This is a very small park, located right off of a busy street. It is only a couple of blocks and if…read moreyou blink, you will miss it. I have actually passed it many times and just recently noticed it. It does have a private parking lot and a covered pavilion with 4 double sized picnic tables and a grill. There is also a small walking/jogging trail, but it is not clearly marked and I was not sure where the trail went. Outside of what I have mentioned in this review, there is not much else to do at the park. It is a new frills, what you see is what you get kind of park. No benches, no restrooms, no playground. It is relatively well maintained though. I do not recommend making this a destination park, but if you are in the area, with time to kill then it may be worth a brief stop.

This narrow park extends a couple blocks along the east side of Madison Avenue from Orange to…read moreMorris. The south block has a small parking lot available that you can gain access to from Orange. The block has a shelter with multiple picnic tables and a single grill. The north block is just green space with the exception of a public art piece that is near the corner of Sanders and Madison. There are no trails or facilities. There is no playground for kids, maybe because it is so close to a busy highway. Overall, there isn't much to draw you to the park unless you lived close by and just liked to go for a walk. Review #535

This is not an city managed Park. It is a project and neighborhood run park. I do not give my…read morerating of this park lightly. I know that they have limited resources. However, this park has been severely neglected. One of the worse that I have ever seen. The swings are broken, the shelter is not fully covered nor does it have picnic tables, It has very little playground equipment, and the equipment that is there is in need of a good cleaning and maintenance, Additionally, there is really no good parking and the park is filled with trash. There is very limited parking on the street. You may be able to park in the alley way next to the park but it is not paved and has huge holes. I am also not certain if it is meant for parking. The park was meant to be the site of neighborhood birthday parties and church cookouts, but I do not think that will be happening anytime soon. I almost think that it would be better to just start the park over from scratch. I like the idea of the park. It was named after a 3 year old girl that died of congenital heart failure. The land which the park sits was donated by her grandparents who requested the naming of the park. I do not see even visiting this park as it is now, even if I lived in the neighborhood. It is very dirty and does not have much to offer. This was once a decent park and I hope that the they put some money and time into it and bring it back to life. If so, I will be one of the first to update my review.

If you love Indianapolis, and you should, then you have to love it when a neighborhood facing…read morechallenges takes control of those challenges in unique, creative, and community affirming ways. It's no secret that Indy's Near-Eastside has seen its share of challenges. The Rivoli Park Neighborhood that houses the Paige Linn Booker Memorial Park is an area that has had sporadic crime issues and that was significantly impacted by 2008's mortgage crisis. From that, however, the folks in Rivoli Park did a beautiful thing. They created the Paige Linn Booker Memorial Park, a park named after a 3-year-old girl who died at age three from a congenital heart defect and who never had a chance to enjoy a park. It was her grandparents who owned the plot of land upon which this beautiful little pocket park has been created and which has helped turn a weed-filled swamp into a a tiny little urban oasis that serves as proof that you can truly turn virtually anyplace into something pretty darn beautiful. Supported by the folks at Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Booker Memorial Park also became one of the city's first IPL Greenspace projects. Truly, this was a community effort and it has worked beautifully because the community has continued to wrap around it. From a gazebo that anchors the rear of the park, a path leads to the playground equipment that will mostly appeal to toddlers. The original vision for the park was to create an environment that would have appealed to 3-year-old Paige, though this has also been one of the lessons learned by those who created it because the park is actually more used by teens who may have benefited by different equipment. This doesn't mean, of course, that the park isn't used. It has become a neighborhood gathering space and a place for birthday parties and church cookouts. There's a vision for continuing to add new amenities including, potentially, a large chalkboard where neighborhood organizers and poets alike can share their works, creations, and announcements. There's also a shelter that can be utilized. The pathway is very wheelchair friendly. The playground area would likely require some assistance for someone in a wheelchair, though it's a small enough area that it could likely be made to work. Paige Linn Booker Memorial Park isn't going to be confused for one of the city's grand parks. It's a simple "pocket" park that fits in with the urban area where it is set and it is clearly intended as a park that benefits the neighborhood. It's not a destination park. It's just a beautiful example of a neighborhood making their own neighborhood even better. This park reminds me a lot of the concept behind Commons Park. It's a place where the neighborhood's diverse populations can gather together, allow the children to have fun, and get to know one another. Every sign has indicated that this has been pretty darn successful at Booker Memorial Park. If you're in the area, I'd check it out.

Located between English and Prospect and three blocks east of Shelby is the lot sized Stacy Park…read more It is located at the intersection of Hoyt and Spruce in an area that is seeing much renovation (including some 2 Chicks & a Hammer homes!) The park is colorful and secured by a fence. At the entrance, there is a mini shelter for shade and with cross beams that could probably be used as bench seating by watchful adults. The play area has a few pieces including a multi slide, a climbing/elevated area, and a retro style conical piece. There are no restrooms or water fountains. Parking is limited to available street parking. Overall, it looks like a nice place for kids to play, but probably only smaller kids will be entertained. Review #539

Jennings field is a cool little area across the street from Zionsville High School. It hosts many…read moreactivities and recreational sports for kids and adults. It hosted Eagle Fest last year and it was the perfect spot for it. It's very open and when it's not being used for activities it's the perfect spot to hangout with friends. It has a swing set and field goals along with public restrooms. Overall it's a nice spot with a lot to do. I am usually a regular here.

I have been to this park numerous park to run up and down the hill. This nonprofit group they have…read morethese workouts twice a week out here during the summer. The hill is no joke. If you are wanting to feel the burn and get a good workout in then advise you to come out here and do about 10 up and downs on the hill. You will not know what hit you afterwards lol. There is a playground park not too far away for the kids to enjoy. My friend's daughter had really enjoyed the park. There is plenty of parking out here. Only issue I had was there were not any bathrooms where the hill is at and I didn't see any by the playground.

This review is for the 4th of July Festival hosted by the park. It's a small Carnival, but not a…read moresmall fireworks show. There are plenty of booths and food trucks to keep busy and I got lost in the fairs oddities and cheap treasures galore. The park gets packed early; people come for the carnival and stay for the bells and whistles... or tailgate til showtime. But there is a lot of room as it's a fairly large park and the surrounding area, too, lends itself in neighborhood streets, to parking and walking. This park has a lot to offer on not-event days too, fields for softball and soccer, play areas, trails, a skate park, and facilities. It also has enough foliage and growth to feel like a park.

The Jacob Schramm Nature Preserve is a 31-acre mature woods in Hancock County close to New…read morePalestine. It was originally protected in 1999. It is owned by Hancock County Community Foundation and the Central Indiana Land Trust helps manage the stewardship of the property. For those who like trails but prefer a shorter one, Jacob Schramm offers a fairly easy .6 mile trail that is pretty much all natural with some bridging and some markings for trees. A pergola, bench, and boardwalk area was added in 2009. Because this is mostly natural, it can be a little difficult (or a lot) during inclement weather. As a wheelchair user, I most definitely could not wheel even the short trail during rainy weather because it gets fairly muddy. During good weather, it's a pretty delightful little preserve. I'm always torn with how to rate preserves. As a wheelchair user, I get frustrated at the lack of access. However, I also respect the desire to keep the nature preserve in its natural condition. It's a difficult dilemma. I think active wheelchair users could handle most of the preserve during good weather days, though there are natural obstacles periodically and even with a largely flat trail I'd hesitate to call it anything close to actually accessible. That said, I love the work of the Central Indiana Land Trust and this is an under-appreciated gem in Hancock County. While I don't get to Hancock County often, when I do I most always stop here. I should note, of course, that this is not a "park." There are no activities here other than the pergola and bench where you can relax and enjoy nature. You will discover a wide variety of trees, flowers, birds, and occasionally other wildlife while here.

This little gem of a nature preserve is found about a mile south of US 40 on Mt Comfort Road (CR…read more600 W) in Hancock County. The preserve was established in 1999, and the pergola, bench, and the board walk areas were added in 2009. The 31 acres are mostly woods but contain a small pond area within the woods and small tributaries that meander towards the nearest creek. The local boy scouts have done a good job of building crossings for the widest/wettest spans of the trails. However, the majority of the 0.6 mile hiking loop is foot worn with leaves as the main buffer between your shoes and the dirt/mud. What I really like about this otherwise run of the mill wooded area is that there is a small kiosk at the entrance to the trail area which has park pamphlets inside. The pamphlets have numbered items that are either tree descriptions or instructions for observations. Along the trail, you will see numbered blue posts that correlate to the pamphlets. For example, #12 is a Sycamore tree that grows from 60-90 feet, has triangle shaped leaves with alternating leaf placement, and bark that is pale white which often peels. I like feeling smarter after a good walk, exercising my mind at the same time I exercise my body. The ground is mostly flat, but footing can be a little slippery after rains. They could also use a trash can near the parking lot to help keep the preserve clean. Review #781

Do you have a child who loves pretending to be an animal? Then you need to check out Grassy Creek…read moreRegional Park! Huge nature-inspired playground with endless opportunities to climb and explore Giant climbing area that's perfect for pretending to be a spider Butterfly tunnel Cute animal play features including an ant, turtle, frog, and more Owl-themed play structure with slides Two tall climbing towers--one shaped like a bird's nest and the other like a treehouse Lots of different types of slides and swings Lily pad obstacle course for hopping and balancing Small indoor nature center with live animals, hands-on activities, bird watching, and books Con: The long zipline was missing a piece during our visit, so it wasn't in use. If your kids love climbing, pretending, and exploring the outdoors, this is one of the most unique playgrounds in Indianapolis. You can easily spend a whole morning bouncing between the playground and th

I love that Indy is stepping up the park game around the city. This park is on the far east side of…read moreIndianapolis. It was a pretty hot day when we came out. There is an old grassy creek park that I went to first, I had to keep driving east to find this spot. The kids enjoyed themselves. They have an area for littler kids, not much shade in this area. They have a treehouse that has a slide. My kids enjoyed the zip swing and had fun pushing each other. They have swinging benches, shelter with charcoal grill, and the floor is turf. It is a pretty cool looking park.

This neighborhood park is four acres of mostly wooded land with a bit of lawn running along the…read morenorth side next to 131st Street. There is a paved loop for hiking around the interior of the park. A small shelter has a couple picnic table and a grill. About half way along the north side, there is a small sitting area with a couple benches facing 131st. The park hadn't undergone its spring cleaning at the time of my visit, so there was a lot more debris in the park than I expected. If they get this cleaned up, I could easily see bumping this up a star on my review. The area is growing rapidly, so it is a commendable plan to save a bit of public space to keep the neighborhood from becoming too cramped. Review #791