Really cute small perfect size park for families with little ones or families with special needs…read morechildren that elope. Came here with my 28 year-old stepson with autism for an autism meet up event. This park was specifically chosen because it is enclosed so dads, moms, caregivers can feel better about letting their kids run around without having to worry about them running into the street or eloping somewhere they shouldn't. Great place for a birthday party or meetup!

I love that Indianapolis has so many parks! It seems like there's one everywhere you look. This one…read moreis a cute neighborhood park in the Herron-Morton area of Indy. It's located in a historic area, and park is a tribute to the neighborhood's history. It includes a playground, open-air pavilion for concerts and performances, and plenty of spaces to sit. The playground isn't the biggest, but sometimes all you need is a little space to let your kids play and burn off some energy. You'll find that here. The playground includes a big structure with two slides (a tube slide and a regular tall slide), a rock climbing structure, monkey bars, a standing swing, and little interactive activities at the bottom of the structure for young kids. The playground had wood chips on the ground. The playground also has swings (two big-kid swings and two baby swings), as well as spring horsey riders to play on. The playground area and the swings area are separated by a big planter that includes beautiful native flowers and plants. One of the great things about this playground is that it's big enough to entertain a young kid for a while, but it's also small enough that you can see your young kid from wherever they're playing at the park. There are also several benches around the park underneath trees, with lots of shady spots everywhere. At the back of the park is a an open-air pavilion. Residents can rent the pavilion for their own use. I didn't see any restrooms, but I wasn't actively searching for one. So there may or may not be restrooms there! Parking is on the street.

Thompson Park is such a beautiful, modern playground! I love that there's no mulch--the playground…read morehas a soft, rubber-like surface that's comfortable to walk on, and everything was very clean and well maintained. There are so many different activities and play features for kids to choose from. I was especially impressed by the sensory-friendly and inclusive features throughout the park. They have a communication board as well as a large basket/nest swing that provides more space and support than a traditional playground swing. I really appreciate parks that think about children with different sensory, communication, and mobility needs while still creating a space that's fun for everyone. Thompson Park definitely did that. Such a great park for families, and we'll definitely be back!

This park recently went through a remodel, and it has been a hit ever since! The playground…read morereceived a complete renovation and now features one of the tallest attractions at an Indy park. There are slides, swings, climbing areas, and plenty of fun options for kids of different ages. Right next to the playground is a shelter area that we rented for my son's graduation party. The rental was around $150 for the day, and we booked it easily through the Indy Parks website. One thing to note is that some people may not realize the shelter is reserved, so we had a few people try to use it during our event. We printed out our reservation confirmation to have proof that it was paid for and reserved. The shelter has four large picnic tables and a grill, which worked well for our gathering. The biggest downside is that there is no electricity and no restroom nearby, which was disappointing considering the rental price. Having those amenities would make the space much more convenient for larger events. The park also has a remodeled basketball court and a trail area for walking or enjoying the outdoors. There is a smaller parking lot, and during busy times some visitors park along the grass. This was a decent venue for my son's grad party. I just wish the shelter included electricity and closer restroom access for the price.

We went up to the window and we're told it had just thundered and we had to wait 30 minutes before…read morewe could enter the pool area. We needed to use the restroom and were denied access because it was in the pool area. The facilities looked nice from the outside. There is plenty of parking. The area is near a school and is rather quiet. By the way... It didn't rain for two more hours

We just had my sons birthday party at the shelter here & oh my goodness when i say bees..... they…read morewere everywhere. It's getting pretty cold out too so i couldn't imagine what it's like when it's hot out. Bathrooms were disgusting too & no one at our party wanted to even use the bathrooms. Other than that the park was okay and that was our main reasoning for choosing here as the park is pretty big.

Brookside Park is one of Indy's oldest and largest parks. Founded in 1898, the 108-acre park is…read morealso one of the last to have its designated funding from the American Rescue Plan put to use. The park's crown jewel may very well be its 20,000 square foot Family Center that was built in 1928. It features an auditorium, gymnasium, and classrooms - all of which can be rented. What else can you do here? There's a disc golf course. There's one of the best sledding hills around and rolling hills throughout. There are shelters for rent, basketball courts, an outdoor pool, a winter warming center, and playgrounds that continue to be under renovation. During the summer, Brookside Park is well loved. During the winter? I'll admit it starts looking a bit rough. I was driving through it today on my way to work, and I was a little dismayed by its condition. However, it's nice to see playground enhancements in process along with improved trail work. The people I meet here are almost always friendly, though the surrounding neighborhood can be a bit hit-and-miss. The family center has a nice concrete ramp into it. There's accessible parking around the park. Overall, Brookside Park is a good but not quite great park for me. It's one of Indy's legacy parks, however, I'm hoping once its upgrades are done it'll get the love it really deserves. I drive this way a lot these days as there's far less road construction to get downtown. Between this and Spades Park just a bit further up the road, it makes for a peaceful, easygoing start to my work day.

This will be a great park once the ground surface is completed under the playground. We will keep…read morewatch.

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.

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 park has several baseball parks, a basketball court, and a playground. The park is in need of…read moreattention (gravel parking lot needs more rock to fill in holes and muddy patches; large dead branches need to be removed) but nothing is too difficult or expensive, so maybe a good spring cleaning can whip this park into a good condition. Review #707

Hidden sanctuary in Zionsville? You need to check out Carpenter Nature Preserve!…read more This former golf course has been transformed into a beautiful nature preserve that's quickly becoming one of my favorite hidden gems. Nature-inspired playscape with a slide Water pump and mud kitchen for messy play Outdoor classroom with a chalkboard Outdoor amphitheater Trails with paved, rock, and grass surfaces for every type of adventure Clean bathrooms, water fountain, and picnic tables One thing to know: There isn't a lot of shade yet because the trees are still young. The best part? This is just the beginning! Future phases will include additional trails, wetland boardwalks, a tree canopy walk, more playgrounds, public art, ecological restoration projects, and a regional nature center. This is one of those places that's worth visiting now--and then coming back year after year to watch it grow.

Zionsville has done a super job of adding nature parks to the community. Carpenter Nature Preserve…read moreis the most ambitious project yet. Phase I of the Preserve just opened recently on the grounds of the former historic Wolf Run Golf Club. The park covers 215 acres of rolling hills along Eagle Creek. I visited the Preserve this morning and walked several miles of paved, gravel and natural trails. Phase I includes a nice parking lot with Prairie Pavilion. The Pavilion is small but houses restrooms and covered picnic tables. Maps of the Preserve trails are posted. A small natural playground has been constructed adjacent to the Pavilion. The playground features a water sluice, a slide and a climbing tree structure. The trails are great for a peaceful walk, bird watching, dog walking, biking and running. Two picturesque overlooks provide great views of Eagle Creek and mature tree lines. I saw frogs, rabbits and many birds during my walk. A small amphitheater with firepit has been built Into a hillside on the south side of the park. A covered classroom was built near the center of the park. Many of the features were funded by various contributors and bear their names. The Preserve is open sunrise to sunset. Admission is free. Bring water, wear bug repellent and sunscreen.