Your way to great shopping, restaurants, arts and sporting events, and more!

You are just 30 minutes away from Columbus and some of the best shopping, eating, arts, and sports venues in the country. Large department stores and lots of boutique offerings will give you a new appreciation for Midwestern creativity. Columbus is home to two major league teams, the Crew and the Blue Jackets, art museums and galleries, music, theater, dance, and comedy venues, festivals, and events.

For your big-box needs, nearby Newark offers two Walmarts, Target, larger grocery stores, including Krogers and Giant Eagle, an AMC movie theater, and lots of local restaurants. You can also use your Big Red Bucks, part of your student meal plan, at many local eateries and the local grocery store.

Ways to get there

Denison coordinates and subsidizes Big Red Express, a regular shuttle service that takes you to your local shopping destinations. ​​Reserve your shuttle on WhattoDU.

Denison has partnered with the Enterprise carsharing program to offer a low-cost, sustainable way to meet your travel needs. The program is open to our faculty, staff, and students. The cars — all five-person, automatic Toyota Corollas — are available to rent 24/7 and may be reserved through the Enterprise carsharing app.

Denison students can travel to their favorite Granville and Newark shops and restaurants safely, economically, and sustainably via the Licking County Bus Transit system. This service is free of charge.

Looking for additional transportation options?

The following services are available to students, families, alumni, and friends of Denison for your personal transportation needs, including orientation, family weekend, graduation, reunion, and so much more!

Concierge Services

Denison partners with multiple local concierge providers, offering the Denison community personalized transportation services around Granville, Columbus, and the surrounding areas, including airport transportation. See two options below with Denison Family and Friends rates provided.

Go Bus

GoBus helps connect Ohio’s non-urbanized communities with urban centers and beyond through the Rural Intercity Bus Program. GoBus achieves this goal by coordinating with Greyhound Lines, Barons Bus Lines, John Glenn Columbus International Airport, and other national and local transportation services. Denison students can easily access our local GoBus stop at OSU Newark - Central Ohio Technical College from Granville via the Licking County Bus Transit system or ride shares and taxi services. Interested travelers can book GoBus tickets here. 

Lyft and Uber

Lyft and Uber drivers are active in Newark, Granville, and Columbus. Columbus Taxi Service is available for pre-booked transportation.

COTA System in Columbus

The Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) is the regional public transit provider for greater Columbus and central Ohio. COTA buses operate from COTA hubs and service local suburbs with shopping, restaurants, and live venues: Bexley, Dublin, Gahanna, Grandview Heights, Grove City, Hilliard, Reynoldsburg, Upper Arlington, Westerville, Whitehall, and Worthington.*

*Students taking the Big Red Express Shuttle into Columbus must return on the same shuttle. If you plan to transfer to the COTA system, please choose another method of transportation to arrive at a COTA hub.