This park looks like Disneyland! The playground structures are absolutely amazing. Bargersville…read moreneeded this park for the kids for a long time. When I stopped on Friday morning to walk the dog, I was shocked to see the parking lot (which holds 60+ cars) almost full. They have 8 pickle-ball courts and they were full with a line of people waiting for a court The pangs of the balls were pretty loud and disrupted any peacefulness that the park has to offer. There is even a set of bleachers to watch the pickle-ball games. Anyway, the park does have an amazing playscape, perhaps the best in the Indy area. There are multiple climbing structures, swings for all abilities, a merry go round type structure and more. There is soft matting under the structures to keep the kids safe. Kids were having a blast. In addition, there is a colorful and awesome splash pad. There are nice benches, some covered, to sit and watch the kids. The park also has a walking trail into a wooded area, which is not paved, just gravel. There is some natural prairie vegetation. Trees have been recently planted. There are a nice set of restrooms including a family restroom. I also saw a small pavilion with picnic tables. Bottom line, while it's a bit crowded and loud, this is a great park with lots of fun things to do.

This is a new 19-acre park located in Bagersville. It still has that "new car smell" and is very…read morewell maintained. It opened on July 1, 2023. There is a decent amount of parking available but this park does get packed. The park features 8 very nice, fenced in, pickleball courts, a large playground, an active splash pad. The park also have two shelters with picnic tables under them and some benches under small shelter-like structures that provides some relief from the blazing sun. The splash pad has a lot going on. There are sprinklers, pouring buckets, sprayers, waterfalls and lots more. It is very nice and open from 9am to 8pm. The playground is modern and is Divided into zones for children aged 2 to 5 and 5 to 12. It is laid on a combination of artificial turf and rubberized, mud-free, surfacing. The playground features a swing bank with traditional and ADA swings, a net cone merry go round, a slide on artificial turf covered hills and a small jungle gym structure with a couple of slides and bridges. The highlight of the playground though is the towering jungle gym with a bunch of tall slides, ropes, and bridges. It is one of the first things that you will see when you arrive at the park. Additional amenities at the park include a water fountain that is capable of filling bottles, a restroom facility and a patch of green space to play catch or just throw a blanket down and relax, hiking trails that lead to and from downtown Bargersville. It is a small, but very well designed park. I will admit, that it does get packed during nice weather, no school days, especially on weekends. I really like this park. Bargersville has began to invest in parks, which is nice. This is definitely a must visit while in the Center Grove/Bargersville area.

This park is just screaming for help. It is in desperate need of being saved. It has a lot of what…read moreyou want in a park, but most of it is outdated, worn and falling a part. There is a bunch of street parking across the street from the park and there is also parking available in the park's family center parking lot. It is 21 acres and has not been updated since it was constructed in 1931. It was originally called Northwestern Park. The park was the home field of the Indianapolis ABCs, the city's Negro National League team, back in the 1920's. The park was named after Charles T.H. Watkins, a remarkable community leader and a pastor at the historic A.M.E. Bethel Church. The park has 2 horse shoe pits, or at least areas formally known as horseshoe pits. The pits are overrun by grass, leaves and weeds and they do not have the post you throw the horseshoes on. The playground has some outdated equipment that includes traditional swings, a net climbing pyramid, a regular net climb and a jungles gym with slides. The equipment is pretty old/worn, as I mentioned. The playground area is lined with wood chips. There are two tennis courts at the park, but one of the court's net is missing. The court was packed with leaves and in desperate need of repair. You must really need to satisfy your tennis fix if you play on this court. There are also two basketball courts. They both have some decent rims, and backboards, but the court themselves are in desperate need of repair. You will find a picnic shelter here with picnic tables under it and a few picnic tables under a tree. The green space and fields are horrible. They are asking for ankles to be broken. it is very uneven and hard. It has so many divots. There is a field with football uprights on each end a two fields with backstops. As I mentioned though, I would make sure I was up on my health insurance if I played there. Lastly, there is a hopscotch area near the family center. It looked pretty good as far as hopscotch goes. It look relatively new. The city really needs to invest some money in this park and give it some much needed updates. It definitely has potential, but I would avoid this park if possible as it is now.

The park fills the corner of MLK and Fall Creek and features a community center about a block north…read moreon MLK. This seems to be the only area for parking since there are no other lots and no street parking on either of the busy streets. Besides the community center, there are basketball courts and a football field to the west of the courts. There is a playground and shelter and a great number of mature trees. There are two horse shoe courts that fit in among the trees on the southeast corner of the park. There also appears to be some raised beds for plantings on the north side of the parking lot. The park looks to be in pretty good shape. People were using the community center during my visit, but I didn't stop in. Overall, it is a nice park and greenspace. Review #685

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.

Despite the fact that Wes Montgomery Park is only a few minutes away from my house, I'd never…read morereally taken the time to stop and check it out until recently. This eastside park is located at 34th & Hawthorne and is named after Wes Montgomery (I bet you could figure that out, eh?), universally regarded as one of the greatest guitarists in jazz history who was born in Indy in 1923 and died at the age of 45 while still living in Indy. He picked up two Grammy Awards and had three other nominations including one posthumously in 1969 for "Willow Weep For Me." The park is a rather impressive park, though it has been plagued by acts of violence including homicides in 2021 and in August 2022. A 2017 homicide, 18-year-old Deante Williams, was in broad daylight. Wes Montgomery Park is a 37-acre park that features a small spray park, baseball diamonds, several basketball courts, a public pool, swing sets, a shelter house, and a medium-sized greenspace area that feels larger than it is. Like all public parks in Indy, parking is free and fairly abundant here. As a fun fact, the splash pad is designed in the shape of a guitar to honor its namesake. Wes Montgomery Park does offer some accessibility features in its park called the Boundless Playground. This was added in 2011 and offers children with disabilities the opportunity for recreation alongside nondisabled children. It's quite cool, though it seemed a wee bit worn (as did much of the park, though it's important to note that I did visit during the winter and not during the height of playtime). Overall, I'd consider Wes Montgomery Park a good but not great park. It's certainly not a destination park, however, it serves this neighborhood well. While it's important to be aware of the potential for violence, for the most part the park is well used and often the subject of service projects from area companies. I never felt unsafe during my time here and love that the park honors the memory of one of Indy's music greats.

The park is named after Indianapolis native, Grammy-award winning musician John Leslie "Wes"…read moreMontgomery. This is a very nice park that spans 37 acres and has a little bit of everything. The park has a very nice playground area that is lined with wood chips and rubber matting (which is in very bad shape). There are benches along the perimeter where parents can sit and watch their littles play. The playground has some very good equipment which includes a jungle gym with a bunch of slides, a rock climbing wall, and monkey bars. The jungle gym is accesible and has a ramp that allows littles with disabilities to play on it. There is also a spinning net pyramid, a climbing net and a bank of swings with traditional swings, toddler swings and a disability swing. It is a very nice playground and is shaded by a bunch of trees. There is a picnic shelter with picnic tables under it and a grill outside of it right off of the playground area. The park has an awesome splash pad with benches around that parents can sit. And there is another shelter with picnic tables and and grill next to the splash pad. There are also some picnic tables scattered around the park's ground's, most of which are shaded by trees You will find three full and 2-half basketball courts at the park. They are in OK shape. They are a bit older. The rims and backboard are in fair shape and the court itself needs a little TLC. The park's 3 baseball fields are in decent shape and are well maintained. The park as a whole is very well maintained and you can tell that the landscaping maintenance is on a regular schedule. The grass was cut and the trash was removed when I was there. I am not sure how safe the park is though. A quick internet search showed that someone was shot there a year ago. There was also some sketchy people just parked in their vehicles hanging out when I was there. In addition to all of park's amenities, there is a ton of green space pockets that are suitable for picnics, playing catch, a football game, soccer or flying a kite. This is a very nice park that is well maintained. It is definitely worth a visit. You can spend hours here, especially in the summer when the splash pad and pool are open.

This is a small park that was developed by the Community Caring and Sharing Center and was…read morededicated in 2018. It doubles as a community garden in area that has very limited green space. It has tons of parking available and you will find colorful painted truck tires that are being used as planters. There is also a share a book box, and a couple of pastel colored painted picnic tables to sit and/or eat. The park is a collaboration between the Community Caring and Sharing Center, Palmer Trucks, who owns the lot, the Arts Council of Indianapolis and Keep Indianapolis Beautiful. It was funded by local businesses. The center piece of the park is a sculpture titled Palm that was created by Quincy Owens and Luke Crawley. It is a colorful eye catcher and an excellent addition to the park. The park has gravel walkways and tunnel arbor with a wire mesh roof and alternating green and blue pillars. The park is located off of a somewhat busy street, but could still have some value as a spot to sit at one of the picnic tables and eat. Sadly, the park experiences vandalism from time to time. We just cant have anything nice. Just recently, two of the park's three marble benches were broken and the Little Free Library 's plastic window was busted out. This is a nice, be it small community park. It is a work in progress and has many people that have and continue to contribute to its development. This park is a wonderful project that really beautifies the neighborhood. I hope that more neighborhoods follow suit and create their own community parks. And for those vandals out there, get a life.

Ringgold Park has been completely revitalized as of the summer of 2023. It has new (and awesome)…read moreplayground equipment and rubberized, synthetic turf surfacing installed around the playground. The park is tiny -- just 0.19 acres, and there is no parking lot, just street parking. This pocket park is maintained by Indy Parks & Recreation. The park playground features a climbing structure, a swing set with swing-along swings that accommodate both child and caregiver, and a seesaw. There are also two benches off to the side for parents and caregivers to sit and watch their children play. There are some natural spaces around the park that are maintained by Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Indy Parks and Bates-Hendricks neighbors. All around the park are native plants and shrubbery, as well as bird boxes to encourage wildlife to visit. I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to bring my children to this park because it's so small. But if you're in the area and need a place for your child to play, this will more than serve its purpose!

This pocket park was shaped as I-65 sliced through the near east side forming a triangular shape at…read morethe end of Ringgold Street. A small raised patch of land was turned into a neighborhood park. The park has recently upgraded to add new mulch and some shrubs were planted. The park only has one bench for seating. There are a few swings and a retro spring-type piece of equipment to use like a teeter totter. Other than these few items, there isn't much for kids or adults to do. No running water and no designated parking mean that the most likely users of this park at the back side of the neighborhood will be families that live within walking distance. Review #537

We spent hours at Young's Creek Park in downtown Franklin with our granddaughters this weekend!…read moreThey had a blast on the colorful and creative climbing structures, slides and swings. My granddaughters really like the "merry-go-round". The equipment is arranged by age group for toddlers up to 12 years old (although I climbed on a few things myself). Everything is clean with a ton of soft surface padding so the kids don't get hurt. There are drinking fountains, nearby restroom facilities and lots of picnic tables. Benches and small pavilions are scattered throughout the play area. The parking lots are huge with plenty of accessible spaces. The splash pad was closed for the season, but looked like fun. There is a paved walking trail that crosses the creek. Pet cleanup stations are available. A pickle ball court with 8 courts is really nice with covered seating area for spectators. A nice stage for concerts is across a large green space. This is a great little community park!

Youngs Creek Park is definitely worth the drive! It's located in Franklin, a little town in Johnson…read moreCounty, and not only is the park and playground amazing, but there are lots of little shops and restaurants around the area, so you could literally make a whole day of the visit. It was a hot day, so the splash pad was going and kids were having a great time. The splash pad has water features that come up from the ground, buckets of water that fall down over your head, and lots of benches (with shade!) for people to sit at. The playground is huge! It has multiple structures for kids of all ages, with a separate area for babies and toddlers. This is a great playground for kids who like to climb and parkour, because there is so so so much to play on. My kid was trying to get from one part of the playground to the other without touching the ground, and he was doing monkey bars, climbing on walls, going through rope obstacle courses and lots more. There are multiple slides, swings (with two-person swings where a grown up can swing with their kid) and musical instruments. The whole playground has a rubberized ground for soft landings. One of the best things about the playground at Youngs Creek Park is that there are lots of places with shade! This was especially appreciated because when we visited, it was a super sunny and hot day. There are lots of clean restrooms located near the amphitheater on the other side of the park. A little ways further are the pickle ball courts.

Brown's Corner Park is a 3.22 acre park that is, quite accurately, a corner park existing at the…read morecorner of East Washington Street and Emerson Avenue. The park is named after 2ndd Lt. Hilton Brown, who as a young boy would play Army in the area. Lt. Brown ended up being killed in France during World War I. As Ken N. noted in his review, there's a plaque in the park that explains who Lt. Brown is along with one honoring the life of painter William Forsyth. The park has no amenities. It is adjacent to Pleasant Run and does tie into the trail. The park recently experienced some clearing out of its wooded area due to a homeless encampment that existed within the park area. There's a short turn lane here to access East Washington. This is adjacent to a residential area and also can easily access two gas stations directly across the street. This is certainly not a destination park, however, it does sit on the edge of Irvington and definitely recognizes some Irvingtonian history. While the Kin Hubbard Memorial is directly across from Brown's Corner, it is actually a separate park. There's no real reason to stop here unless you're like Ken - who had a passion for documenting Indiana's parks as part of his Yelp involvement - or like me and simply pass it on a daily basis to and from work. I'd probably give it a 3-4 in terms of access. You can fairly easily park in the residential area if you want to visit. There are curb cuts here, however, the park does have a bit of a rolling landscape with the exception of the easy to use trail that goes through it.

This small park lies on a triangular piece of land at the corner of Washington and Emerson. The…read morepark is named after Hilton U Brown, a field artillery lieutenant who died in the battle of the Argonne in World War I. The park has no amenities other than a small drive through lane for parking if you are headed westbound on Washington Street. Most of the park is wooded along the Pleasant Run river. A small plaque is on site to tell visitors who Lt Brown was. A second marker can be found in the park. It is for painter William Forsyth, one of the Hoosier Group around the turn of the 20th century who lived and had a workshop in a home diagonally across the street from the park. Unfortunately, the home was destroyed long ago and only the marker is left to remember the significance of the works painted there. Review #557