Riverside Bend
The Scioto River edge along Riverside Drive: reservoir sunsets, boat ramps, big houses, historic golf — and nowhere to walk to.
Griggs Reservoir at dusk with boat ramp and wooded far bank along Riverside Drive, Upper Arlington
Why people stay in Riverside Bend
Riverside Drive — state route 257 — runs the western bank of the Scioto along the whole eastern edge of this stretch, and it is where Upper Arlington finally gets a view. On one side, water: Griggs Reservoir, wide and flat, with wooded bluff opposite and herons standing in the shallows. On the other, large houses set behind gates and hedges, and the fairways of Scioto Country Club at 2196 Riverside Drive, a 1916 Donald Ross course that hosted the 1926 US Open and, more famously locally, is where a boy called Jack Nicklaus learned to play.
The reason to base yourself here is water and quiet. Griggs Reservoir Park has boat ramps, picnic shelters, a dam you can walk toward, and enough length of shoreline that you can find a bench alone on a Tuesday. Kayakers and rowers use it constantly from April to October. In winter it is bleak, beautiful and empty. Kiwanis Riverway Park adds more river access further south. All of it is free, all of it opens at dawn and closes at dusk, and rangers do enforce the dusk closing.
The honest problem is that nothing else is here. There is no shop, no cafe, no bar on Riverside Drive within this stretch; the road is a fast two-lane commuter route with no continuous footway in places, so walking anywhere is not a plan. At nine at night it is dark road, dark water and headlights. Dinner means driving five minutes east into central Upper Arlington, ten to Grandview Avenue, or fifteen north to Dublin's Bridge Park, which is where a lot of people actually end up.
Take this base if you want to run or paddle at seven in the morning, if you are here for golf, or if the sound of a river matters more to you than a walkable street. Skip it if you are travelling without a car, if you need a hotel lobby, or if you expect the country club to let you play — it is private, member-and-guest only, and no amount of asking at the gate changes that. Midweek rooms in this radius run about $104 to $170.
There is essentially no hotel on Riverside Drive itself; what gets listed under this heading sits at the southern end toward Dublin Road and Marble Cliff, or across the water on the Columbus side, or up in Dublin where the modern flags cluster around Bridge Park. Expect $104 to $180 midweek, well over $300 on football and Memorial Tournament weekends. If you want to wake up near the water, look for the short-let houses and garden flats on the streets just west of Riverside Drive — Fishinger, Andover, the lanes running down toward the dam — rather than anything advertising a river view, which usually means a glimpse through winter branches. Avoid rooms fronting Riverside Drive directly: the traffic starts around six-fifteen and the road is genuinely loud. And check the listing's cross street, because "Riverside" is used loosely by hosts as far north as Dublin and as far south as Marble Cliff.
Things to do in Riverside Bend
Griggs Reservoir Park runs for a long stretch of Riverside Drive with several free car parks, picnic shelters and boat ramps. Come an hour before sunset in summer, walk the shoreline path north toward the dam, and count herons. Gates close at dusk and that is enforced, so do not leave the car in after dark.
The flat water above Griggs Dam is the best beginner paddling within the city limits — no current to speak of, wooded banks, and a couple of miles of shoreline to work along. Launch from the ramps on Riverside Drive. Bring your own boat or hire from an outfitter in town; there is no rental kiosk in the park itself.
Scioto Country Club at 2196 Riverside Drive is where Jack Nicklaus grew up playing, and it staged the 1926 US Open. It is strictly private, so this is a drive-past and a historical marker rather than a round. For actual golf, the public courses off Riverside Drive north toward Dublin take visitor bookings from roughly $35.
Fishinger Road crosses the Scioto right by Griggs Dam, and the view upstream from the bridge deck — reservoir on one side, spillway and tailwater on the other — is the best five-minute stop on this whole stretch. Park in the reservoir lot and walk out; do not stop on the bridge itself.
Cross the river and pick up the Olentangy Trail, the region's main paved greenway, which runs from the north side of Columbus down through Ohio State to the riverfront downtown. It is flat, mostly separated from traffic, and a twelve-mile ride gets you from campus to the Scioto Mile. Best access is near Fifth Avenue or Lane Avenue.
Riverside Drive runs straight north to Dublin, about fifteen minutes, where Bridge Park has the density of restaurants and bars this stretch entirely lacks, plus the Dublin Link pedestrian bridge across the Scioto to Historic Dublin. It is the standard evening solution for anyone based on the river.
What to see
Hotels near Riverside Bend
No hotels are listed in Riverside Bend yet. The nearest ones are on the region page.
Every hotel we cover in Riverside Bend
- AC Hotel by Marriott Columbus Dublin 3★ · 4.6/5
Getting around Riverside Bend
From John Glenn Columbus International Airport, take I-670 west, SR-315 north and exit at Lane Avenue or Fishinger Road westbound — about seventeen miles and twenty-five to thirty-five minutes. Rideshare runs $35 to $48. There is no bus on Riverside Drive within this stretch, and no rail anywhere in Columbus, so you must have a car or plan on $12 to $20 rideshares for every meal. Inside the district, Riverside Drive is the only through road and it moves fast; the cross-streets that reach it — Fishinger, Lane, Trabue — are your escape routes east and west. Drive times: central Upper Arlington five minutes, Grandview ten, Ohio State fourteen, downtown Columbus twenty, Dublin fifteen.
Questions about Riverside Bend
Not unless a member takes you. It is a private club, member-and-guest only, and the gate will politely turn you away. What you can do is drive Riverside Drive past it and read the historical marker about Jack Nicklaus, who learned the game there. For a visitor round, the public courses north along the river toward Dublin take bookings from around $35 to $70 depending on the day.
No — it is a drinking-water reservoir for Columbus and swimming is not permitted. Boating, kayaking, paddleboarding and fishing are, and the flat water above the dam is genuinely good for beginners. Access is by free boat ramps along Riverside Drive. The park opens at dawn and closes at dusk, and the closing time is enforced by rangers rather than suggested.
You drive. Five minutes east gets you to the Kingsdale and Tremont plazas in Upper Arlington; ten minutes south is Grandview Avenue, which has the best concentration of independent kitchens nearby and serves late; fifteen minutes north is Bridge Park in Dublin. Nothing on Riverside Drive itself sells food, and the parks have no concessions of any kind.
Run inside Griggs Reservoir Park rather than on the road. Riverside Drive is a fast two-lane route with intermittent shoulders and no continuous footway on some stretches, and locals treat it as a commuter road at fifty. Inside the park you get several kilometres of shoreline path, free parking and no traffic. In the dark, use the parks near Fishinger Road, not the highway.
