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Jack Nicklaus learned to play golf on the fairways of Scioto Country Club, and the suburb around that club still feels like it was drawn with a ruler and a garden hose. Brothers Ben and King Thompson laid out Upper Arlington on farmland northwest of Columbus in the 1910s, borrowing ideas from Kansas City's Country Club District, and the village was incorporated in 1918. Before the first houses went up, the same fields briefly held Camp Willis, where Ohio National Guard troops trained in 1916.
Today the city of roughly 36,000 people is known for curving streets of Tudor and Colonial Revival homes, a large historic district and an unusual number of small parks, from the ravine trail at Smith Nature Park to busy Northam Park. Shopping gathers along Lane Avenue and at Kingsdale.
The Ohio State University sits just to the east, the Scioto River and Griggs Reservoir run along the western edge, and downtown Columbus is about fifteen minutes away by car, so Upper Arlington works well as a calm base for a Columbus visit or a Buckeyes game weekend.
A private club founded in 1916 whose Donald Ross course hosted the 1926 U.S. Open won by Bobby Jones, the 1931 Ryder Cup and the 1950 PGA Championship. A young Jack Nicklaus learned the game here. Play is for members and their guests, but the club on Riverside Drive anchors the historic district around it.
Ohio State's own golf club on the north side of Upper Arlington, with the Scarlet Course laid out by Alister MacKenzie and the shorter Gray Course. Nicklaus played his college golf here, and the Buckeyes teams still practice on site. Tee time rules differ for the public, so check with the club before you go.
The original Thompson brothers plan, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with Tudor Revival, Colonial Revival and Georgian homes set along curving streets and boulevard medians. A slow walk or drive around Cambridge Boulevard and Coventry Road shows the early suburb best, especially in autumn color.
A small wooded preserve where Slyh Run cuts a shady ravine through the neighborhoods. A short loop trail with footbridges follows the stream past native plantings, and spring wildflowers and songbirds bring out local birders. It is quiet and compact, so shoes that handle mud after rain are the only gear you need.
A long riverside park on the Scioto River where Griggs Dam forms a reservoir along Riverside Drive, at the western edge of Upper Arlington. Paved paths follow the shore, anglers cast for bass and catfish, rowers practice in the mornings and a ramp launches small boats. Evenings bring wide sunset views over the water.
The busiest park in Upper Arlington, on Tremont Road beside the main public library, with tennis courts, ball fields, a playground, shaded lawns and the Tremont Pool next door. Locals come for evening tennis and summer swims. Pair a morning tennis match or swim with a browse at the library next door.
An open-air shopping center on Lane Avenue, a short drive west of Ohio Stadium, with a large grocery, boutiques, salons and sit-down restaurants. The surrounding Lane Avenue corridor has added new apartments, offices and dining, so it is the easiest place in town for lunch, coffee or a pregame meal on football Saturdays.
A long-established shopping center on Tremont Road, rebuilt in recent years around a large Market District grocery with prepared foods, a cafe and seating for a quick meal. Smaller shops, eateries and services fill the rest of the center, which makes it a practical stop for picnic supplies before a park visit. Parking is easy and free.
Each Independence Day the volunteer Upper Arlington Civic Association stages a morning parade of floats, marching bands, antique cars and decorated bikes through the city, followed by daytime family activities and fireworks after dark. Arrive early with folding chairs, because families claim curbside spots along the route well before the start.
On Labor Day, Northam Park fills with a juried arts festival featuring painters, potters, jewelers, glass artists and photographers from across the region, along with live music, food vendors and activities for children. It is one of the bigger one-day art shows around Columbus, so come in the morning before the heat and the crowds.
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