It's still hard for me to do park reviews without thinking of the late Yelper Ken N., a Yelp Elite…read morewho had a passion for documenting Indiana's parks and public art. Chatham Commons is a small yet attractive pocket park with land donated by long-time area residents Tom Jones (not the singer!) and Paul Atkinson in 2011. In addition to the land, there's a sculpture, Boy and Dog by Tom Otterness, that was also donated. This is really a gathering space for adults. There's no real kid-friendly features. There's very short walking paths, a pergola, benches, and ottoman chairs. The park is maintained well with the help of the Chatham Arch Neighborhood Foundation, though anyone familiar with Indy knows that the Chatham area folks take pride in their neighborhood and really do a nice job of taking care of this space. As a wheelchair user, I always have to look at a public space through an accessibility lens. Everything is really pretty fine here, though visiting the park really comes down to street parking. It's a relatively quiet area and not that hard to find a space that works with a wheelchair. Curb-cuts are appropriate and I can easily access all the features. The benches obviously don't have grab rails, however, I'm typically pretty happy if I can simply move around independently in a park and I can definitely do that here. Is this a destination park? Oh heavens no. However, it serves this neighborhood really well and is nicely utilized - especially during the summer and fall months I've noticed. There's only mild protection from elements - so during inclement weather this isn't the place you want to go.

This is a cute little pocket park. I am surprised that I am only the 3rd person to review it. It…read moreis very beautiful park that may be small, but has some really neat stuff like paved walking paths, a pergola, colorful ottaman style chairs and benches. You will also find a sculpture titled Boy and Dog by Tom Otterness right in the center of the park. There is a lot of free street parking available in front of the park as well as on the side. The park is well maintained, even during the off season and has a trendy, but peaceful vibe. The park is accesible and has a long ramp leading into it. The park and sculpture was donated by long time residents Tom Jones and Paul Atkinson. It was dedicated in their memory in 2011 as a gathering place for residents of the neighborhood that they so loved. I like this park and it is one that even if you are not a resident, you still would enjoy. It is however, very convenient for those people living close by. This is definitely worth a stop if you are in the are and have some time to kill or just want to relax and kick back for a bit.

We took our granddaughter to Hummel Park and she enjoyed the massive playground. She had the whole…read morefamily going up and down the large spiral slides and climbing on the colorful structures. We also enjoyed the merry-go-round and the swings. There is so much equipment to keep the kids entertained. We found shaded seating to take a break near the playground. The park is filled with amenities. We saw several nice pavilions equipped with grills. Beautiful gazebos are available for picnics or relaxing. We were disappointed that the splash pad had closed for the season. The splash pad looked fun! A story walk is posted for the kids. Basketball, tennis and pickleball courts are available. I saw several baseball fields, as well. Several paved trails also pass through the park. Lot's of green space fills the park. The restroom facilities are very clean. We found plenty of parking. The park is fully accessible, including ramps on the playground. We saw a community center, but didn't go inside.

Lots of different equipment to climb on and spin or swing on! Several different slides. A large…read morearea for kids to run about and burn off their steam. The 'tall slide' was a favorite of the day!

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.

We took our 3 year old granddaughter to play at the Bluff Road Park today and she loved it but…read morethere is only one thing we didn't like is that we were there for about an hour before she had to use the restroom so we had to cut our time short because there is no restroom or portable restroom. I would suggest that you install a restroom or put portable toilets in so that the kids can stay longer and play. Other than that we had a great time.

Bluff Park is a decent park. It does not have the standard sign with the name of the park on it,…read moreso you may miss it. There is ample parking for the park, but the parking lot could use a resurfacing. The park has the basics. It has a huge field that is split among 3 baseball fields. The baseball field is ok. Nothing to write home about. The field itself is decent and can be used for flying a kite, playing football, playing soccer, or playing catch. There is an unpaved jogging/walking/running trail that looks like it is a quarter of a mile that goes around the field. There is also a have court basketball goal that is ok. The goal is in good shape, but the court itself could use some TLC. Still a decent spot to make it rain though. There is a covered pavilion with a grill and picnic tables under it. It was well maintained as well as the fields. There is a small playground on the park's grounds. There you will find some older model swings, a see-saw and a jungle gym with a slide. A more accurate rating would be 3.5 stars, but I went with the higher end. It is a nice park and there were a few people there while I was. Some were on the playground, a few were running the trail and there was a guy doing pitching practice on the field. I admit that there are better parks in the area, but this serves it purpose and is a decent alternative.

Anderson Park is a 7-acre park in Plainfield with its primary feature being a skate park that's…read moreopen seasonally (April-October). The skate park can be reserved. The park opened in 1983 and is named after Frank Anderson, a longtime park employee and foreman. I always kind of chuckle when a fairly modest park is a "memorial" park. I'm thinking Hummel and Swinford got better deals. There's a decent amount of greenery here with trails, shelters, and picnic tables. The park is considered pet friendly. While I no longer skateboard (both age and disability), I did when I was younger and during good weather it's a blast watching kids of all ages boarding in the park. The skate park has ramps, grind rails, ledges, bowls, and is easily great for beginners and experienced boarders. I'd say the skate park seems a little better maintained than the overall park, however, it's also a much newer feature. There's not much else to be said about this relatively small park. It's best for those wanting to take an easy walk or those wanting to try some not so easy skateboarding. If you're looking for many other features, I'd likely check out one of Plainfield's bigger parks.

Sitting on only 7 acres, this park is Plainfield's smallest park, by far. The State of Indiana…read moredonated the land to Plainfield a few years ago. The city named the park in honor of Frank Anderson, a 27-year park employee and foreman. There is really no parking for this park outside of the roundabout located in the front of it. However, The much larger Swinford Park, which it is connected by a pedestrian walkway that crosses South Center Street. It is also connected to the nearby Hummel Park via a walkway that winds south along South Center. The park is home to a decent sized picnic shelter. But since I visited the park in the winter, there were no picnic tables under there. They were removed for the off-season. You will also find an "OK" fitness trail with equipment and directions on how to use said equipment. There is a push up station, and a sit up station, to name a few. Being such a small park, there is a lot of green space with benches places around to sit and relax. I did not see any playground equipment or restrooms, but if that is what you are looking for, you will find that and much more right across the street at Swinford Park. This is a what you see is what you get kind of park. There is not much to it. The main draw for this park is its skate park, which is open from Aril through October. It is a very nice skate park and can get packed. The only other utility I see of this park is its pavilion and green space. It would be a nice semi-secluded place to host a party or special event. The field, which is in good shape, could be used to run around, play catch, have a soccer game, fly a kite, or have a football game.

This park can be accessed from two entrances. One send you through a neighborhood and the other…read morethrough an apartment complex. I came through the apartment complex. It is located in the shadow of Greenwood High School. the park has two decent sized parking lots, one at each entrance. It also has a poorly maintained sand volleyball court. The playground is not much better. It has a couple of swings and a small jungle gym with 3 slides. There is an adequate bathroom facility at the park, but they request that you be prepared and bring your own sanitizing and hand washing supplies. The park has a covered pavilion with picnic tables under it and grills nearby that can be rented for events. There are also picnic tables placed across the park grounds. The park's soccer field is huge and well maintained. It can be used for football, batting practice, playing catch, or just lounging. There is another field that has a chain-linked backdrop that can be used for kickball, t-ball or other similar activities. This seems like a cool park to bring your four legged friend. They provide poop bags, it is not very popular and very quiet. I enjoyed my visit to this park, but do not think that it will be one of my go-to parks. It has a lot of amenities to offer, but I did not see a jogging/walking trail. I see this park as more of one that you visit if you are in the area or live near by.

This park is mainly athletic fields with a small playground area for kids. There are volleyball…read morecourts (sandy), soccer, and baseball fields. There is a shelter with a grill available. There is even a permanent restroom open during the summer months. The park is located just west of US 31 at the end of a short road that leads south from Smith Valley Road. There are signs that warn about No Vehicles allowed, but if you slow down, you can see that they say No Vehicles allowed off road, so it is okay to drive back. One of the nice things that coincides with the park is a trail that leads to other parks in Greenwood if you like hiking or biking. You can catch the near the entrance to this park. Tip: Avoid going here during rush hour. Smith Valley gets a lot of traffic and turning left to head west when leaving could take a long while. Review #545

Highland Park has some of the best views in the city. Whether I come here to have a picnic, hang…read morewith friends, or watch the 4th of July fireworks - I always have a good time. My only complaint is that there is no public bathroom at the park. It's always clean though. Free of garbage and well taken care of

This totally might be conjecture, but I'm wondering if Highland Park was so named because it's…read moreliterally a park that sits on high land. Get it? Highland. I don't know -- but that sounds like a good guess, doesn't it? Anyway, because the park is a bit elevated, you can get a great view of the downtown Indianapolis cityscape. It's really cool. The park itself is small and is more of a neighborhood park. It has a small playground with a small play structure. It has slides, some bars to climb, and some swings. The play structure is definitely more appropriate for kids ages 5 and under. I think older kids would get bored with it quickly. I would not go out of my way to visit this park just to play at the playground, but I would visit to sit at one of the picnic benches to eat and enjoy the view. Parking is along the street -- there isn't a designated parking lot. There also weren't any restrooms or water fountains that I saw.

During a recent visit to the Haughville area, I stopped by this six-acre park located on Indy's…read morenear westside. This park has existed since 1922 and gets period upgrades. Currently, it's got a splash pad, playground, shelters, and basketball courts. This is the definition of one of Indy's more residential parks. You'd never drive out of your way to visit Haughville Park, however, it's settled well within this neighborhood and serves the neighborhood well. There's an obvious section great for play, however, there's also a nice section where adults can relax with mature trees. There's also a restroom facility that is fairly well maintained. While the park has seen some issues with crime, it's near a police station and this does help amplify the safety factor. All the way back to Mayor Hudnut, plans have existed to really upgrade the park. Generally, it seems to be a popular space for neighborhood groups to help out. You can also see the work of Lilly employees in upgrading the park (including the photo with a mural I included with this review). This is your usual "dawn to dusk" park. Police at least try to enforce that pretty consistently. Overall, this is your fairly average neighborhood park. Parking is decent and it's well situated in the neighborhood. There's zero reason to go out of the way to visit here, however, for those who live in the area it's a solid if unremarkable neighborhood park. While i often wonder about the name origins for Indy's parks, in this case it's super obvious as Haughville has existed as a neighborhood since the 1830s with parts of the neighborhood on the National Register of Historic Places.

This park has many cool things to do. From the moment you pull into their paved parking lot off…read moreMichigan Street, you can see a lot of colorful options for the kids. A couple nice basketball courts are on the west side of the park near the police station. Just north of the lot is a splash park and permanent restroom facility. Farther into the park are shaded and lawn areas, a nice sized playground area, and the for north end has some mature trees for those who would like a little more peace and quiet. Review #656