Blog Neighbourhood picks

2026-10-243 min readThe Awesome stay guide editorial team

Upper Arlington rewards travellers who park once and walk or ride from there — here is how the local buses, fares and districts fit together.

Parking in Upper Arlington: Where to Leave the Car

Upper Arlington is a largely residential suburb wrapped around the shopping spine of Lane Avenue and the quieter stretches of Northwest Boulevard. Free street parking exists on many side streets off Lane Avenue, but time limits are enforced near the Lane Avenue and Arlington Avenue commercial blocks, so read the signs before you walk away. The Kingsdale and Shops on Lane Avenue centres both provide surface lots with no charge for shoppers, which makes them a sensible base if you plan to spend the day on foot between Tremont Road and the library.

For the Ohio State University side of the suburb, the Lane Avenue Garage at 2100 Lane Avenue sits within a short walk of the Cardiac Hill area and the Wexner Center. Rates are posted at the entrance and change by the hour, so check the board rather than relying on memory. On Buckeye football Saturdays, these lots fill early and prices climb — arrive before mid-morning or park further west near Kingsdale and walk the twenty minutes in.

COTA Buses: Fares, Routes and Paying

The Central Ohio Transit Authority, known locally as COTA, runs the buses that connect Upper Arlington with downtown Columbus and the university district. Standard local fares are modest and posted on cota.com; exact change is not required on newer vehicles, and the COTA pass app lets you buy a day or multi-day pass before boarding. Reduced fares exist for seniors and riders with disabilities, and children under a certain age ride free with a paying adult — confirm current terms on the site before you travel, because fare structures are reviewed periodically.

The most useful routes for a visitor are the ones running along Lane Avenue and Northwest Boulevard toward downtown. Route 1 and its variants follow the High Street corridor through the Short North and into the city centre, while routes on Lane Avenue link the suburb to the OSU campus and the Olentangy River trailheads. Buses are generally frequent on weekdays and thinner on Sunday, so plan a return trip before evening if you are relying on a single line. Stops are marked with signs and route numbers.

Car-Free Days: Parks, Shops and the Olentangy Trail

Upper Arlington is genuinely walkable between its main clusters. Start at Kingsdale, walk east along Northwest Boulevard to the Tremont Road library, then continue to Lane Avenue for coffee and shopping. The Olentangy Trail is the real draw for anyone without a car: it runs along the river and connects to Ohio State's campus and downtown Columbus, and it is flat, paved and shaded in summer. The best months are May, June, September and October, when temperatures sit in the sixties and seventies and the trail is not crowded with commuters.

For groceries and a longer stay, the Lane Avenue corridor has pharmacies and food shops within walking distance of the hotels, which matters if you are booking a room near the university. If you want a day in the city without moving the car, ride COTA into downtown, see the Scioto Mile, and return the same way. I would book a hotel on the Lane Avenue or Kingsdale side rather than deep in the residential streets — you get walkable food, a bus stop nearby and easier parking.

What to Skip and How to Plan the Day

Skip trying to reach Upper Arlington's parks by bus alone. Many of the smaller green spaces, including the pocket parks off Fishinger Road, sit a fifteen- to twenty-minute walk from the nearest stop, and sidewalks thin out in places. If a park is your priority, drive or use a rideshare for that leg and keep COTA for the Lane Avenue and downtown runs. Also skip the assumption that a rental car is essential — for a two- or three-day stay centred on shopping, campus and the trail, it is often not.

Build the day around one anchor and walk outward. Morning on the Olentangy Trail, lunch near Lane Avenue, afternoon at the shops, evening bus into the Short North. If you are arriving by car, park once at your hotel and leave it; if you are arriving without one, check that your hotel sits within a short walk of a Lane Avenue or Northwest Boulevard stop before booking. That single detail decides whether a car-free Upper Arlington trip feels easy or awkward.

The practical upshot is that Upper Arlington works best as a park-once suburb. Choose lodging near Lane Avenue or Kingsdale, use COTA for the downtown and campus legs, and keep the trail for the hours when the weather is at its best.

Before you book

What people ask before booking Upper Arlington.