We’re here to help you celebrate spring by planning the perfect picnic. So, check the weather forecast and use our tips to picnicking in CBUS.

🧺 Buy your basket

First things first — you can't enjoy a picnic without a basket. Longaberger, the former Ohio-based basket maker, has a wide-range of handcrafted picnic baskets to browse online. Bonus: The former headquarters in Newark also features the world's largest basket, which is still standing at seven stories tall, so pencil this in as a must-see next time you drive east of CBUS.

Make your picnic even sweeter by customizing your own fruit and cheese board. | Photo by @black.radish.creamery

🧀 Find the right foods

Here are some local food spots to help you fill your picnic basket:

You can't go wrong with a bagel sandwich. Snag one from The Lox Bagel Shop, Broad Street Bagels and Deli, or browse other bagel shops the locals love.
Cheese, please. A local picnic won't be complete without Ohio-made artisan cheese from Black Radish Creamery at North Market Downtown. Bonus: If you're feeling fancy, curate a custom cheese board.
Keep it light with our salad superlatives list featuring five solid salads in the city.
Grab fresh fruit or vegetables from local farms like HTH Farm Market or Doran's Farm Market.

Bring a picnic blanket and sit in the downtown greenspace. | Photo by @thesciotomile

🌳 Pick your park

If you want skyline views, we recommend downtown parks along the Scioto River. Pro tip: Do not feed the downtown geese, or they will crash your picnic.
If you'd like a more private picnic, bring a picnic blanket to any of the local metro parks, many of which have designated picnicking areas and hiking trails for a post-meal walk.
Some of the most scenic picnic views in the city will be at Topiary Park or Franklin Park.