Canoeing Near Me

Haunted Hike Through Walhalla Ravine

**Dare to Enter Walhalla Ravine?** There are places in Columbus where the city seems to disappear. Walk far enough into **Walhalla Ravine**, beneath the old trees and steep wooded hillsides, and the traffic grows distant. The houses above become harder to see. The path narrows, shadows gather beneath the canopy, and suddenly it becomes very easy to understand why people have been telling strange stories about this place for generations. Stories of **murder, apparitions beneath the bridge, unexplained lights, and the thing once whispered about as the Walhalla Witch** have become part of Clintonville folklore. Most have been embellished over the years. Some can be debunked. Others are simply stories with no way left to determine where the truth ended and the legend began. We’re going in anyway. **Disclaimer:** This is **NOT a scripted ghost tour**, and **I’m NOT a professional storyteller. I'm not here to entertain.** **Think of it more as a group adventure**: we’ll hike, explore, discuss the legends and history, and see some of the locations that inspired the stories for ourselves. Come prepared to walk, explore, and get a little off the beaten path. **Click Here: [Read about the ghosts and legends of Walhalla Ravine](https://thearcanefoundry.com/daclaud-lee/haunted-columbus/walhalla-ravine-the-ghosts-witch-legends-of-columbus-ohio/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)** This is a FREE event. Tips are appreciated (but never required) for showing you the hidden paths and lesser-known parts of the ravine. Just a reminder: **if you RSVP, please make every effort to attend.** This is going to be a 3-mile hike, so please make sure you can do this. There may also be some slightly rugged terrain (nothing too crazy) but depending on where we end up, there might be some light climbing. **OPTIONAL:** Afterward, anyone who wants to keep the evening going can join us nearby for drinks at Derive Brewing Company or pizza and drinks at Hounddog’s.

Ultimate Frisbee at Whetstone

American Sign Language Beginners Meetup Group

We meet to learn and practice American Sign Language and to grow our familiarity with Deaf culture. Facilitated by hearing folks (with a connection to a professional interpreter) using Deaf-created content. People of all ASL skill levels are welcome! As we learn, we hope to connect more with the Deaf community in Central Ohio. Join us as you're able! Come regularly or just once - whatever you're looking for! Each meetup will explore different topics related to ASL/Deaf culture, and will feature time to practice conversation with one another. Just bring yourself and a willingness to learn!

Ultimate Frisbee on Saturday

Ultimate Frisbee on Sunday at 4 pm

The Obsidian Lantern Society: Meet & Greet Around the Fire

On select Saturday nights, **we gather after dark around a spooky outdoor campfire** at **[The Arcane Foundry](https://thearcanefoundry.com/)**. Lanterns glow in the darkness, the fire crackles, drinks are poured, and the conversation turns toward the strange, macabre, forgotten, and unexplained. Think of it as an old-fashioned fireside gathering for modern curious minds. There is no classroom. No presentation. No designated speaker. And nobody is expected to be an expert. **Just pull up a chair around the fire and join the conversation.** **What Happens Around the Campfire?** Each gathering revolves around a loose theme, but the conversation is allowed to wander. One subject might lead us into another, someone might bring up a strange piece of history they've discovered, or a discussion about a horror novel might somehow end with everyone debating medieval folklore two hours later. That's part of the experience. **Grimdark, Gothic & Cosmic Horror** From Gothic castles and haunted villages to dying empires and unknowable cosmic entities, we explore what makes dark fiction work. Expect conversations about Gothic horror, Lovecraftian horror, cosmic horror, grimdark fantasy, weird fiction, dark fantasy, horror movies, novels, games and fictional universes. Writers and worldbuilders are encouraged to bring their own ideas as well. Sometimes the best way to solve a problem with your fictional world is to throw it into the fire, figuratively speaking, and see where the conversation takes it. **Folklore, Ghost Stories & Monsters** Campfires and monster stories belong together. We explore legends of ghosts, vampires, witches, demons, cryptids, faeries, revenants, strange creatures and things supposedly lurking in the wilderness after dark. Some discussions might venture into European folklore. Others might explore Asian mythology, Appalachian legends, Ohio ghost stories, local urban legends or strange traditions from cultures around the world. Whether you believe any of it isn't particularly important. The stories themselves are fascinating. **Strange History & Historical Esoterica** Real history can be considerably stranger than fiction. Around the fire we might discuss ancient superstitions, alchemy, occult societies, forgotten religions, unusual historical events, bizarre inventions, archaeological mysteries, obsolete sciences and beliefs that once shaped entire civilizations. The objective isn't to convince anyone that an old belief was true. The interesting question is often why people believed it in the first place. **Worldbuilding & Storytelling** Writers, game masters, miniature hobbyists and obsessive worldbuilders are especially welcome around the fire. Bring your fictional civilizations, monsters, religions, characters, military campaigns, magic systems, alternate histories or that strange setting you've been quietly constructing for years. The Society is a place where you can say, "I've been working on something weird..." And everyone around the fire actually wants to hear about it. **The Weird & Unexplained** Eventually, most campfire conversations wander somewhere strange. Ghost encounters. UFO folklore. Cryptids. Forteana. Lost civilizations. Paranormal stories. Unexplained historical events. Strange coincidences. Unusual archaeological claims. Weird things someone discovered while disappearing down an internet rabbit hole at two in the morning. Bring your curiosity and your skepticism. **You don't have to believe something to enjoy discussing it.** **Come Sit Around the Fire** The Obsidian Lantern Society isn't a lecture series, networking event or traditional club meeting. It's something much simpler. A group of curious people sitting around a fire after dark, illuminated by flames and lantern light, talking about things that are strange, frightening, imaginative, historical, mysterious or simply fascinating. Bring a drink. Bring a story. Bring an idea you've been thinking about. Or just bring yourself and listen. As the evening grows darker, the fire burns lower and the conversation inevitably becomes stranger. Pull up a chair. The lantern is lit.

Hike Sharon Woods

**Let’s meet at the Maple Grove Picnic Shelter. We’ll do the paved 4 mile loop at a 17-18 min/mile pace.**

Old Beechwold; What You Don't Know May Surprise You

On this tour we'll enjoy a 2.5 miles stroll through beautiful Old Beechwold. We'll learn about its unique origin, discuss its transformations through time, and witness its hidden gems. Due to the lack of any sidewalks and the narrow, winding roads here the tour size is limited. If you have weak knees or balance issues please bring a hiking pole or two as we may go "off trail" for a bit of our tour, depending on interest. We can discuss lunch options afterward for those folks who would like to go to lunch nearby. I will cancel this tour in the event of likely rain.

Trails & Ales! Blacklick Woods Metro Park / Eastside Brewing Co

**History** The deep indigenous history of the land comprising [Blacklick Woods Metro Park](https://www.metroparks.net/parks-and-trails/blacklick-woods/) came to light in stages, beginning with a major discovery during the park's mid-century expansion. In 1961, the park district acquired a 100-acre parcel of land where a previous owner had stripped away topsoil and gravel from a five-acre section. Beneath the surface, workers uncovered 16 ancient fire rings buried roughly 30 inches underground. The park district promptly invited Dr. Raymond S. Baby, the respected Curator of Archaeology at the Ohio State Museum, to evaluate the site. After a thorough review, Dr. Baby confirmed the authenticity of the find and determined that the fire rings were the unmistakable remnants of a prehistoric Late Woodland period Indian village dating between AD 600 and AD 1200. This incredible area was proudly highlighted as the "Indian Village Site" on official Blacklick Woods park maps throughout the 1960s, anchoring the park's identity in Ohio's rich indigenous heritage. Decades later, the park's archaeological timeline expanded significantly when a completely separate, grander feature was discovered hidden just west of Blacklick Creek. In 2017, David Lamp, an eagle-eyed former archaeologist from Lancaster, was systematically analyzing historical aerial photographs kept by the USDA to locate undocumented native structures. While examining a photograph captured in 1954 -- back when the property was still a rural farm owned by the Ashton Lamp family -- he spied a massive, distinct dark circle. Because perfect circles are an extreme anomaly in the natural world, Lamp immediately recognized the shadow as the footprint of a forgotten indigenous monument. Before the land became a protected park, decades of heavy agricultural plowing and livestock grazing had flattened the ground, wearing the structure's physical height down to an easily overlooked 10 inches tall. To verify Lamp's incredible aerial find, a team from the Heartland Earthworks Conservancy partnered with park staff to clear away dense brush and trees covering the site. Renowned volunteer archaeologist Jarrod Burks led a sophisticated geophysical survey on September 24, 2017, inviting the public to watch the science unfold in real time. Burks pulled an array of highly sensitive magnetometers across the soil, measuring minuscule variations in the ground's magnetic content. Because topsoil holds a higher magnetic signature than deeper substrate layers, the instruments clearly mapped a massive, ancient ditch that had filled with topsoil over centuries of erosion. This advanced technology produced a stunning, flawless digital visualization of a hidden prehistoric circular earthwork buried right beneath the feet of unsuspecting park hikers. The data collected by Burks revealed that the Blacklick Circle originally featured a three-to-five-foot earthen embankment pairing with a distinct interior ditch. The structure is estimated to have a total diameter of just under 100 feet, and the magnetic imaging perfectly captured the precise location of the circle’s original eastern entranceway. Archaeologists attribute this monumental construction to the ancient Adena or Hopewell cultures, pushing the park’s human history back roughly 2,000 to 2,200 years. While the Adena and Hopewell peoples are famous throughout the Ohio River valley for building giant burial mounds, circular enclosures like this one served distinct communal purposes. Because these earthworks do not contain human remains, they are understood to be highly sacred, carefully engineered gathering spaces for spiritual ceremonies and social alignment. Today, the Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks system treats this miraculous discovery as a crown jewel of regional cultural heritage. Rather than excavating and disrupting the sacred ground, the park utilizes a creative technique known as interpretive mowing. By cutting the grass at strategic heights, rangers visually outline the exact contours and entrance of the ancient circle so visitors can appreciate its scale from the adjacent recreational trail. Educational signs and informative placards now stand near the site, teaching families about the advanced architectural and mathematical skills of the region's first inhabitants. The discovery stands as a powerful reminder that our local green spaces are not just nature preserves, but deeply sacred, historical landscapes that have drawn human communities together for millennia. **Map of the Park** Here is a [map of Blacklick Woods](https://www.metroparks.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/BLK-map-May-2025-with-extended-greenway_1980px.jpg). **Summary** For this event, we will hike about 4.5 miles by doing a couple loops of the Buttonbush, Tucker, Maple Loop, and Beech trails. Blacklick Woods is a very nice park, but it is generally flat and not strenuous, so this will be one of our easier hikes. **Where We'll Meet** Drive all the way to the back of the park to the parking lot that is nearest the Nature Center. There are restrooms here next to the [Canopy Walk](https://www.metroparks.net/parks-and-trails/blacklick-woods/#canopy-walk). We'll meet near these restrooms. **After the Hike** Afterward, we'll head over to [Eastside Brewing Co](https://www.eastsidebrewingco.com/) for drinks and [food](https://www.facebook.com/p/Smash-N-Eatz-61578406199442/). The actual address of the brewery is [1421 Davidson Dr, Reynoldsburg, OH 43068](https://www.google.com/maps/place/1421+Davidson+Dr,+Reynoldsburg,+OH+43068/@39.9541807,-82.8056303,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x8838648e132b4655:0x9d9c1d48e854e09b!8m2!3d39.9541807!4d-82.8056303!16s%2Fg%2F11bw49sw7m?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDkxMy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D). We should be there by 5 if you can't make the hike and just want to join us for drinks.

🍂 Leaf It to Us: A Thriving in Motion Hike 🍁

Cycle 22 miles on the TJ Evans Trail (Johnstown to Granville)

Ride 11 miles from Johnstown to The Station in Granville for lunch, then 11 miles back. Ride at your own pace, I'll ride around 12 mph but can go slower or faster. https://www.stationgranville.com Seriously, doesn't that raspberry dessert just look the best??? If you don't ride you can always meet us to eat :).

Blendonwood Ravine Day Hike, 10:30 am