Disclaimer: Before flying a drone anywhere, check the airspace and make sure you are legally allowed to fly their before doing so! Always follow the FAA rules as well. These are a few locations that are mostly in Class G (uncontrolled airspace) but there are also a couple Class C and Class D that will require LANNC approval.

Downtown Columbus:

A large area of downtown Columbus is in Class G airspace. An easy way to verify this is to use the FAA Visualize It webpage. For this reason, I’ll stick with the parks that are typically close the Scioto River (North to South) but I’ve been to most of the areas along both sides of the river besides the parks too. There are a lot of scenic buildings and river views!

1 - North Bank Park

39°57'55.129"N 83°00'35.747"W

311 W Long St, Columbus, OH 43215

Class G airspace

2 - Battelle Riverfront Park

39°57'47.183"N 83°00'19.419"W

25 Marconi Blvd, Columbus, OH 43215

Class G airspace

3 - East Bank Park

39°57'37.028"N 83°00'11.733"W

233 S Civic Center Dr, Columbus, OH 43215

Class G airspace

4 - Bicentennial Park

39°57'23.032"N 83°00'14.516"W

233 S Civic Center Dr, Columbus, OH 43215

Class G airspace

Other Locations in Columbus:

5 - Scioto Audubon Metro Park

39°56'53.593"N 83°00'24.673"W

400 W Whittier St, Columbus, OH 43215

The park is located south of downtown Columbus near the Scioto river.

Class G airspace

Note: This is a Metro Park, most of these parks do not allow drones but there is a field in the park you can typically use. Best to find a Park Ranger for the field’s location and any rules to follow.

6 - Goodale Park

39°58'31.556"N 83°00'24.622"W

120 W Goodale St, Columbus, OH 43215

One of the oldest parks in the U.S.; surrounded by historic homes.

Class G airspace

7 - Tuttle Park

40°00'46.843"N 83°00'56.286"W

½ mile from OSU, great spot to view the Olentangy river and OSU.

Class G airspace

8 - Innis Park

40°02'21.177"N 82°56'07.227"W

3000 Innis Rd, Columbus, OH 43224

Pretty nature area near Alum Creek.

Class C airspace

Locations outside Columbus:

9 - Dinneen RC Field

40°11'07.846"N 82°57'16.899"W

5770 Africa Rd, Galena, OH 43021

You may need an AMA membership, but this is a very pretty location near the Alum Creek Dam and State Park Beach.

Class G airspace

10 - Indian Run Falls

40°06'03.594"N 83°07'11.653"W

700 Shawan Falls Dr, Dublin, OH 43017

A scenic nature location and waterfall.

Class D airspace

11 - Dublin Link Bridge area (Dublin Spring Open Space – North)

40°06'00.176"N 83°06'42.813"W

20 S Riverview St, Dublin, OH 43017

Very scenic area including the Dublin Link Bridge, it is the only single-tower S-shaped suspension bridge in the world and East Bridge. There are a few places in this area to park besides this one.

Class D airspace

12 - Ariel-Foundation Park

40°22'56.269"N 82°29'42.479"W

10 Pittsburgh Ave, Mt Vernon, OH 43050

It’s a little further away but one of my favorite places to go. It’s a large, beautiful park with a observation tower among many sculptures and glass factory artifacts.

Class G airspace

13 - Scioto Grove Metro Park

39°51'26.704"N 83°01'40.418"W

5172 Jackson Pike, Grove City, OH 43123

This park has a dedicated drone field, scenic and right off the Scioto river.

Class G airspace

Best Places to Fly a Drone in Central Ohio

Downtown Columbus:

Other Locations in Columbus:

Locations outside Columbus:

Dan Tartaglia