enough that a bike, a stroller and a jogger can pass without negotiation. The National Veterans Memorial Museum sits on the west bank, a low concrete spiral that reads as sculpture from the saddle.
Keep going another mile and a half to Scioto Audubon Metro Park, the reclaimed industrial flat south of downtown with the outdoor climbing wall, boardwalks and the Grange Insurance Audubon Center. It is the natural turnaround at roughly mile 24 and it has real restrooms and water. Metro Parks sites here typically open around 7am and close at dark, but hours shift seasonally, so confirm with Metro Parks before planning an early or late finish. Land-Grant Brewing in Franklinton is a short ride west if you want a beer stop, with a large patio and bike parking.
Leg four: campus, Lane Avenue and home, miles 24 to 32
Head back north on the Olentangy Trail and the character changes again. You pass under the highway ramps, then along the west edge of Ohio State, with the Schottenstein Center and the practice fields on your right and Ohio Stadium's grey bulk visible above the trees. On a home football Saturday this section is unrideable in the four hours around kickoff; on a Tuesday in April it is one of the best urban trail miles in the state. Watch for pedestrians near the Lane Avenue and Ackerman Road access points, where students spill onto the path without looking.
Exit at the Lane Avenue bridge, roughly mile 29, and ride west. The bridge lane is narrow and the traffic is impatient, so take the sidewalk for the crossing if you are at all unsure. From the west end it is a mile and a half of Upper Arlington side streets back to Northam Park: Northwest Boulevard to Guilford, or cut north through the residential grid if you prefer curves to cars. Whole Foods on West Lane Avenue is the last easy stop for cold drinks before you finish.
Hazards, gear and the Dublin extension
Ride a hybrid, a gravel bike or a road bike with 28mm tyres or wider. The trail surface is asphalt throughout but frost heave leaves lips at bridge approaches and the Olentangy Trail floods after heavy rain, sometimes leaving grit and silt for days. Central Ohio summers push into the upper 80s with high humidity, so start by 8am in July and August; October is the best month of the year here, with dry paths, low 60s and a genuinely good colour show along the river. Winter riding is possible but the trails are not reliably cleared of snow.
If 32 miles is short for you, add the Dublin extension at Hayden Run: continue north on the Riverside Drive path toward Dublin, where the Dublin Link pedestrian bridge drops you into Bridge Park and the historic district for coffee. That adds roughly 12 miles round trip and about 90 minutes with a stop, turning the day into a 44-mile ride. Do not attempt to link Dublin to the Olentangy corridor across the top of the loop on your first outing; the connections north of Henderson Road involve real traffic.
Where to sleep, and two shorter versions
Upper Arlington has almost no lodging inside its own boundaries, so plan to sleep on its edges. The cluster of hotels along West Lane Avenue and Olentangy River Road near campus is the most useful base for this loop, since it sits within a mile of the trail exit and typically runs $150 to $260 a night midweek, spiking past $400 on football weekends. Grandview Yard, two miles from the ride's midpoint, holds a couple of chain properties in the $140 to $220 band. Select-service hotels further out toward Worthington, Hilliard and the airport run $95 to $150.
Not everyone wants a full day in the saddle. The best short version is the Griggs out-and-back: park at Northam Park, ride to Hayden Run and return, about 16 miles, flat, and suitable for a confident 11-year-old apart from the Fishinger Road mile. The second is the campus-and-downtown half: start at the Lane Avenue bridge, ride south to Scioto Audubon and back, about 18 miles with no road riding at all. If you only do one, do the second one; the riverfront scenery is stronger than the reservoir.
Before you book
What people ask before booking Northam.
Not easily as a single loop. CoGo bike share stations cluster downtown, in the Short North and around campus rather than in Upper Arlington, and the bikes are heavy for 32 miles. Rent a proper hybrid from a Columbus bike shop instead, or ride the downtown half on a CoGo e-bike. Check station locations in the app first.
The trail sections are, in daylight, with other users around. The three problem points are the Fishinger Road mile, the Fifth Avenue crossing into Grandview and the Lane Avenue bridge, all of which involve real traffic. Ride those three with them the first time, then let them do the trail-only version alone.
Late September through the end of October. Paths are dry, daytime highs sit in the low 60s to low 70s, humidity has broken and the river corridor colour peaks in the third and fourth weeks of October. April is the second choice, though spring flooding can leave silt on the Olentangy Trail for days.
