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48 hours in Upper Arlington

Two nights, one small city of about 36,000 people, and roughly 12 square miles of parks, 1920s architecture and shopping centers you can cover almost entirely on foot and by short drives.

Guide
Itineraries
Length
9 min read
Updated
2026-08-24
Region
Upper Arlington
Brick and slate 1920s houses on a tree-lined street in Old Arlington Brick and slate 1920s houses on a tree-lined street in Old Arlington

Where to base yourself for two nights

Upper Arlington itself has almost no hotel stock, which surprises first-time visitors. The honest answer is that you sleep on the edges and drive in, and the three edges worth your money are Grandview Yard, the Lane Avenue and Olentangy River Road corridor next to Ohio State, and Bridge Park in Dublin. Grandview Yard puts the Hyatt Place Columbus/OSU on Yard Street and a Hilton Garden Inn within a five-minute drive of Upper Arlington's southern border, usually for $130 to $180 a night midweek. That is the sweet spot for a 48-hour visit because you get walkable dinner without paying campus-hotel prices.

The Olentangy River Road cluster, including Residence Inn Columbus OSU and The Blackwell Inn on campus, runs $150 to $220 and spikes hard on Ohio State football Saturdays, when two-night minimums and rates north of $300 are normal. Check the Buckeyes home schedule before you book anything. Bridge Park in Dublin, with the AC Hotel Columbus Dublin around $150 to $200, is the choice if you want a river promenade and a food hall after dark. All three sit within 10 to 20 minutes of Tremont Center, and parking is free at every Upper Arlington destination in this guide.

Friday evening: Tremont Center and a first walk

Drop your bag and drive straight to Tremont Center, the small shopping crescent at Tremont Road and Zollinger Road that has anchored Upper Arlington's social life since the 1950s. Get a pizza at Michael's Pizza, a Tremont Center fixture where a medium runs roughly $16 to $20, then walk two doors down for a scoop of black raspberry chocolate chip at Graeter's for about $5. The parking lot is free and rarely full after 6 pm. This is not a nightlife district, and that is precisely the point: families, high schoolers and retirees all use the same 200 feet of sidewalk.

Afterward, cross Tremont Road on foot to Northam Park, 22 acres with tennis courts, a playground and the Tremont Pool, and loop the perimeter path in about 20 minutes. The Upper Arlington Public Library main branch at 2800 Tremont Road sits on the same block and stays open until 9 pm most weeknights, with clean restrooms, free wifi and a decent local-history shelf if you want context on the Thompson brothers who platted the place in 1913. Ending the night here rather than downtown sets the correct expectation for the weekend: this is a residential city that rewards slow looking.

Saturday morning: Old Arlington on foot

Start early on Arlington Avenue in the Old Arlington historic district, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and remains the best architectural walk in central Ohio outside German Village. Park free near Mallway Park at Arlington Avenue and the Mallway, a pocket green with a bandstand where the city holds summer concerts. From there, walk north and west along Cambridge Boulevard, Roxbury Road and Andover Road. You will pass Tudor Revival, Colonial Revival, Craftsman and Spanish Mission houses built mostly between 1917 and 1930, with slate roofs, leaded glass and original carriage-house garages set back off the alleys.

Give the loop 90 minutes and keep to the sidewalks, because these are private homes and residents notice. Two details worth hunting: the curving street grid, which was laid out to follow contours rather than the standard Columbus rectangle, and the stone gateposts marking original subdivision entrances. Miller Park Library at 1901 Arlington Avenue makes a good midpoint stop. Coffee is thin on the ground inside the district, so bring a cup with you or drive four minutes to Colin's Coffee on Riverside Drive, where a latte runs about $4.50 and the counter opens at 6:30 am on weekdays.

Saturday afternoon: parks, the Scioto, and Jack Nicklaus

Upper Arlington maintains more than 20 parks, and three deserve your afternoon. Fancyburg Park off Kioka Avenue has woods, a creek and shaded trails. Sunny 95 Park on Carriage Hill Lane holds the Amelita Mirolo Barn, a relocated 19th-century timber barn now used for weddings and city events. Thompson Park has a pool and open lawn. If it is a hot Saturday between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the three city pools at Tremont, Devon and Reed Road sell daily guest admission for roughly $10 to $12, which is the cheapest way to spend four hours in Upper Arlington like a local.

For the golf pilgrimage, drive Riverside Drive south past Scioto Country Club, the private course where a teenage Jack Nicklaus learned the game before graduating from Upper Arlington High School, whose Golden Bears mascot gave him his nickname. You cannot enter the club, but the Jack Nicklaus Museum on Ohio State's campus at 2355 Olentangy River Road is 10 minutes away, open weekdays roughly 9 am to 5 pm, with admission around $10 for adults. It holds his amateur trophies, his 18 major championship displays and a reconstructed room from the family home.

Saturday night: dinner within 10 minutes

For a proper sit-down dinner inside Upper Arlington, Hudson 29 Kitchen and Drink on West Lane Avenue is the reliable choice, a Cameron Mitchell restaurant where entrees land between $25 and $40 and the bar fills with a mixed crowd from 6 pm. Book ahead on weekends. If you would rather graze, the Giant Eagle Market District at Kingsdale Shopping Center on Tremont Road runs a hot bar, sushi counter and a genuinely large cheese case, and you can build a dinner for under $15 a head and carry it to a picnic table at Northam Park.

Ten minutes south, Grandview Avenue gives you a walkable strip: Spagio for Mediterranean plates, Figlio for wood-fired pizza around $16, Third and Hollywood on West Third Avenue for a bigger night out, and Stauf's Coffee Roasters for the morning after. Drinks in Upper Arlington proper are limited to restaurant bars and the pub counters at Tremont and Kingsdale, so if you want a late night, plan on driving or riding to Grandview or the Short North. A rideshare from Tremont Center to High Street runs roughly $14 to $20.

Sunday: Kingsdale, campus, and getting out clean

Spend Sunday morning at Kingsdale Shopping Center, the mid-century center at Tremont Road and Northwest Boulevard that the city has been steadily redeveloping with housing, a library branch and offices. Breakfast from the Market District bakery, then browse before driving five minutes east to the Lane Avenue Shopping Center, which holds the Whole Foods Market at 1555 West Lane Avenue plus a run of everyday chains. This is where you understand the site concept of Upper Arlington: shopping centers as neighborhood town squares rather than destinations, all with free surface parking and none of them more than a mile apart.

Finish on the Ohio State campus, a five-minute drive across the Olentangy. Ohio Stadium is usually open for a look at the rotunda on non-event days, the Wexner Center for the Arts on North High Street has free lobby galleries and paid exhibitions around $8, and Mirror Lake is a pleasant 20-minute walk. John Glenn Columbus International Airport is 20 to 25 minutes east via I-670 outside rush hour, so a 1 pm departure from Kingsdale leaves plenty of slack. Rideshare to the airport typically runs $30 to $40.

Frequently asked questions

What people ask before they set off on this one.

Are there any hotels actually in Upper Arlington?

Hotel supply inside the city limits is very thin, and most visitors end up in Grandview Yard, along Olentangy River Road near Ohio State, or in Dublin's Bridge Park. All three are 10 to 20 minutes from Tremont Center by car. Expect $130 to $200 a night on a normal weekend, and considerably more on Ohio State football Saturdays.

Can you visit Upper Arlington without a car?

It is possible but limiting. COTA buses serve the Lane Avenue and Fifth Avenue corridors with a $2.00 single fare and a $4.50 day pass, and rideshare is plentiful. However, the parks, Old Arlington, Tremont Center and Kingsdale are spread across roughly 12 square miles, so most 48-hour visitors rent a car or plan around two or three walkable clusters.

What is Upper Arlington actually known for?

Three things: the Old Arlington historic district of 1920s houses on the National Register of Historic Places, an unusually well-funded parks system with more than 20 parks and three public pools, and Jack Nicklaus, who grew up here and learned golf at Scioto Country Club. The Tremont and Kingsdale shopping centers function as the city's two social hubs.

Is parking free in Upper Arlington?

Yes, essentially everywhere. Tremont Center, Kingsdale Shopping Center, Lane Avenue Shopping Center, the library branches and all city parks have free surface lots. Street parking in Old Arlington is free and unmetered but sparse on weekday mornings. The only place you will regularly pay is the Ohio State campus, where garages run about $2 an hour.

When is the busiest weekend to avoid?

Any Ohio State home football Saturday in September through November, when hotel rates within five miles double and traffic on Lane Avenue and Fifth Avenue snarls from late morning. The Fourth of July, when Upper Arlington runs its long-standing parade, and the Labor Day Arts Festival at Northam Park are busy in a friendlier, local way and are worth planning toward rather than around.

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