Ohio State University Campus Walk
Ohio State began in 1870 as the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College, a land-grant school created to teach farming, engineering and practical science, and it opened to just 24 students in 1873. Today it is one of the largest universities in the country, and this walk shows you its heart in 11 stops.
You start on the Oval, the big green at the center of campus, and loop past the first building, a striking arts center, two student unions old and new, a hall built from Ohio's own rocks, a hidden amphitheatre and Mirror Lake. Then you head west to Ohio Stadium, the Horseshoe, and the grove where every first-team All-American gets a buckeye tree, before finishing at Thompson Library, back on the Oval.
The loop is about 3 kilometers on foot and takes around 100 minutes with stops. All stops are seen from public outdoor spaces, and some buildings welcome visitors inside when open. On football Saturdays the campus is packed, so pick another day for a quiet walk. Start in the middle of the Oval.
11 stops on this tour:
The Oval - Where Desire Paths Became Sidewalks
University Hall - The First Building, Rebuilt
Wexner Center for the Arts - A Building That Looks Unfinished
Ohio Union - Campus Living Room
Hale Hall - The First Union at a State University
Orton Hall - A Building Made of Ohio
Browning Amphitheatre - Shakespeare in the Ravine
Mirror Lake - A Spring, a Legend and a Retired Tradition
Ohio Stadium - Welcome to the Horseshoe
Buckeye Grove - A Tree for Every All-American
Thompson Library - Back to the Oval
Plan your visit
- Route: 11 stops · about 2.3 miles · walking loop
- Time: about 1.5 hours at an easy pace, with stops
- Start: The Oval (directions)
- Cost: free tour
Stops on this tour
- The Oval - Where Desire Paths Became Sidewalks
- University Hall - The First Building, Rebuilt
- Wexner Center for the Arts - A Building That Looks Unfinished
- Ohio Union - Campus Living Room
- Hale Hall - The First Union at a State University
- Orton Hall - A Building Made of Ohio
- Browning Amphitheatre - Shakespeare in the Ravine
- Mirror Lake - A Spring, a Legend and a Retired Tradition
- Ohio Stadium - Welcome to the Horseshoe
- Buckeye Grove - A Tree for Every All-American
- Thompson Library - Back to the Oval
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