Nice place, a few little fishing holes. Overall can't complain kids enjoyed themselvesread more

Use to be an amazing place to go with friends during the spring and summer. This place use to allow…read morebeer in cans (if 21+) and no glass bottles, now they tear your car apart looking for alcohol and tell you that alcohol is not allowed. How are a group of adults suppose to enjoy their off day at this business if they can't simply relax and have a beer? I try to go back to this place every year thinking it's fun, but it's just not how it use to be. Staff are always rude as well. Wish I could go back 5 years when this place was at its peak.

Beautiful state park with plenty of trails, parking and sights to see! Parks, picnic tables, and…read moreaffordable to get in, especially if you're a resident.

An incredible treasure tucked away in beautiful Madison, Indiana! The scenery alone makes it worth…read morethe trip--the rolling hills, peaceful woods, and well-kept paths make you feel like you've discovered a little slice of nature's magic. The hikes are very approachable, even for families with young kids. The trails are well-marked, not overly strenuous, and give you just the right mix of exercise and relaxation. My kids loved exploring the paths, spotting wildlife, and getting the chance to just run and play in a safe outdoor space. It's a wonderful way to introduce children to hiking without overwhelming them. For families, this place is ideal. The trails are wide enough in many areas for strollers, and there are plenty of spots to pause, take in the view, or enjoy a quick snack break together. It's the kind of place where you can spend an hour or the whole afternoon and leave feeling refreshed and reconnected. What I really love is how accessible and welcoming it feels--perfect for both locals and visitors to Madison. Whether you're looking for a short nature walk, a family outing, or a peaceful hike to clear your head, these trails are a gem. Highly recommend to anyone visiting Madison, Indiana--this spot is a true treasure for families, nature lovers, and anyone who just needs a little dose of outdoor beauty.

I've mostly been stuck at home the past few weeks as I've been recovering from major surgery. On…read moreoccasion, I've been able to get friends to take me places or at least go for a drive to get me out. One such drive was to Whitewater State Park. Whitewater State Park was the 16th state park in Indiana and was founded in 1949. It's actually the third largest. It has 200 acre Whitewater Lake along with shoreline hiking, flat-water boating, swimming, fishing, and camping opportunities. It has 9 miles of horseback riding trails. The park area was originally purchased by Union, Fayette, Franklin, and Wayne counties to serve as a memorial for those lost during World War II. Additional activities include picnic areas with shelters (reservations required), interpretive naturalist services, 1 boat launch ramp at Whitewater Lake, bridle trails, cabins, fishing/ice fishing, hiking trails, canoe/paddleboat/rowboat rentals, swimming, and two marinas. Camping includes 236 electric sites, 45 non-electric, and 37 horsemen's primitive sites. There's a camp store, dumping station, and youth tent area. There are five hiking trails - all are considered moderate in difficulty. They range from 1-2.7 miles in length, though at least one also has a short loop. There really isn't a single trail that I'd say is accessible, though there are parts of trails I was able to access. That said, Whitewater in general isn't particularly wheelchair friendly other than in the more truly "public" areas. As an experienced wheelchair user, I doubt I'd head out on these trails alone. Whitewater hosts a variety of events throughout the year. While I wish it was more accessible here, I still consider this one of Indiana's more underappreciated natural gems.

Lovely state park that has something for everyone. Swimming, horseback riding, boat rental, hiking…read morein the moderate to rugged zones, a lake beach, camping, picnic areas.... It's very clean and well- kept! Hiking trails are well marked. If you are near the Brookville .... Liberty area this is a great park for all!

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.

I proposed to my fiancée here. Enough said. Bathrooms were less desirable. If that's what you're…read morelooking for.

Beautiful place to visit, quite picturesque. Wear appropriate shoes when going. Parking available.read more

An amazing nature trail. Some of the oldest trees in Indiana grow in this thicket! It is very…read morepeaceful and quiet.

We love hiking here. We bring our dog and she even loves it. The trees are beautiful! Can't wait…read morefor all of the paw paw trees to mature, so we can finally see what they look like when the fruit starts to grow.

The soccer fields are well maintained and certainly an asset to the Shelbyville community. Parking…read moreis both plentiful and convenient. My greatest compliment is for the staff that uses a golf cart to transport elderly grandparents to the fields in play. This is an accommodation that isn't required but so very much appreciated.

This park is a pretty good park, especially if one of its specialties is something you want to do…read more It is deceptively large, covering 186 acres. The park is dedicated to Shelby County's veterans that died in war. I have been here for their annual Trunk O Treat. The park has tons of free parking and They have a couple of restroom structures, one by the baseball field, one by the soccer field, and one by the splash pad. The park has a dedicated soccer area and is home to the Blue River Soccer Association. There is about 6 to 8 fields over there. And As I mentioned, A restroom facility. There are 4 very nice and well maintained baseball fields in this park with an announcers/media booth and restroom facility. Each field is uniquely named after a different person. The park also has a large shelter that is available to rent. There is a small grill outside of the shelter and a bunch of picnic tables under it. You will find some green areas to picnic, rest, fly a kite, play catch or other activities. The park could use a bit better playground. It has a bank of old style swings, a see-saw, a pyramid rope net climber, and a large jungle gym with a small rock climbing wall and a bunch of slides. The ground in the area is covered with mulch. There is a nice looking dog park at the front of the park and by the soccer fields. I can not speak to it though because I did not pay it a visit. That is the same story for the splash pad. I saw it, and it looked decent, but it was shut down for the season when I was there. The parks trails are awesome. They are nicely paved and even have porta pottys along the route. It seems to be popular among the dog walking enthusiast. There are a few things that you may miss at the parking if you don't know what you are looking for like it's 20 acres of quail and butterfly habitat on its south side and it NCAA cross country course. All in all a decent park, but you will only find it useful if there is something specific that you want to like play soccer, run/walk the trail, or play baseball. The playground could use some more equipment.

This place was cute and a nice stop on our vacation. We showed up just after a couple had gotten…read moreengaged which was cute. Let them sit and take pictures while we waited to go explore, luckily my son was patient :P we were going to dinner after this so we didn't stay to long.

It's been a decade since my last review of Holliday Park, so it's time for an update. I've been…read morevisiting this park since I moved to Indiana more than 10 years ago, and it had stayed reliably the same, until recently. Now, there's a brand-new playground! The playground at Holliday Park has been completely redesigned as of November 2025. The new playground is nature-inspired, with lots of wooden elements. My favorite part of the playground is the loose parts area, where kids can make teepees and build forts with the collection of natural elements that are there: sticks, tree limbs, stumps, rope, wooden crates, straw and other things that allow kids to use their imagination to create. The playground is designed for all ages, but to me, it skews slightly in favor of younger kids. Which is nice for parents of younger children, because most playgrounds seems to be built for older kids. But there are some elements for older kids here, like the huge rope climbing structure. A niggling thing: There is zero shade on the playground now. None. Which isn't a big deal on overcast or cool days, but once summer comes around, this playground is going to be insufferable. They got rid of some of the trees that used to be where the new playground is, which is a shame. One cool thing, though, that I've never seen in any other playground: hammocks! There's an area near the trees with a bunch of hammocks that kids can lie in and just relax under the trees. The rest of Holliday Park is the same. There's still a splash pad by The Ruins during the summer. There's still a nice nature center. There are still lots of trails to explore. This is one of the best parks in Indianapolis, in my opinion.

The majority of the space for this park is allocated to the baseball diamonds. If you travel along…read morethe west side of the diamonds you can find the shelter and playground area. The condition of both is okay with the playground equipment seeming to be in pretty good shape. The shade helps keep the kids cool while playing. The shelter has restrooms available, tables and grills too. There doesn't seem to be any walking trails and there is a concrete pad near the playground that has no obvious purpose. Not sure if it was something that was removed, or something that failed to get added. Review #857

I've secretly held off on reviewing this place to not make it as known to keep it quiet and less…read morecrowded like most of the other parks are around Indy nowadays. As of April 21, 2025, they'll be charging for entrance, so might as well review it! I've been coming here for years now. It's an amazing spot with one major trail (2.85 miles) and then a shorter out-and-back trail that leads to the water overlook. I frequented this place cause it's not as known, which means less people! One of my go-to places to hike in the city given its ease of access off of the interstate and free admission. Womp. Thanks for providing the free space while it lasted!

The Starling Nature Sanctuary is an 11-acre nature sanctuary within the boundaries of Eagle Creek…read morePark. The sanctuary is named after Scott Starling and is located at the north end of Eagle Creek Reservoir (Pike Township). Starling passed away at the age of 29 after being struck by lightning during a storm. He was a 1977 Pike High School graduate and a Purdue University graduate. At the time of his death, he was working toward a doctorate in marine aquaculture and had served in the Peace Corps. The area was purchased by Indianapolis in 1966 and was officially designated the Scott Starling Nature Sanctuary in 1992. It's managed by Indy Parks. The sanctuary is the setting for a wetlands restoration project led by the Center for Earth and Environmental Science along with Indy Parks, wetland restoration professionals from Spence Restoration Nursery, and IUPUI (now IU-I) students and faculty. The sanctuary has done a great job of maintaining its natural state while also becoming more accessible. The core of the sanctuary is a 2.4-mile trail that is moderately challenging. Initially not very accessible (and trails that branch off can be far less accessible), there's been much done to improve it. The boardwalk section, in particular, is kid-friendly and is a popular yet fairly isolated spot for hiking, walking, and running. In terms of wheelchair users, this is really only a trail for more experienced, independent wheelchair users. I grew up in Pike Township and visited this area a lot in my young adult years, however, now that I live in Lawrence Township I don't get over here as much as I should. Today's visit was a reminder of how much I enjoy it even though there were a couple spots that were pretty difficult to pass in the wheelchair. It's worth the extra effort for sure.