Metro Parks in Fairfield County, Ohio

Walter A. Tucker Preserve/Blacklick Woods

Intro ||Trails || Directions || Events

(614) 861-8759

Walter A. Tucker State Nature Preserve is a 55-acre swamp preserve which honors Walter A. Tucker, one of the founding directors of Metro Parks and one of the individuals who helped establish the state nature preserve system. It is designated a National Natural Landmark. Blacklick Woods of which it is a part is primarily a beech-maple forest association, one of the least disturbed in central Ohio. The seasonal ponds host abundant aquatic and plant life.

Walter A. Tucker Preserve is part of Blacklick Woods owned and operated by the Columbus and Franklin County Metro Park District. For a map click here.

Blacklick Woods Hiking Trails

Intro ||Trails || Directions || Events

Beech Trail 0.5 miles
Easy walking; limestone surface; hardwood forest; access to Ashton Pond.

Maple Trail 0.8 miles
Easy (with a 0.1 mile spur) walking; limestone surface; hardwood forest with small wetlands. Good trail for birding and viewing plants.

Buttonbush Trail 0.5 miles
Easy walking limestone surface and boardwalk; hardwood/swamp forest.

Multi-purpose Trail 4.1 miles (roundtrip)
Easy walking, jogging and biking; limestone surface; passes through meadows and a forest in the Blacklick Creek floodplain.

Directions to Walter A. Tucker Preserve
Blacklick Woods Metro Park (55 acres)

Intro ||Trails || Directions || Events

Address: 6975 E. Livingston Ave. (respectively) Reynoldsburg, OH 43068
Location: eastern Franklin & northwestern Fairfield counties
Directions: From 1-270, take the East Main Street/Reynoldsburg exit. Go east on Main Street to Brice Road and turn right. Take Brice Road to Livingston Avenue and turn left. Entrance is about 1.5 miles on the right.
Map

Hours of Operation

March 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.; April & May 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.