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.

If you like the Indy outdoor scene but want to avoid the crowds, Southwestway Park is a great place…read morefor it! I consider the hiking to be similar to Eagle Creek and Fort Harrison parks, but with the perks of no entry fee and thus, less crowds. I went on my hike on an early Saturday evening. There is pretty good shade coverage on the trails. They are rated for hiking, biking, and horseback riding. Some spots can be muddy or slick, so good traction on your shoes is a must. I don't believe there is a bathroom on the premises. There's also not a ton of parking by the hiking trails either. However, there is some construction going on in the area, so they might be adding some extra facilities with this.

This is a great park for mountain biking of all levels and hiking. Good free outdoor activity and a…read moreworkout. We took some of our kids mountain biking for the first time here. Helmets are definitely a must. Even the beginner trail can be challenging if never mountain biked before. My kids really enjoyed it, one struggled with getting up the hills though so that caused some hardship when biking with multiple people in close proximity. The mountain biking trails also have hikers on them so beware and try to be as safe as you can. After mountain biking, we hiked a trail which was fun. Not sure how long the trail was, but we walked all the way down by the water which was very pretty. They have a paved path as well if that's more your speed. Parking areas are available which makes accessing the park easy. I didn't notice any restroom building, but they had a porta potty open for use. A playground was accessible near the area we parked at.

Beautiful, untapped, natural gem…read more Came here for lunch today and got in a couple miles my advice to senior or maybe not so experience climbers would be to take the stair steps down that are just down the trail about 100 yards

We were in Bloomington for a wedding and had a few hours to kill. this park had everything…read moreincluding a waterfall, caves and scenic shaded trails. Parking lot was small, we came early and no one else was here, 2 cars when we left.

Hidden gym, my grandkids just love everything about this park, will visit again. The ages were 9-11.read more

This is one of the best parks I've visited in central Indiana, and if you look at my Yelp review…read morehistory, you'll see I've visited a lot of parks! This lady knows her parks, mmmkay? Hummel Park in Plainfield is impressive for many reasons: it's huge (205 acres!), it has multiple playgrounds (like 4!), it has a splash pad, it has a baseball field and basketball courts, it has a great area to creek stomp with lots of shallow places for kids to wade, it has paved walking trails, it has a bridge, it has a amphitheater, it has clean restrooms, and a lot more that I'm forgetting. Also, it's really clean and well-taken-care-of. People with kids definitely need to visit this park. Like I said, there are four different playgrounds, so you could spend a lot of time here going from playground to another. The biggest playground area is located in the southeast part of the park. This playground includes a vintage twirly slide, but also a more modern playground structure with multiple slides, tunnels, bridges, monkey bars, poles to slide down and rope ladders to climb up. The playground is accessible to kids of all abilities, and includes a ramp entrance into the playground structure. This part of the park also has swings, including a saucer swing, as well as a separate playground for toddlers, and a big sand box. The splash pad is located in this area of the park, too. It's a great size for toddlers. I wouldn't visit this park just for the splash pad, because there are other parks in the area with bigger splash pads, but it's nice that there's one here and that it's so close to the playground. There is another playground near the performing arts center, which includes a toddler playground and a playground for bigger kids. A short walk away from this playground is a nature playground, with manufactured boulders and rope webs that kids can climb and explore. Paved trails offer an easy walk or stroll. As you meander through the park, you'll probably cross over a bridge that's suspended over White Lick Creek, which runs through the middle of this park, and it flows from the north part of the park to the south part. There are five small lakes within Hummel Park, including Blue Heron Lake. Hummel Park is also a great place to go creek stomping, because the creek bed includes many shallow areas where kids can wade in the water. I've heard that the sledding hill at Hummel Park is amazing, so I'll have to visit in the winter with my kids.

The Labyrinth Meditation Path is part of the Scott Hamilton Memorial Park on the campus of DePauw…read moreUniversity. Set in a beautiful setting of mature trees with several benches around, the meditation path has three stages for walking about the labyrinth. The first stage is the path inward and is called "Purgation" (Releasing). This stage is for the act of shedding thoughts and distractions. The second stage is the center and is for "Illumination" (Receiving). This is considered the ideal space to meditate. The final stage is the path outward and is for "Union" (Returning). This is where you should embrace the healing forces at work in the world. And for those who are nearby, but choose not to walk the labyrinth, the park is beautiful and is a great place to be surrounded by nature just a short walk from the campus. Review #666

Haiku review Unique…read moreplace to walk Not many places to sit Walk and meditate Ps this place use to have many stations to do different exercises years ago but they removed all of them to build an ugly parking lot.

We were in the area for a track and field meet at De Pauw and visited here to hike. This is an…read moreawesome spot that's unknown. Such pretty views of the quarry. Saw several Turkey Vultures and gained interesting knowledge. Great place to visit and hike. Be careful of your have kids along as some paths are steep with no railings.

Pretty but ...desolate Trash cans strewn about were a bit…read moreunsightly...trails were nice and the quarry offered good photo ops but....not much else

McCormick's Creek State Park is Indiana's first State park founded in 1916. They have several…read morehiking trails, camping, a State Park Inn, and an outdoor pool for cooling off in the summer. In the warmer months it is an excellent place for creek stomping with a small waterfall at the end. Both kids and adults love this attraction. It is hard to go wrong with any State Park in Indiana.

Here's hoping we knock out visiting even more Indiana state parks in 2021! We kicked off the new…read moreyear with a visit to McCormick Creek state park and neighboring (15 min) Cataract Falls. During our brief visit to the park we were able to pop by the Inn for a bathroom break, drive through some of the park and walk down to the falls. During non-COVID times, I'd love to explore staying at the Inn or a cabin. I'm a sucker for a simple state park inn. The park features trails, a pool, horseback riding and a nature center. It seemed like some of the bathroom stations were closed down (January '21). The park was free during our visit so I can speak for the expense. If you're visiting g here, definitely do yourself the favor of driving 15 minutes down the road to see Cataract Falls state recreation area.

On the south side of Greencastle, a new park was added directly west of Mama Nunz's restaurant. In…read morethe wedge between Ohio St and Broadway, the space is mostly open lawn with pull in parking (free) on Ohio St. The west end of the park has a new playground that targets smaller kids with a small fortress that includes places to climb and a slide. A couple animal themed stand alone pieces are there as well. Though there aren't any shade trees yet, the park has a couple benches that have built in shade for those who need to take a break from the sun. To the east is an picnic area, but it currently only had one table available and it was without any shade/shelter. Hopefully, the funding will continue to improve this location with some tree plantings, additional picnic/shelter areas, and possibly some restrooms (even portable would be an improvement.) The park is off to a good start! Review #3624

On the Southeast side of Greencastle, there is a rustic park with lots of woods, a fishing lake,…read moreand a couple shelters for those who want to plan an outdoor gathering without all the frills. No playground or clearly marked hiking trails are there, but the park seemed clean and well maintained. I also didn't notice any open areas of clear space for sporting activities. A small gravel parking lot is near the entrance and lake. At the time of my visit, the gate was closed across the gravel road that led to the shelters on the other side of the lake. I walked the road and found there was more parking close to the shelters. There was a brick fireplace in the larger one (I don't know what the other shelter has available.) A single port-o-let was near the larger shelter and permanent gravity restrooms were located between the two shelters. Overall, a clean space for an outing, but not the most activity options of the parks in the area. Review #3746

I've always loved this park! I took my daughter here as a kid & now my grandkids. The updates…read morethey've done are phenomenal! My grandkids are 2 & 4, their favorite playground at the moment is by the skatepark. Nice & small but fun for them to run & play while I can relax at a picnic table nearby. Their bigger more advanced playground called Emerald palace is now being rebuilt after 23 years & we are anticipating the re-opening! Love this park!

Located on the southeast side of Greencastle, this park has lots to offer. In addition to the…read moreaquatic park near the entrance, there are tennis courts, baseball diamonds, a skate park (I think that's what it was), and a small playground surrounded by sand on the south end. On the north end, a much larger playground complex has both standard playground climbing/sliding pieces as well as the large wooden complex, the Emerald Palace! The kids on hand seemed to be enjoying the wooden pieces and ignoring the standard equipment. Oh well, they have a choice! The park was undergoing it's spring preparation, which is great that they are doing it, but made it obvious that the park needed attention. Strangely, the mulch for the park was dumped on one of the exit roads which completely blocked any vehicles from passing. So, leaving the park necessitated patience since there is no traffic light on Tennessee to allow visitors to pull out into traffic on the busy SR 231. Review #866