Have you found the bridge in Scioto Grove Metro Park? National Take a Walk in a Park Day, held annually on March 30, is a great day to find it.
Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks provided some more details on the bridge and why it was built. Previously, visitors could cross the Grant Run tributar using a rock ford, a series of flat rocks across the tributary. This could prove to be a challenge when the water level would get too high.
Metro Parks staff constructed the bridge last fall with a kit from Treehouse Supplies in Pennsylvania, which included the cable, netting, rope and hardware. Staff built the platform and stairs.
“Although very much functional, we wanted the bridge to have a rustic, outdoors look and feel to go along with the terrain, and in that sense it is both aesthetic and functional,” noted a spokesperson from Metro Parks.
The bridge is located in the Scioto Grove Metro Park at 5172 Jackson Pike, Grove City, OH 43123. The area can get rather muddy, so be prepared!
If you are looking to travel a little farther, go find the Hemlock Bridge Trail in Hocking Hills State Park. Hemlock Bridge Trail opened over the summer and features the park’s first swinging bridge, carrying hikers over Old Man’s Creek at its confluence with Queer Creek, so-named because its water flows in a different direction than expected.
The trails also opened access to Whispering Cave which has unusual acoustics, allowing a visitor who whispers at one end of this huge cave to be heard clearly by another hiker who stands 275 feet away at Whispering Cave’s other end. It’s a 1.9 mile trail. Dogs are allowed, but need to be leashed.
The trails are a bit challenging, with some paths that are steep and without handrails.
The Hemlock Bridge Trail in Hocking Hills State Park is located at 20160 St. Rt. 664 S Logan, OH 43138. For more information, visit explorehockinghills.com. For more information about the Scioto Grove Metro Park, visit metroparks.net.