I'm really starting to appreciate nature and hiking. This park is a nice spot for a peaceful walk…read more I visited with my son to enjoy some quality time and nature, and it's conveniently close to our home. It wasn't very busy the day we came. The park has shelters and multiple walking trails, which gives you options depending on how far you want to go. I noticed people taking family pictures at this park. One of the highlights was the water along the trail which adds a really pretty, calming touch to the scenery. The weather was decent temperature but a bit gloomy the day we went, and there were a lot of leaves on the trail. We didn't check the map and just kind of winged it, so parts of the trail were hard to follow because the leaves covered the path, but it wasn't an issue. Overall, we enjoyed the walk, the quiet surroundings, and the chance to bond while taking in what nature has to offer.

Southeastway Park is a hidden 188 acre treasure in the southeast corner of Marion County. The Park…read morehas trails through sycamore filled woods, picnic areas, a large playground and a naturalist center. Best of all, the park is free. The park maintains several natural habitats including a pond, wetland, prairie and Buck Creek. The setting is perfect for bird watching, hiking, running, walking the dog or enjoying a sunset. The six shelters can be reserved (rented) for parties, meetings, picnics for $135 for residents of Marion County or $160 for non-residents. The naturalist center/classroom can also be reserved during certain months. There are lots of picnic tables available on first come basis. There is a bathroom facility available in the warmer months. The naturalists run special educational programs throughout the year including summer day camps for the kids, a bug festival, maple syrup tapping in late winter and hayrides in the fall. The Park will be hosting eclipse viewing on April 8. I was visiting the Master Naturalist Class, a but also took my dog on a nice walk. The park is open dawn til dusk and worth a visit. Plan on spending a couple hours. Be sure to bring your bug repellent.

I enjoy taking walks here whenever I'm in the area. You can get a good amount of steps in, either…read moreby walking straight down the path (I usually start near the playground by the PD) or by doing a couple of laps around the lake. It's usually not too busy, which makes for a relaxing walk.

Gorgeous park- well maintained, clean and nice…read more Its only fault is the bathrooms. The park is long, over one mile- and the only bathrooms are at the highest point near the playground. For a park this spread out with hiking paths/trails you would think they would have at least 2 restrooms.

Reasons we LOVE Finch Creek Park…read more The park feels safely contained thanks to the hill banks--less worry about little ones wandering off Separate areas for everyone: toddler section, big kid playground, music zone & splash pad So many slides! Open, closed, straight, curved, and different thrill levels Soft padded turf instead of mulch Plenty of seating for parents--swinging benches and picnic tables Swings for all ages: mommy & baby, big kid, chair swings & a swaying bench A walking path all around if mom wants to get her steps in Bathrooms are actually pretty clean (which matters ) This park checks ALL the boxes for an easy, fun outing!

Very mediocre park, lots of things are broken or just dirty.. looks nice from the outside but not…read moreso great. Lots of better parks near by!

This park is deceptively larger than it looks sitting at 2.7 acres. It does not have a designated…read moreparking lot, but there is a lot of free street parking available along the streets surrounding the park. The park was opened in 1928 and originally known as 61st and Broadway Park (after the streets it's located off of). It was renamed to Dan Wakefield Park in 2016, after a long time local resident and author/journalist, in part due to a campaign proposing the change was started. The park has a lot of green space. It would be good for activities such as picnic'ing, playing catch, flying a kite, or even a small football or soccer game. There are a few picnic tables placed on the green space to sit and/or eat. There is also a half decent tennis court and remnants of a volleyball court. The net is missing and the sand court is in very bad shape. You will find a relatively small picnic shelter at this park with picnic tables and a modest playground area. The playground area is lined with wood chips and has some older equipment which includes a jungle gym with slides, a bank of toddler swings and a bank of traditional swings. There are also a couple of sit and spins. The equipment could really use an upgrade. There is a lot of trees that provide decent shade at this park, which would be nice on a hot sunny day. There is a restroom facility at the park as well, but it was temporarily enclosed within a fenced area that they are doing some heavy construction on. I think it is where the splash pad is located. This is a good neighborhood park and has lots of potential, but time has seemed to catch up with it. The main draw for this place would probably be its splash pad. I hope it is back operational before the hot weather is here. Well, outside of the splash pad, it does not look like the city has invested much into the park in a while. This is not a park that you would travel to per se. But it may be worth while if you were in the area or lived in the surrounding neighborhood.

Here is another nice park for the folks in Broad Ripple. This one features tennis and volleyball…read morecourts, a splash park, a playground for kids, and a small swing playground for toddlers. There is a shelter with picnic tables but I didn't see a grill. There are restrooms and a water fountain available during park season. There is shade for adults who might not be participating in the splash park. Note: I thought the tennis courts looked like they were in really good condition compared to many I've visited. Review #595

I've always had a warm affection for Municipal Gardens Park. I grew up not far from Municipal…read moreGardens, and as a young disabled child attended a lot of accessible events here. It's still an area I love to visit. As Katherine A. notes, the actual community center continues to be closed. They continue to say it's "temporary." I hope it is temporary, because it's one of those old, beautiful buildings I love. It reminds me of the one at Brookside Park. It's one of Indy's oldest. Prior to opening as a public park in 1952, Municipal Gardens served as a private canoe and yacht club along with a dance hall. The building was constructed in 1920. The park is still used for people with disabilities. It's not perfectly accessible here, but it's surprisingly good. There's even an accessible ramp behind the center that can get you closer to White River. The playground did get a 2024 remodel from the American Rescue Plan funds. There's a playground, covered shelter, splash pad, outdoor basketball court, shelter, and lots of options indoors once it reopens (including a wonderful ballroom). The park overlooks White River on its east side. I did not know about the George Tompkins marker here (nor did I know that history). So, I appreciate Katherine A. mentioning it. When I stopped by tonight, I had to check it out. So sad. So very sad. I looked it up - Tompkins's lynching was in 1922. At the time, it was declared a suicide by white authorities. In March 2022, Tompkins was memorialized by the Indiana Remembrance Coalition. His death certificate was amended to reflect death by homicide. He had migrated to Indy from Frankfort, KY. The Indianapolis Star actually first reported his death as a lynching. He is buried in Floral Park Cemetery. The marker is part of an effort by the Equal Justice Initiative.

This little park starts out like an oasis of color and fun for the neighborhood. The entire park is…read moreflanked on the east by the White River with panoramic views of the Indy skyline in the distance. The playground, remodeled in 2024, includes two climbing structures (one for toddlers and one for older kids), as set of swings, and a small splash pad ( for warmer weather). The basketball court has a small set of bleachers and is separated from the playground by a picnic pavilion. The playground area is enclosed by a fence so that kids don't wonder towards the river or road. The Municipal Gardens community center is currently closed, but houses a gymnasium and event center that people can reserve. Behind the center is a picnic area, play area and stairs/accessible ramp that leads down to the river. I saw beautiful views of the river from the fenced walkway. My visit took a sad note when I spotted a historic marker to the north describing the brutal lynching of 19 year old George Tompkins in 1922 on the grounds of the park grounds. The plaque memorializes young Tompkins and describes the history of racially motivated lynchings in America. The story of Tompkins weighed heavy on my mind. A bike path leads north out of the park past a heavily wooded area. There is plenty of parking, including accessible parking in the lots around the center. In the summer, kid's may sign-up for day camps held at the park.

I live not far from Indy's Ellenberger Park, an Irvington landmark designed by George Edward…read moreKessler and opened in 1909. This makes it one of Indy's oldest public parks. The pool opened in 1930 and in 1962 an ice rink was installed. The park encompasses 42 acres and includes two playgrounds, sand volleyball courts, tennis courts, football/softball/baseball areas, and has played host to the popular Irvington Farmer's Market. It's also a popular spot for Indy Parks concerts. Those into geocaching should note the park actually is host to multiple individual geocaches. The park is actually surprisingly undeveloped. It has rolling hills, a popular spot for winter sledding, and a good amount of the park doesn't even have sidewalks. It's remained quite natural over the years with lots of mature trees. As a wheelchair user, of course, this can be somewhat frustrating given that a certain amount of development is needed to be accessible. While I love Ellenberger Park as a place to visit, there are geocaches I can't reach and places where I risk tipping over if I venture to them. Trust me, I've done it more than once. The park is close to most Irvington area restaurants along with the adjacent Pleasant Run and nearby 10th Street. The Park is named after John Ellenberger, whose family owned much of the land in the area and who'd been generous with the community and had often let residents use the land. In fact, there was controversy when the park was "officially" established as it required a tax hike. People couldn't figure out why they were being asked to pay taxes for something they'd already been using for free. But, they did. The park temporarily changed names, but residents again protested and it returned to Ellenberger Park as it has been since the early 1920s. Ellenberger Park lacks sheltered picnic areas and public restrooms. There was talk of creating more parking, but it would have cost the sledding hill and that was too steep a price to pay (Sorry, couldn't resist). The ice rink was closed in 2009 due to needed repairs that were deemed too expensive. Even the ball fields don't have seating with them. Ellenberger Park is that rarity - a rather large park more focused on nature than activity. While I can't quite go a 5-star because of accessibility issues and some general upkeep concerns, it remains a place I visit often.

This park is huge covering about 42 acres. It dates back to the early 1900s. It is a nice park,…read moreespecially for walker/joggers. There is adequate parking, especially by the pool. The park has a very nice paved trail to run. It trail is pretty flat and is rock/dirt. There is also more woodsy trails available to hike if you so desire. That trail runs along a small creek. Additionally, You will find benches and picnic tables scattered across along the trail across the park. I did not see any restroom facilities around the park. I did however, see a few porta-potties. The park's tennis courts (2 sets of 4) are in need of repair. The nets are decent, but the courts themselves are ragged. It has a unique set up, The fence is tall in the back and short on the sides. It makes it easy to watch, but I can imagine some balls sailing over the fence. The park is home to a huge green field that is well maintained. There is where you will find a football field, or at least two opposing goal posts and two baseball/kickball fields. Those fields are the pure basic and they do not offer many amenities or features. The field can be used for activities such as playing catch, frisbee, soccer, kite flying, and field hockey. It was surprised to see that the park had an aquatic complex, however, it is not operational and was empty. It does look like it has a lot of potential though. There is a small playground at the park that consist of a swing set with an older set of swings and an accessible jungle gym that has parallel bars and slides. The ground is lined with wood chips. The park is also home to a sand volleyball court and some of the most bold squirrels I have seen. They are not afraid of people at all. The volleyball court is decent, nothing special. The Irvington Farmers Market, day camp, community water gun fight and some concerts are hosted here. It is a nice park to play sports or workout. The playgrounds are a bit lacking and would probably not be as fun for kids.

Hohlt Park is sort of the unofficial park of the Rocky Ripple area of Indianapolis. Bordered by…read moreWhite River and the Canal just north of Butler, Hohlt Park is located 8 blocks west of 52nd and Meridian. Sadly, I'll admit I didn't even really know about it until friends played a concert here. With space donated by the Hohlt Family, this is a pretty simple neighborhood park with playground equipment, a dome climber, a merry-go-round, and a field that often plays host to small concerts/musical events. Additionally, of course, Hohlt Park hosts the Rocky Ripple Festival. Additional facilities include sports fields, a shelter with picnic tables, and lots of greenery. This is by no means a high-end park and it's certainly not one I'd go out of the way to experience, however, if you're in the area it's a great place to stop, rest, play, or enjoy a picnic. Overall, I'd probably lean more toward a 3.5 here, however, I do think this park serves the Rocky Ripple area well and it's reasonably well maintained - so, I'm going with the 4-star. As a matter of note, this park does not fall under Indy Parks. When I was here, I encountered a handful of people who were friendly and the park was clean and felt safe to me.

This is a medium sized neighborhood park, spanning about 6 acres. It has a small amount of parking…read moreavailable in a grassy area and one odd thing that I noticed is that there are not any trash receptacles in the park. The park has been known to hold community special events such as the Rocky Ripple Festival. The park has a nice pavilion with picnic tables under it and there is also a decent sand volleyball court with bleachers next to it. You will find a lot of green space here that is suitable for field sports such as football and soccer, or having a picnic, playing catch, or flying a kite. The park's playground is on a bed of wood chips and has your traditional equipment such as a merry go round, toddler and traditional swings, a 4-way see-saw, and a medium sized jungle gym with slides (straight and spiral), climbing nets and monkey bars. The park just recently replace it old dome climber with a new crab trap play structure. It is very nice. I found the park's picnic tables very neat. It looks like the legs were made from small tree trucks. They are pretty cool if you ask me. The park seemed pretty well maintained, especially considering there was not a trash can to be found and the amount of grass that has to be maintained. This is a nice park, but I will be the first to admit that is not a destination park and finds most of its usage from people from the adjacent neighborhood that live within walking or biking distance. It is a very nice park if you live in the area or just visiting the area and looking for a playground or place to hang out.

This is a nice little park on the heart of Broad Ripple. They have a gravel lot right next to the…read moreplayground. The playground is small, but perfect for a toddler! The outside area is a little run down and the landscaping could use a bit of a clean up. The shade does offer a lot of shade which is nice!

This is a small neighborhood park located in the Broad Ripple area. The park was built by the North…read moreSide Optimist Youth Club and is maintained by its volunteers and funded through donations. There is not much to the park. It has a baseball field that is OK and a small picnic shelter with two picnic tables under it. There are no grills though. the field is well maintained and does not have any benches or dugout. I am not sure if it is part of a full course, but I saw a disc golf hole in the outfield. The baseball field can also double as an open field where you can play catch, a soccer or football game, hold a picnic or even fly a kite. The park's play area is lined with wood chips. Some of the playground equipment includes a large jungle gym with slides, monkey bar rings, a balance beam/parallel bars, a sit n spin cup, U-shaped ladder, sliding poles, a bank of traditional swings and a bank of toddler swings. There are picnic tables and benches on the perimeter of the playground area to sit and watch the littles. The park has a moderate sized parking lot and there is also street parking available. The sheds on the park's property have cute little murals painted on them. You will also find a share a book box at the park too. It is a neat little park, but my little was not very entertained by the playground and did not play there very long. The park is well maintained for the most part, but the trash was overflowing while I was there, and some left a bunch a trash on one of the picnic tables under the shelter. I did not see any restroom facilities or porta johns, so I suggest using the bathroom before you come and to bring your own water.