Hike 2 of 52 - Sharon Woods Metro Park

It Snowed!! We have been waiting and waiting for snow this winter and finally it happened. Metro parks did a great job of getting everyone parked, organized, trails marked, and topped off with amazing soup and goodies at the end.  Trails were easy to navigate but a little slippery in spots. Prepping for the weather was key!      

Trails Hiked:

We started on the Multi-purpose trail and believe we ended up on the Spring Creek Trail.

Mileage:

About 2 miles or so.  We completed the 2-mile marked trail, but with the extra walk on the multi-purpose trail to get back and forth from the parking lot, it was a bit longer.  

Weather and Trail conditions:

We started the hike about 9:40 am.  We left the park around 12:30 pm and temp was in the upper 20’s!  Snow and more snow!

Trails were very easy to navigate, even when covered by snow.  There were a couple of tricky spots due to slight inclines and declines, but everyone was able to easily manage these areas.  We did pick up some walking sticks along the way, which helped.         

Wildlife Seen:

Nothing seen today.

Parking:

This is a large park with plenty of parking near trail heads and playgrounds.

Restrooms:

There was a nice set of restrooms to use at the end of the 2 mile trail!  Luckily everyone was able to hold off till that point in the trip!  Sometime this can be a tricky situation...  

Gear:

Snow gear – Snow pants, bibs, gloves, masks and even a few extra to stash in the backpack.  Thinking that maybe some hiking poles would now be a good addition…but that’s not as fun as finding the right sticks…right!

Nature Center and Activities:

This park did not contain a nature center, but there was plenty of playgrounds for the kids. 

Final Thoughts:

Hike #2 was good and a lot of fun!  We had the added planning and gear for snow but were able to get things organized and ready to go.  We didn’t take as many snacks this time, which seemed to work out OK. Everything else from the previous hike stayed the same.  This time around, it did seem a little easier to gather things up.    

The highlight for this trip was paying attention to the weather and gather and organizing all the gear/clothes beforehand.  We went through and tried on all snow pants, bibs, gloves/mittens, scarfs, socks and base layers.  I think by doing this we got buy in from the kids and they knew what to expect the next day and helped to minimize the stress the getting out the door.  In the end, we had a very small list of items to purchase and everyone was very comfortable in the cold weather.  Now to get everything dried and ready to go again for January 13th to continue with our Columbus Metro Parks hiking series.  Winter is here!!               

Let's Go: 

Sharon Woods Metro Park
6911 Cleveland Ave, Westerville, OH 43081