The Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks are a group of 20 metropolitan parks in and around Columbus, Ohio. They are officially organized into the Columbus and Franklin County Metropolitan Park District. The Metro Parks system was organized in 1945 under Ohio Revised Code Section 1545 as a separate political division of the state of Ohio. The Metro Parks are overseen by a Board of Park Commissioners consisting of three citizens appointed to three-year terms without compensation by the Judge of the Probate Court of Franklin County, Ohio. The Board in turn appoints an Executive Director responsible for operations and management of the parks.

The Metro Parks system protects over 27,500 acres (111 km²) of land and water and extends over seven counties in Central Ohio and the Hocking Hills area. Facilities and programs include trails, shelters, lodges, nature centers, educational facilities and programs, natural resources management, stormwater management, picnicking, boating, and other recreational activities.

The Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks system was created in 1945 after a study was commissioned by the Columbus and Franklin County planning commissioners. The study endorsed the development of a metro park system with the area's rivers and streams as idea land for the parks modeled after the Cleveland Metroparks. The parks would also contribute to the preservation, protection, and restoration of natural resources. Walter A. Tucker became the first president-secretary of the Metro Parks. Tucker negotiated the first parcel of land purchase in 1947 that would become Blacklick Woods.

In 1970, Tucker retired and was succeeded by Edward F. Hutchins as president-secretary.

The three Board of Park Commissioners are appointed to terms of three years by the Judge of the Probate Court of Franklin County. The board approve land acquisitions, development, policies and regulations, and financial transactions. Park Commissioners oversee administrative operations of Metro Parks.

Located along the southwest boundary of Franklin County Battelle Darby Creek is the largest Metro Park at over 7,103 acres (2,874 ha). The park encompasses lands and creek beds north and south of the confluence of the Big and Little Darby Creeks. Unique features include restored tallgrass prairie areas totalling 2,000 acres (810 ha) that house a group of 10 American bison, a large nature center with exhibits about the exceptional biodiversity of Big Darby Creek, and a Fort Ancient mound. Thirteen miles of the Big Darby Creek and Little Darby Creek flow through the park. Much of the land for the park was donated by the Battelle Memorial Institute. The northern parcel lies just outside the town of West Jefferson (In Madison County). The park follows the Darby Creeks south past the village of Georgesville and continues towards the crossroads of Darbydale. Detached parcels of the park extend along Darby Creek to the village of Harrisburg (into Pickaway County).

Opened in 1948, and located in Reynoldsburg, this 643-acre (260 ha) park is the oldest park in the system. Within the forested area of the park is the Walter A. Tucker State Nature Preserve preserving one of the oldest Beech-maple forest in central Ohio. In the southern area of the preserve you can find an assortment of white and pin oak, white ash with specimens of red maple, red elm, shagbark and bitternut hickory, hophornbeam, American hornbeam and dogwood. There are also wetlands and seasonable ponds in the southern area of the nature preserve where salamanders, chorus frogs, and wood ducks among other aquatic life and amphibians can be found. Fox, Rabbits, and White-Tailed Deer can also be seen throughout the park. It is also well known as a good spot for bird watching. The Golf Course has been certified by Audubon International as a Cooperative Sanctuary. The Blacklick Woods Nature Center with Naturalists and volunteers is also available to answer questions. Blacklick Creek flows south along the eastern boundary of the park and is accessible by several trails that travel through a variety of fields, meadows, and forests.

In 1974, Blacklick Woods was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service.