Guides ·Experiences

Walk Old Arlington, the 1920s district that made the town

Start where Upper Arlington started. Brothers King and Ben Thompson began platting their "Country Club District" in 1913, and the streets south of Lane Avenue — Cambridge Boulevard, Andover Road, Arlington Avenue, Roxbury Road, Brixton Road — still carry the Tudor, Colonial Revival and Arts and Crafts houses they sold in the 1920s. The Old Arlington district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the whole thing is free to walk. Give it 60 to 90 minutes at an unhurried pace, and park on a side street rather than a driveway apron; residential parking here is unmetered and unrestricted.

Aim your loop at the Mallway, the small 1920s shopping row on Arlington Avenue near Miller Park. It was designed as the neighborhood's commercial heart before Tremont and Kingsdale existed, and the scale — two storeys, arcaded shopfronts, a green in front — is the clearest surviving statement of what the Thompsons were selling. Sit on a bench, then walk two blocks to Miller Park at Arlington Avenue and Northwest Boulevard, where the Miller Park Library branch sits at 1901 Arlington Avenue. It is one of the few places in central Ohio where a self-guided architecture walk genuinely needs no ticket, app or guide.

The park system is the main event

Upper Arlington's parks are maintained to a standard that surprises first-time visitors, and every one of them is free with free parking. Northam Park at 2070 Northam Road is the flagship: tennis courts, ballfields, an enormous open lawn and the Tremont Road library a short walk away. Fancyburg Park at 3375 Ridgewood Road is the quiet one, a meadow-and-treeline park with a paved loop that suits a stroller or a slow jog. Thompson Park off Woodbridge Road has shelters and shaded playground equipment. None of these charge, none require a permit for casual use, and all have restrooms open in season.

Sunny 95 Park at 4395 Carriage Hill Lane is the newest of the big ones and the most photogenic, built around the Amelita Mirolo Barn — a relocated timber barn now rented for weddings and civic events. You cannot wander inside during a private booking, but the surrounding lawn, pond and playground are open to anyone. Bring a blanket; there is more usable open grass here than anywhere else in the city. If you are travelling with kids, plan on Sunny 95 in the morning and Northam Park in the late afternoon, when the tennis courts fill and the parking lot on Northam Road turns over quickly.

The Scioto riverfront and the trails along Riverside Drive

Upper Arlington's western edge is the Scioto River, and Riverside Drive runs the length of it. Kiwanis Riverway Park sits along that stretch with river access, picnic tables and a path that connects toward the larger reservoir parks. A few minutes south, Griggs Reservoir Park at 2933 Riverside Drive — technically Columbus parkland, but functionally Upper Arlington's waterfront — offers free lots, a boat ramp, shaded picnic areas and long water views. Bring your own kayak and you can launch for nothing; rentals are seasonal and not always staffed, so do not plan a trip around them.

For distance walking or cycling, the Olentangy Trail is the region's best free asset. Pick it up near the Ohio State campus east of Upper Arlington and you can ride paved, mostly car-free miles south toward downtown Columbus and the Scioto Mile fountains, or north toward Worthington. It is roughly 5 miles from Upper Arlington's eastern neighborhoods to downtown by trail. If you are staying at one of the Olentangy River Road hotels, the trail is often a two-minute walk from the parking lot, which quietly makes those properties better value than their nightly rate suggests.

Three libraries, and what they are actually good for

The Upper Arlington Public Library runs three branches: Tremont Road at 2800 Tremont Road, Lane Road at 1945 Lane Road, and Miller Park at 1901 Arlington Avenue. Visitors do not need a card to walk in, use the free wi-fi, read newspapers or sit in the reading areas, and the Tremont building is genuinely pleasant — good natural light, plenty of tables, restrooms, and a location that puts you a two-minute walk from Northam Park. On a rainy afternoon it beats sitting in a hotel room, and it costs nothing at all.

Check the events board on the way in. All three branches run free programming — story times, author talks, local-history displays, occasional music — and the schedule is heaviest in summer and around school breaks. The Municipal Services Center at 3600 Tremont Road, a short hop north, is worth ten minutes for its local-history displays and for the practical reason that it is the clearest place to pick up a city parks map. The Upper Arlington Historical Society keeps material on the Thompson brothers' original development, which makes the Old Arlington walk read very differently on the way back.

Free events worth timing a trip around

Two dates dominate the free calendar. The Labor Day Arts Festival fills Northam Park on the first Monday of September with juried artists' booths, food vendors and live music; admission is free, though you will spend on food and anything you carry home. The Fourth of July celebration is the other one — a morning parade through the older residential streets, family events during the day, and fireworks after dark. Both draw the whole city, so arrive early, park several blocks out on a residential street, and walk in rather than fighting for a lot.

In summer, the city's cultural arts programming puts free concerts and family events in the parks, most often around the Amelita Mirolo Barn at Sunny 95 Park and the Mallway green on Arlington Avenue. Bring lawn chairs; seating is not provided. If you are visiting on an Ohio State football Saturday in autumn, treat that as its own free spectacle — walk the neighborhoods east of Upper Arlington toward Ohio Stadium two hours before kickoff and you will get the tailgate atmosphere without buying a ticket. Just do not expect to drive anywhere quickly.

Where to base yourself so free stays free

Here is the honest constraint: Upper Arlington itself has very little hotel inventory, so most visitors sleep just outside it. The cluster along Olentangy River Road near the Ohio State medical campus — Fairfield Inn & Suites at 3031 Olentangy River Road, the Springhill Suites and Holiday Inn Express nearby — typically runs about $110 to $180 a night midweek, and it puts you within a 10-minute drive of Tremont Center, Kingsdale and every park listed above. Parking at these properties is usually free or under $10, which matters when the attractions cost nothing.

Rates are the exception on Ohio State football weekends and graduation, when the same rooms can hit $250 to $400 and minimum stays appear. If your trip is flexible, come midweek or between football seasons and the arithmetic changes completely: a $120 room, free parking everywhere in Upper Arlington, and a day of parks, libraries and historic streets that costs nothing beyond lunch. The Blackwell Inn on the Ohio State campus at 2110 Tuttle Park Place is the nicer splurge at roughly $170 to $230, and it sits directly on the Olentangy Trail.

Frequently asked questions

What people ask before they set off on this one.

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