Guides ·Itineraries

Booking a week: what changes

A week changes the math on lodging. Nightly rates that look fine for two nights add up, so look at extended-stay properties with kitchens: Residence Inn Columbus OSU on Olentangy River Road and Home2 Suites in Grandview Yard both run roughly $130 to $170 a night, and weekly rates or fifth-night discounts often knock $15 to $25 off per night. A kitchen matters here because the Giant Eagle Market District at Kingsdale and the Whole Foods on West Lane Avenue are both inside Upper Arlington, and cooking three or four dinners will save a family of four something like $250 across the week.

The second decision is which side of the city you want to wake up on. South, near Grandview and Fifth Avenue, gives you restaurants and a faster run downtown. North, near Lane Avenue and Henderson Road, puts you closer to the parks, Kingsdale and the Dublin day trips. Short-term rentals in Old Arlington and the Golfview area exist but are regulated and limited, so verify permits before paying. Whatever you book, confirm the Ohio State home schedule first, because one football Saturday inside your week will distort both rates and traffic.

Days 1 and 2: the Upper Arlington core

Give the first two days to the city itself. Day one is Old Arlington on foot, starting at Mallway Park and covering Cambridge Boulevard, Roxbury Road, Andover Road and Arlington Avenue, then Tremont Center for lunch and Northam Park in the afternoon. Day two is the north end: Kingsdale Shopping Center in the morning, the Lane Road Library at 1945 Lane Road, and then Fancyburg Park and Sunny 95 Park with the Amelita Mirolo Barn. Two full days is genuinely what the compact core deserves, and it is the part most weekend visitors rush.

Break both days with a swim. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day the city runs three outdoor pools, Tremont at Northam Park, Devon and Reed Road, with daily guest admission usually $10 to $12 and afternoon hours running into early evening. Off season, substitute the library, which is one of the best-funded in Ohio and hosts free talks and children's programming most weekdays. Dinner both nights can stay local: Michael's Pizza or the Market District hot bar for a cheap night, Hudson 29 on West Lane Avenue for a proper one at $25 to $40 an entree.

Day 3: downtown Columbus and the Short North

On day three, leave the car near your hotel and take COTA or a rideshare downtown, roughly 15 to 20 minutes from Tremont Center. Start at the North Market on Spruce Street, a genuine public market operating since 1876, where lunch from a dozen counters runs $10 to $16. Walk north up High Street through the Short North Arts District, which has the densest run of galleries, boutiques and bars in the city and hosts a Gallery Hop on the first Saturday evening of each month. The free CBUS circulator runs the High Street spine and saves 20 minutes of walking each way.

In the afternoon, choose between the Columbus Museum of Art on East Broad Street, with adult admission around $18 and free Sundays, and the Scioto Mile riverfront with its fountain and the promenade over to the Center of Science and Industry. Dinner options widen dramatically here: German Village, 10 minutes south, has Schmidt's for sausage platters around $20 and Lindey's for something dressier. Head back to Upper Arlington by 10 pm and the contrast is instructive, because the city you return to is silent by then.

Day 4: Dublin, the river and the Metro Parks

Day four goes north. Dublin is 15 minutes up Riverside Drive, and the loop is easy: Historic Dublin's High Street shops, the Dublin Link pedestrian bridge across the Scioto, and Bridge Park's promenade with the North Market Bridge Park food hall on Longshore Street for lunch around $12 to $18. Add Indian Run Falls, a short gorge walk right behind the old village, and the Field of Corn on Frantz Road, a public artwork of 109 concrete ears that is exactly as odd as it sounds. Parking throughout Dublin is free, including the Bridge Park garages.

Spend the afternoon in the Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks system, which is free at every gate. Scioto Park in Dublin has the Chief Leatherlips limestone monument. Closer to home, Griggs Reservoir Park runs along Riverside Drive with boat ramps and picnic shelters, and Highbanks Metro Park, 20 minutes north on US-23, has 12 miles of trail and a ravine overlook above the Olentangy. Bring water, because concessions are minimal. Sunset over Griggs Reservoir is the easiest end to this day, five minutes from where you started.

Day 5: a countryside day trip

Use day five for distance. The three best options from Upper Arlington are Hocking Hills, about 60 miles southeast on US-33 and worth the full day for Old Man's Cave and Ash Cave; Granville, 35 miles northeast, for a Federal-era village main street and the Newark Earthworks, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2023; and Yellow Springs, about 70 miles west via I-70, for Glen Helen, Clifton Gorge and one of the more idiosyncratic main streets in Ohio. Each is detailed in its own guide on this site.

Whichever you choose, leave by 8:30 am. Rural Ohio destinations fill their parking lots by 11 am on summer weekends, and Hocking Hills in particular becomes unpleasant after noon in October. Budget $20 to $30 in gas for the round trip, pack lunch if you are heading to a state park, and check business hours in advance because many small-town Ohio restaurants close between 2 and 5 pm. You will be back in Upper Arlington by 6 pm with time for a swim or a walk around Northam Park.

Days 6 and 7: markets, campus and a slow finish

Day six is for the rhythms locals actually keep. Do a proper grocery run at the Kingsdale Market District, where the prepared-food counters and bakery are better than any supermarket has a right to be, then take it to Thompson Park. In summer, the Upper Arlington Farmers Market sets up at Kingsdale on Wednesday afternoons with about two dozen growers and bakers. Afternoon on the Ohio State campus: the Wexner Center for the Arts, Ohio Stadium, the Chadwick Arboretum, and the Jack Nicklaus Museum on Olentangy River Road for about $10.

Keep day seven deliberately loose. Coffee at Colin's Coffee on Riverside Drive, a last walk through Old Arlington with a camera when the low morning light hits the slate and brick, and a browse at Tremont Center. If you fly out, John Glenn Columbus International is 20 to 25 minutes east on I-670 and rideshare runs $30 to $40. If you are driving on, I-270 rings the whole metro and puts you on I-70 or I-71 within 15 minutes of almost anywhere in Upper Arlington.

Frequently asked questions

What people ask before they set off on this one.

Rooms worth pairing with this guide.

Dublin Holiday Inn Express Columbus Dublin by IHG

4.4/5 $180/ night

Hilliard Homewood Suites Columbus Hilliard

4.1/5 $201/ night

Downtown Columbus Courtyard by Marriott Easton Columbus

4.6/5 $324/ night

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