Gahanna Woods

I think its great that part of Gahanna is a nature reserve, but be prepared for traffic noise and spring mud at this park. We started off on a lovely path through a pine forest, bordered by a stream. This was mid-​April, and other than one bunch of spring beauties, we did not see any wildflowers. Trail signs display rules but no directions, so we had a difficult time getting back to the parking lot.

A nice little park! This is partly a Gahanna city park and partially a state nature preserve. We took a peek at both sections and found it to be very pretty. When you first pull in, there is a gravel parking area, a port-​a-​potty, and a few picnic tables in a grassy area overlooking a newly added pond/​waterfall set-​up. In addition to the pond area looking very nice, it was designed by an environmental agency to safely bring the stormwater into the natural stream flowing through the area, so it’s very functional too.
One trailhead takes you into the state preserve area. No dogs are allowed on this trail, so you’ll want to stick to the city park side if you bring your four-​legged friends. During the spring, this preserve becomes full of vernal pools and spring wildflowers — so dress for mud and boots will come in handy! There are some nice boardwalks to get you over the worst of the areas. It’s very pretty and peaceful, and there are tons of spring peepers (little frogs) singing during the spring too. It’s a short loop trail that is pretty easy to do.
Across the parking lot, there is a trailhead for the city park trail system, which seemed to be a little more convoluted then the more direct loop set-​up in the state preserve, but it made for some nice, low-​key exploration. Part of the trail follows along the stream. I really loved how they used their old wooden street signs to line the trail — great recycling! This section of the park is open to dogs.
A great park — we easily did both sections in about an hour, even given that we were slowing down in places to get through the worst of the muddy/​slick areas.