28 of the Best Things to do in Dublin, Ohio (2024)

There is something in Dublin, Ohio for the whole family! From public art installations, to fun playgrounds to some of the biggest festivals in Central Ohio (and the world!), there is always something fun to do in Dublin, Ohio!

My family has had a lot of fun exploring Dublin! There are a lot of activities on this list that bring back some fun memories: The 12 Elves of Dublin in December, the Fairy Door Trail in the Spring, the kids dipping candy into Chocolate at Kilwins, walking across the Dublin Link for the first time.

Browse this list to find some of the top things to do in Dublin, Ohio and plan your own fun day out with the family!

1. Take the Irish Fairy Door Trail

• Address: 9 S. High St., Dublin, Ohio 43017
• Website

This is a cute activity to do with the kids in Dublin, Ohio! Pick up a passport at the Dublin Visitor’s Center and then find the Irish Fairy Doors at each participating business! The trail is updated every year and there are usually around 12 stops. When you complete your trail card, you can turn it in for a prize!

2. Watch the St. Patrick’s Day Parade

• Address: 1 W. Bridge St., Dublin, OH 43017
• Website

Dublin is also famous for it’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade! The day is filled with all kinds of activities – more than just a parade! There is an annual pancake breakfast, an inflation celebration and lots of pre-parade entertainment! Activities and a schedule are announced on the website above each year.

3. Attend the Largest Irish Festival on the Planet

• Address: 5200 Emerald Pkwy, Dublin, OH 43017
• Website
• 2023 Dates: August 4-6, 2023

The Dublin Irish Festival is one of the most popular festivals in Columbus. The festival takes place over 3 days in August in Coffman Park. The festival feature cultural performances, sporting events, a Wee Folk area with inflatables for the kids, traditional Irish food, plus nationally known and local musical acts.

4. Explore the Bridge Park District

• Address: 6741 Longshore Street, Dublin, OH 43017
• Website

Bridge Park is a newly developed area in Dublin, Ohio that features restaurants, businesses, housing and North Market Bridge Park. Parking is free in the area and it’s very easy to walk around! There are a lot of great restaurants in the area to choose from and Riverside Crossing Park can be found along the river.

5. Taste Hand-dipped Chocolates at Kilwins

• Address: 4549 Bridge Park Ave., Dublin, OH 43017
• Website

Freshly-made candy, chocolates and fudge are made in store at Kilwins. With a large selection of candy to choose from, there is something for everyone! They also sell hand-dipped ice cream!

6. Eat at North Market Bridge Park

• Address: 6750 Longshore St, Dublin, OH 43017
• Website

A sister to the North Market in downtown Columbus, North Market Bridge Park is home to around 20 vendors, a full bar and an indoor seating area. Another cool feature here is that some of the windows open up to the street you you can actually sit outside the on the sidewalk and look into your chosen food vendor!

Pick up a treat at Bake Me Happy, a gluten free bakery in Columbus, have a drink at Market Bar, a taco at Dos Hermanos, or have a bowl of Vietnamese style noodles at one of my personal favorites: Lan Viet!

7. Walk across the Dublin Link Pedestrian Bridge

• Address: Start at the end of Bridge Park Ave. in Bridge Park
• Website

The Dublin Link bridge spans the Scioto River from Bridge Park to Historic Dublin. The Dublin Link is the longest span, single tower S-shaped suspension bridge in the world. It’s wide and easy to walk across.

You can park and begin at either end of the bridge. On the Bridge Park side, you can enjoy Riverside Crossing Park Plaza where there is a fountain and a lot of seating options!

8. Check Books out at the Dublin Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library

• Address: 75 N High St, Dublin, OH 43017
• Website

I love the Dublin Branch of the library! It’s so bright and cheery! They have a great children’s section, too, so it makes for a great thing to do in Dublin with the kids! You can make an entire outing in Dublin by starting with a treat in Bridge Park and then walking across the Dublin Link Bridge to the library!

9. Take in the Beauty of Hayden Run Falls

• Address: 4460 Hayden Run Rd, Columbus, OH 43221
• Website

Hayden Falls is a 35 foot waterfall in Ohio that is part of the waterways of the Scioto River in Dublin, Ohio. It’s definitely a hidden gem in Central Ohio! Follow the steps and boardwalk to the bottom viewing area to see the waterfall. There is a small parking lot nearby.

10. Enjoy Indian Run Falls

• Address: 700 Shawan Falls Dr, Dublin, OH 43017
• Website

Take a hike, watch the waterfalls and have a picnic in the park at Indian Run Falls Park in Dublin, Ohio! This waterfall can be viewed from an overlook above or you can take the steps down to the creek.

11. Meet Chief Leatherlips at Scioto Park

• Address: 7377 Riverside Dr, Dublin, OH 43017
• Website

Scioto Park is also home to the famous Leatherlips Monument, a striking feature in the side of the hill. Leatherlips was the first outdoor public sculpture dedicated by the Dublin Arts Council!

Chief Leatherlips was known for being a friend to Native Americans and the white settlers in the area. He was given the name Leatherlips because of his reputation of never breaking a promise! The park is also home to a playground and a creek for exploring!

12. Pick Out Something Fun at the Dublin Toy Emporium

• Address: 28 N High St, Dublin, OH 43017
• Website

The Dublin Toy Emporium is a magical toy store with something for kids of all ages! Keep an eye on their social media accounts for special events and activities! It’s a fun place to shop! Kids will love the unique toys that you can’t find in the big box stores!

13. Splash in the Ballantrae Fountains

• Address: 6350 Woerner Temple Rd, Dublin, OH 43016
• Website

If you have young kids who love to splash in fountains, Ballantrae Park has one of the cutest free splash pads in Columbus! What makes it so cute is the bunny sculptures on top of the hill! This area is probably more affectionately known as the Bunny Fountains.

14. Go on Safari at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

• Address: 4850 W Powell Rd, Powell, OH 43065
• Website

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is just across the Scioto River from Dublin, so it’s worth mentioning if you’re looking for things to do in the Dublin area! It’s one of the largest, if not the largest, zoo in the United States! In fact, you can spend an entire day just at the Columbus Zoo alone! Some of our favorite spots include Adventure Cove, Heart of Africa and Polar Frontier.

15. Be a Ninja at Glacier Ridge Metro Park

• Address: 9801 Hyland-Croy Rd, Plain City, OH 43064
• Website

This is another “just across the street from Dublin” locale but worth a mention! Glacier Ridge Metro Park is one of our favorite of the Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks! It has a really fun Ninja Course, an obstacle course and a wetland viewing area. Additionally, there is a Natural Play Area for kids and beautiful hiking trails.

16. Play at Emerald Fields

• Address: 4040 Wyandotte Woods Blvd, Dublin, OH 43016
• Website

Emerald Fields features a very colorful playground in Dublin, Ohio with several different play areas including swings, balance structures, and an NEOS 360  Interactive playground. The main play structure is completely accessible. Also, there are musical features here and a really cute dinosaur bike rack!

17. Take the Celtic Cocktail trail

• Address: various locations
• Website

The Celtic Cocktail Trail will take you on a tour of Dublin, Ohio to experience cocktails with an Irish theme! At the time of writing there are 17 stops on the trail. If you visit 3 of the stops, you can earn a koozie and visiting 10 stops gets you a Celtic Cocktail Trail t-shirt! Download the trail pass online!

18. Play Indoors at Scene 75 Entertainment Center

• Address: 5033 Tuttle Crossing Blvd, Dublin, OH 43016
• Website

There is tons of fun to be had at Scene 75! They have arcade games, laser tag, an indoor rollercoaster, blacklight mini-golf, indoor go-karts, a drop tower, batting cage, bumper cars, and more. You can make it an entire day of fun with lunch or dinner at their restaurant and several bar and snack areas.

19. Hike the ML “Red” Trabue Nature Reserve

• Address: 6835 Avery-Muirfield Dr., Dublin, OH 43017
• Website

This Nature Reserve includes a restored wetland, walking trails, a historic log cabin, a bike path, gardens and a fishing pond. It’s a pretty spot for a walk or bike ride. The Nature Reserve was named after M.L. “Red” Trabue who was a former columnist for the Columbus Dispatch and host of “The Outdoor Show” on local Columbus television!

20. Walk amongst a Field of Corn

• Address: 4995 Rings Rd, Dublin, OH 43017
• Website

It would be hard to name a more famous landmark in Dublin, Ohio than the Field of Corn.

The field at the intersection of Rings Rd. And Frantz Rd. includes 109 six-foot concrete ears of corn! This art instillation symbolizes the legacy of farming in the area. There is no parking lot for this park, but people pull off to the side of a road that leads to a business called DNV Columbus.

There are a couple of benches here as well as several plaques with more information about the Field of Corn. The full name of this art piece is Field of Corn (with Osage Orange Trees) and there is a line of Osage trees behind the corn! The sculpture was done by Columbus resident Malcolm Cochran.

21. Get a Scoop of Johnson’s Real Ice Cream

• Address: 55 West Bridge St, Dublin, OH 43017
• Website

In Historic Dublin, stop by Johnson’s Ice Cream for a scoop of hand-dipped ice cream! Johnson’s is a local ice cream shop that was first opened in Bexley, Ohio. The Dublin location offers a special Irish Sundae!

22. Shop the Dublin Market at Bridge Park

• Address: Longshore St, Dublin, OH 43017
• Website

The Dublin Market is a large Farmers Market in Columbus with over 130 vendors! Longshore Street in the Bridge Park district is closed down and you can pick out produce, handmade goods, baked goods and more. Special events take place during the market, too, like fitness classes, live music and more!

23. Get Caffeinated at Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea

• Address: 4587 Bridge Park Ave, Dublin, OH, 43017
• Website

Also in the Bridge Park area, Sweetwaters Coffee is a great place to pick up a coffee or a treat! My kids are big fans of the baked goods and I will never pass up a latte! Plus the shop is right underneath our dentist (River Park Dental) so there’s no better reward to being cavity free than picking out a cookie, right? 😉

24. Shop Historic Dublin

• Address: 1 N. High St, Dublin, Ohio 43017
• Website

Historic Dublin is home to so many cute shops! Spend an afternoon browsing the local shops like boho 72, Paris 75, Winans Fine Chocolates and Our Cupcakery. There are a lot of restaurants to choose from in Historic Dublin as well! Harvest Pizzeria and Condado Tacos are some of our favorites!

25. Find the 12 Elves of Dublin

• Address: All around Historic Dublin
• Website
• 2023 Dates: December 1-23, 2023

Search for the 12 Elves of Dublin during the month of December! This fun, family-friendly activity in Historic Dublin is a great thing to do during the holiday season!

This is a fun way to explore Dublin. It’s a great excuse to go in some shops and restaurants you’ve always wanted to visit! You can pick up a card at any of the participating businesses and get your card stamped each time you find the elf. Turn in your card to be entered into a raffle!

26. Attend the Memorial Tournament

• Address: 5750 Memorial Drive Dublin, OH 43017
• Website
• 2023 Dates: May 29 – June 4, 2023

The Memorial Tournament is a PGA Tour golf tournament held at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin each year. It was founded by Jack Nicklaus and he designed the course.

The Memorial Tournament is a huge deal in Dublin, and for world-renowned golfers and golf fans! Even though I know close to nothing about golf, attending the Memorial Tournament was a lot of fun! After hearing about it for years, I was glad to finally experience this iconic event in Dublin!

27. Have a drink at The Getaway Brewing Co.

• Address: 108 N High St, Dublin, OH 43017
• Website

Getaway Brewing is located in Historic Dublin, on the west side of the Scioto River! I love this brewery because it has a travel theme. Make sure to walk down the hallway to the bathroom to see the views from “airplane windows”! Another unique thing at this brewery in Dublin, Ohio is a charcuterie vending machine!

They have a great indoor seating area and a patio. Dublin has a DORA (Designated Outside Refreshment Area), so you can also take your drink to go and take a walk across the Dublin Link Pedestrian Bridge!

28. View the O’Shaughnessy Dam from Glick Park

• Address: 5925 Glick Rd, Powell, OH 43065
• Website

Make a stop at Glick Park (which is just on the border of Dublin, Ohio) to see the O’Shaughnessy Dam on the Scioto River. There is a overlook here where you can watch the falls over the dam. We did this recently for the first time and I was surprised how pretty it is here!

This is super close to The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (in fact, in the picture above you can see the ferris wheel that is at the zoo in 2023)!

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