This pocket park is part of the Bates-Hendricks Neighborhood community making an effort to provide…read morean asset where an empty lot was neglected. Now, there is a clean green space with a pergola and seating, benches, and a wooden playground in the shade. The playground has swings, a slide, and a "rock climbing" and rope climbing side. A nice entrance and pasture plants frame the street sides of the park. It has a nice balance of natural and artistic planning which makes for a calm and restful environment. Review #623

This park is located in the Southern Dunes sub division, just down the street from Rosa Parks…read moreElementary. There is no parking for the small park, but it is intended for sub division residents to walk to. You will however see an occasional vehicle parked on the grass in front of the park. The park appears accessible and the ground is covered with shredded tires. I do not know who the park is named after or who pays for the maintance of the park, possibly the sub divisions HOA. But the park is well maintained The park is small and has a bench overlooking the jungle gym/slide. It also has a couple of swings behind the jungle gym. This park is not a park that I would drive to as a destination. I would probably only use it if I lived nearby or was passing it on the way somewhere else.

Sometimes, a good idea actually takes root and does something good for a community. Back in 2016,…read morea neighborhood (Springdale) decided to turn an empty lot into a park that would help preserve one of the oldest trees in the neighborhood: The Nowland Oak. In cooperation with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful's IPL Project Greenspace, the neighborhood created a small park to tell the story of Indiana during the 300 years of the tree's life. A concrete base was created by a local artist (Nick Gehlhausen) and formed roots spreading down the hillside. On the base, panels were set up showing the history of the state in timelines and script. On the reverse side of the panels, information about native plants is shown. Mosaics were created by artist Barbara Zech to welcome visitors and to follow a path to the park. Note that additional markers were embedded into the sidewalk and lead visitors to an even older Chinquapin Oak a couple blocks away estimated to be 450 years old! (It is probably the oldest tree in Marion County and is called the Temple Oak.) Instead of removing the tree on a lot that was slated for demolition, it is nice to see something pleasant and educational added to the neighborhood. Note: There is no parking other than street parking in the area. Review #578

My husband and I took our grandchildren here for a picnic and hiking/exploring. The nature center…read morewas closed (I had not checked their hours), but we had a great time before incoming rain/storm sent us home. We'll return! The creek is beautiful and the kids enjoyed the bridge. We found deer and raccoon tracks, and some shells. Nature is wonderful

I don't get to this part of Central Indiana often, however, I had the chance to accompany a friend…read moreand we decided to do a bit of a detour and visit McCloud Nature Park in North Salem (Hendricks County). McCloud Nature Park is a 232-acre nature park established in 2003. It has over six miles of hiking trails, easy access to Big Walnut Creek, a nature center with year-round programs, and a pretty good chance you're going to see wildlife while here. The nature center has live reptiles, amphibians, insects, a bird-viewing room, a resource library, and interactive exhibits. In the late spring, summer, and early fall, you can observe live honeybee hives. There's a park pavilion available for rent (I believe it's only $50 a day). For a nature park, it's obvious much effort has been made to offer some contemporary amenities (modern restrooms/picnic facilities) and a surprising degree of accessibility including the availability of a GRIT Freedom Chair to borrow for two-hour increments (no charge). You can also rent a picnic pavilion with tables/grills. For those who don't know, GRIT chairs are capable of handling basic off-roading quite easily. They are manual chairs, but they have levers instead of the traditional wheel-push function. They're quite cool and ideal for hiking trails. While I was able to handle most of the ground here in my chair, a GRIT chair makes it MUCH easier. The trails are both gravel and natural surfaced trails - they are well marked. You can fish, wade, canoe, and kayak in Big Walnut Creek. The creek is known to have smallmouth bass, panfish, catfish, suckers, and carp (you do have to follow Indiana fishing laws and have an Indiana fishing license). As someone who loves bridges, I was in love with a restored iron truss bridge that is over 100 years old. There's also a swing set with belt, tire, infant, and ADA swings. The wetland habitat has a boardwalk and observation decks. While I'm impressed with how accessible Hendricks County has made this nature park, I'm also impressed with how much accessibility was actually just built into it. There was some clear thought. I sure wouldn't call all the trails accessible, though more advanced wheelchair users like myself can definitely have some fun here (and I did). The nature center admission is free. Hours for the nature center: November through March: Friday & Saturday only, 10am-4pm (closed noon to 1pm). April through October: Wednesday - Saturday, 10am - 4pm (closed noon to 1pm); Sundays, 1-5pm. This is definitely worth a visit to the westside to check out. I'd actually call it a destination nature park with enough features to keep folks happy. There's enough accessibility offerings to allow for all members of the family to enjoy the park. This is an absolute gem and I definitely recommend a visit.

The Blickman Educational Trail Park at White River was established in 2005 by Sol and Toby Blickman…read moreas an outdoor environmental educational destination for young people with a special focus on both Boy and Girl Scouts. Donating the land that allows a link between Marott Park and Holliday Park, the Blickmans funded this park to ensure it would remain in its natural state for perpetuity. The odds are fairly strong that you've driven by this park many times if you've lived in Indy for any length of time at all. Located right at 64th and Meridian, not far from the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation where the Blickmans were members, the Blickman Educational Trail Park is one of those "over the shoulder" sites where you pass it, you realize there's something there, and you look over your shoulder to try to figure out what it is. Sol Blickman was a longtime philanthropist in the Indy area. He owned Rogers Jewelers before selling it off to Zale's, then started Rogers Swimming Pools in Broad Ripple. He received a Distinguished Hoosier Award from Governor Daniels in 2005. The actual trail itself is short at .7 miles and connects to the White River Trail. There's ample parking here. It's worth noting that the Blickman Educational Trail Park is truly a "nature" resource and is not a recreational area. There are no real activities beyond those related to environmental education. It's also worth noting, and this causes a loss of a star for me, that the trail itself is not fully accessible, though I do believe there's a way you can detour that allows at least some access. Because the trail does have a section by White River, there's also the potential for flooding - when it's not flooded (which is most of the time), it's stunning in its beauty. This is one of those stunning little gems in Indy that it seems like most people ignore. I was honestly surprised it hadn't been reviewed but, again, it's one of those little spots that's such a short trail it's not really worth going out of your way. It's also set aside off Meridian Street and super easy to miss. I would definitely recommend checking it out at least once. It's yet another wonderful example of someone doing something really great for Indy and ensuring their legacy continues long after they've passed away.

I'd seen a social media post that W.S. Gibbs Memorial Park had added a major ADA accessibility…read morefeature - so, after a recent clinic appointment I was able to get a friend of mine to take a detour so I could go check it out. W.S. Gibbs Memorial Park is a Hendricks County Park with an official address in Danville, though the park itself is considered to be in Avon. One of Hendricks County's newer parks, it offers two fishing ponds, nature trails, a disc golf course, and a playground among other features. The feature that attracted my attention is the recent addition of a fully accessible, ADA compliant fishing dock on the park's smaller lake. This dock was paid for in part by a federal Land & Water Conservation Fund grant and is part of a larger project at the park to improve ADA-accessibility and park security. The park is open from dawn to dusk daily, and admission to the park and the 18-hole disc golf course within it is free. In addition to checking out the new dock, I checked out the park itself. The park features: 70 acres of woods, prairie, ephemeral creek, and ponds. Over 2 miles of well-marked trails (gravel and natural surfaces). Two ponds totaling 5.5 acres stocked with bass, redear sunfish, bluegill, and channel catfish. ADA-accessible fishing dock Nature-themed playgrounds for 5-to-12-year-olds and for 2-to-5-year-olds. ADA-accessible concrete walkways from paved parking lots to pavilions. 30-foot-tall observation/sledding hill. Picnic areas. Green space. There are two pavilions that can be rented, both ADA accessible. There's no fee to fish the ponds; properly licensed anglers may keep what they catch as long as all Indiana fishing laws and regulations are being followed. This is an absolute gem of a park and I'm so excited to see that they're taking accessibility so seriously. If you're in Hendricks County or on Indy's far westside, this park is worth the trip.

Beautiful new nature park and Disc Golf Course off of Gibbs road between Danville and Plainfield…read moreIN. There is a large sign that helps you find it off the main road. New park so google maps info was actually wrong when I first came here! Fishing pond, nature trails, disc golf course and playground here.

This is another park on the near east side that started off as a five star park with lots of work…read moreand effort put into transforming a vacant lot into a place for peace and serenity. And with some love and attention, the park could return to a more inviting place. Labyrinths are places that visitors go to wind their way through a spiraling path while unwinding their anxiety and fears. The park is surrounded by flowers and contributions from local artists that make the place visitor friendly. But the landscaping needs some help. Though the labyrinth is mowed, the grass is really spotty and some of the path's spirals are blocked by shrubs that have popped up. Stepping around the shrubs requires exiting the spiral you're on and that defeats the process. Hopefully, the park will get some neighborhood or park assistance in returning it to its full benefit. Review #2712

If you spend much time with me at all, you eventually learn that I have a passion for labyrinths…read moreincluding a sort of "in development" plan to develop my own memorial labyrinth project as part of my Indy-based activism. I've long been a fan of labyrinths, though surprisingly few of them are truly wheelchair friendly. Indianapolis is actually home to quite a few labyrinths, though they are for the most part not well-publicized and often times are either not in permanent locations or easily accessed locations. Rivoli Park Labyrinth is the rare labyrinth in Indy to be established in a truly urban location. Established with seed money by Peace Learning Center, the Rivoli Park Labyrinth was first established on October 10, 2013, and is considered an outdoor walking labyrinth and reflective space. The Rivoli Park area is on Indy's Near-Eastside and the labyrinth is located about a half-block away from what used to be the Value World thrift shop. The labyrinth itself is of a triune-focus design and was designed by John Ridder of Paxworks. The labyrinth includes several stumps located right next to it that allow for sitting - as a fun fact, they were decorated by children from the nearby "Love Your Neighbor" house. Multiple artists also donated their time toward beautiful of the area and a log book utilized to record visits, though during my visit not long ago I did not see the logbook. As is unfortunately all too often the case, and as noted by fellow yelper Ken N. during a recent visit to the labyrinth, the Rivoli Park Labyrinth's care is rather inconsistent. Depending upon when you visit, the Rivoli Park Labyrinth may be somewhat overgrown and certainly not reflective of the peaceful ground it was intended to be. As a project that is only a little over six years old, it's rather sad how quickly the project has declined and how inconsistently it receives appropriate care and attention. If you visit at the right time, you can experience a more user-friendly labyrinth. This is especially true on World Labyrinth Day in May. However, on the best of days, this is a more difficult labyrinth for wheelchair users, such as myself. It's a wonderful project, an urban project located in the heart of what is known to be gang territory, yet it's a project that appears to not really be fully embraced year-round and if you're truly looking for a labyrinth to use that is outdoors there are more peaceful, positively maintained labyrinths available throughout Central Indiana. In doing a little bit of research, I learned that a non-profit organization started to support the labyrinth has since been voluntarily dissolved. One can only hope that such an inspired idea finds an appropriate organization to provide the care and nurture it needs to be a shining light for Indy's Rivoli Park neighborhood.

What a wonderful place to get out of the city and just slow down! My honey took me here 4/26/26…read moresince we've had some nice weather lately. Pleasantly surprised they have many picnic tables, the cover bridge to see and of course the Falls. Just be careful when walking to the lower fall as you are pretty close to the ledge of the falls. Plenty to enjoy here. Next time we shall have a nice picnic and enjoy the scenery. You can swim too.Parking is easy but i'm sure it gets crowded in the summer time!

Cataract Falls is a geological wonder worth visiting and only an hour west of Indianapolis. These…read moremagnificent Falls were created over millions of years as ice and water carved into the ancient limestone resulting in Mill Creek and two sets of falls. The Upper Falls drops 20 feet and can be viewed near the entrance to the park at several overlooks. We visited this week on a bright summer day. The waters were loud and rapid after recent rains. This is one of Indiana's most beautiful sites. There is a large parking lot near the Upper Falls along with picnic tables, grill, pavilion and small playground. We brought a picnic lunch so we could enjoy the Falls. There are pit bathrooms near the playground in a second parking lot. The Lower Falls are a short drive through the park. A nearby lot provides plenty of parking. The short path to view the falls is not paved, but an easy walk. These falls drop 18 feet with incredible views of the layered limestone exposed west of the falls. I was envious of a lone kayaker below the falls. There are marked trails through dense woods descending near the creek. You'll want to wear good hiking shoes and bug spray if you are up for the adventure. The property was donated by Agnes Stuckey in memory of her mother, Agnes Steiner. The Park is maintained by the Indiana DNR. There was no admission during our midweek visit.