Paradise made it very easy for me and my family to set sail on Lake Monroe this summer. We had…read morenever been on a boat together before, and I was kind of wondering what I had gotten ourselves into when we stepped aboard. The thoughts running through my head included: How the heck does a boat work? How am I going to shuttle us along safely when I've never driven a boat before? And other anxious boating thoughts. But luckily, Paradise makes it easy to rent a vessel and take it out on the lake, even if you've never driven a boat before. First, when you book your reservation, you are directed to watch a long video about the dos and don't of boating on a lake. Then, the kind people at Paradise go over the rules again when you're there before you shuttle off. It turns out that boating isn't super difficult, as long as you follow some common-sense rules! And also, always wear a life jacket! We rented a pontoon, which is great if you have kids with you because this vessel has a canopy that provides lots of shade. Kids can't be in the sun all day, you know! The pontoons also have lots of storage space so you have places to put all of your snacks and extra supplies. We spent about three hours out on the lake, and by the end of the journey, I felt like I was almost a boating pro! Renting from Paradise was a great experience from start to finish, and I'll definitely be renting from them again the next time we want to spend time boating on Lake Monroe.

I have rented boats here every summer since 2019 (yes even in 2020). They provide two sizes of…read morepontoon boats and two sizes of Bayliner runabouts. They also have wave runners (jet skis) for rent. This year we are going all out and renting what they call a 35 ft Destination Yacht that handles 18 people. This "yacht" is two story, has a restroom on board, a wet bar, and a curved slide from the upper deck down to the right above the water. You can bring a grill on board if you like. They require you watch a video online about boat safety and take a test to record the results proving you watched the video. After three years of these tests I finally scored a perfect test score! The staff is always courteous, friendly and very helpful. The boats come fueled and clean. You do a quick walk around and makes notes of any prior damage so you don't get dinged. They always go through all of the features with you, tell you some tips for safe handling and take the time to answer all your questions.

Went to the beach area it's very large and just like an ocean plenty of room we built a sandcastleread more

Nice Indiana State Park…read more HUGE lake. Nice and clean campgrounds; well-groomed grounds. Not big on hiking trails but not bad. It's more about the watersports, fishing, and perhaps hunting. There are two campgrounds, one primitive/tents and the other for mostly RVs and trailers, with a few spots for tents. Everything was clean, given it was a holiday weekend. There is no store or restaurant close by, so bring EVERYTHING YOU NEED, including fuel-- as their marina wasn't pumping when we stayed there (not that we needed it). When it's not a holiday weekend, it's reasonably quiet, but expect a lot of boat traffic noise and loud music on the holidays-- we tried both a holiday and a non-holiday adventure. The signage to the park gates from the county roads stinks, but inside the park, it's not too bad. Get the downloadable map from the IN DNR before you go. Cell service is spotty, and thank heavens!

This small tribute park/plaza is located on the south side of the courthouse. It has plantings and…read morelimestone bench seating and an informational marker letting visitors know the history of the location and that the park is the oldest publicly owned park in the county. Although there isn't much here, it blends well with the surroundings and adds a softened touch to the heavy limestone structure behind it. Review #2008

When the Selmier family owned the property, Frank Selmier began planting pine, black locust, black…read morewalnut, sycamore, and tulip trees on the land. From 1921 to 1934, he worked on the property and most of the property was placed on Indiana's Classified Forest Program between 1927-1931. After Frank's death, his wife donated the property to the State. This 355 acre property is located just a short distance from US 50 to the northeast side of North Vernon. The park is only accessible form CR 350 N and has the Forest Office/Property Manager's station on the east end of the park. However, if you don't wish to stop by and pick up a brochure, you can take the self-guided trail which starts (and has its own small parking lot) on the west end of the park. That's what I decided to take. The self-guided trail is fairly easy to navigate with wide gravel based roads making up most of the trail. Elevation changes are easy with the exception of one area where steps have been built into the hillside. The trail is roughly 1 mile in length and there are benches for resting or stopping to enjoy the sights and sounds of the park. There are small creeks/runoffs along the way with one spot where a small pond tends to grow after rain fall as it waits to filter through a pipe under the trail to lower ground. For those who like longer hikes, there are additional trails in the park, but none of them are very long. Be advised that hunting is allowed in the park during the season, but hunters should check in at the Forest Office to make sure of any additional restrictions. The brochures list the major items of concern for hunting as well as having maps of the trails. Nothing spectacular to catch your attention as far as terrain, but the forest looks to be in great health and the wide paths make the park more accessible (though not completely) than most. Review #2632

I have lived in Indianapolis my entire life, and never heard of Fairfax State Recreation Area at…read moreMonroe Lake. From what I understand, it's even fairly well-kept secret from the locals. My friend visits the beach every weekend with her boys and others join her from time to time. She had lived in the area for several years before she knew it was there. We drove down for the day earlier this month and really enjoyed it. The beach is a little rocky and muddy, but I suppose that's to be expected in Indiana. It's a nice little spot to lay out, hang out with friends and family, or take out your floats, paddle boards, kayaks, etc. I would visit again. I give it four stars for a couple of reasons. 1. The difficulty in getting down to the beach area since there is only one small walkway. 2. The restrooms are not well-marked, and are thoroughly disgusting. Although a DNR employee sits near the restrooms, they don't seem to do a whole lot. There were people using one of the grills near the restrooms who thought it would be a good idea to play soccer on the sidewalk instead of the grass. They made no effort to move or stop playing as people had to walk by to the restrooms, and the DNR employee cared more about asking someone to move their vehicle than ask those disrespectful guests from hitting others with their soccer ball.

Clean, lots for kids to do. They seem to have increased their price to $15/child? That's a little…read morehigher than expected, but still a nice place to take your kids when they can't play outside

worst daycare in North Vernon. treats kids like crap if they have bad days, forgetting kids are…read morehuman too. only care if they get grants, money and voucher parents. money money money. that's all this company and owner is about and cares about. sure, they have decent open hours that do cater to a lot of working parents which is unfortunately why we had to put our child in this facility. they hire people off the streets just to fill positions and don't actually put the children first. they lie on the app to meet the needs they need to get paid! that's it. i don't know what goes on in there, and if i did, i would probably raise absolute hell. they don't deserve anything. the children deserve better.

My sister came across this Forest by reading through a book about hikes in Indiana. Our first visit…read morehere was in April and we hiked along trail 7 which was a rugged 1.7 miles and took us up along a number of overlooks. We then hiked along Knob Lake- trail 5- only .25 miles but beautiful views of the lake. Plenty of people were fishing here. There are 10 trails overall and most range from 1-3 miles. We noticed that there were primitive camp sites and someone told us that it is very rarely full. We decided to come camping here in September after Labor Day. It is only $13 a night and self registration. The camp sites have plenty of room for car and tents. The sites each have a fire pit and picnic table. There are only pit toilets but they all had plenty of toilet paper. There were a handful of people camping so it was a very quiet evening. This time we hiked trail 2 which was 1.75 miles moderately rugged. This takes you up 985 feet above sea level. There are horse trails, hunting, archery range and plenty of picnicking spots. If you enjoy the outdoors- this is only about an hour and 30 minutes from Indianapolis.

Found this park by way of AllTrails app, and I'm so happy I did! My sweet spots are national and…read morestate parks, but I'm so happy I stumbled upon this state forest. Being a state forest, it's free entrance, for one. It's about 1.25 hours from downtown Indy, so not too far of a trek and about the same distance to Brown County area. I came for the purpose of a day hike on the Knoblake and Pinnacle Loop Trail. It's labeled "hard" on AllTrails. As with most Indiana "hard" trails, if you're an experienced hiker, it means they're "easy-to-medium" challenge. However, I will happily say that this trail kicked my booty. It was a challenge. The elevation gains/descents are no joke. Bring hiking poles if you can! The final views were incredible and a great place to feel the spring sunshine and breeze to reward our hard work. It meanders through some creek area as well. I can't wait to come back and take advantage of their buddy camping system. $13 a campsite - an absolute win compared to other nearby campsite prices. Would highly recommend for camping, fishing, hiking and general nature time!

Why is it so nasty looking now? The fountains are never on. There use to be I believe three…read morefountains that ran all the time then it went to two then one now none. The water looks awful and the vines are taking over and also the round area in the middle of the pond would always be mowed now it looks like a Jungle. What happened? Sad. Very very Sad

While driving along US 31, I noticed this park, particularly the well maintained pond with…read morefountains. So, I found a place to park (there is a dedicated lot on the far side of the pond via the neighborhood.) Near the highway, there is a small bridge, a paved walking path around the pond, and a sandy bottomed shelter. Unfortunately, there is no parking near the shelter, so if they do put picnic tables up during the warmer months, visitors would have to haul their coolers quite a way. I didn't see any onsite grills either. On the far side of the pond by the parking area is some seating with picnic tables for convenience. That end of the pond has an island in it too which not only looks nice, but because it isolated without access, the geese that find the pond prefer to congregate there instead of shore around the pond. Less clean up needed! Overall, there isn't much to do here, but it is a nice looking setting for a stroll. Side note: I noticed an unpleasant odor in the air, most likely from some commercial/industrial businesses in the area. I hope that isn't a constant thing. Side note 2: Despite the negative publicity the town has taken on recently, the park was clean and seemed maintained. Review #3383