This is the spot for indoor and outdoor kid friendly fun. The interior is small, hosting many…read morerescued reptiles, amphibians, and other exotic animals. There's a small play area with lots of opportunities for hands on learning. Outside there's chickens, walking trails, a play set, and giant chess board for good weather fun. This park is free to explore. Staff is knowledge and passionate about caring for the animals. Looking forward to coming back to check out some of the programs.

I finally stopped by Helen Pecar Park this past weekend on my way through Hendricks County to my…read moreparents' home. Pecar Park & Nature Center is a fairly new Avon Park that is a unique balance of primitive meets contemporary. The park has its own naturalist and the nature center offers turtles, tortoises, bearded dragons, and other animals. There's an amphitheater that is primarily used as an outdoor education space. The Nature Center can be rented by the hour or by the day (only between the hours of 10am-9pm). Pecar Park offers 9 primitive campsites, though there is an indoor bathroom and shower to make everything a little less primitive. Rental of a campsite is $15 for township residents, $25 for non-residents. The park also offers a playground, community fire pit, pod, greenspace, GLOW lab, and geocachers should know geocaching is available at this park (and encouraged). Pecar Park still feels like a work in progress. It's one of those parks that's always a dilemma for me - technically, it's accessible. Yet, it's really not. The way Yelp's accessibility questions are phrased, technically this park meets them. However, this park tends to be a place where it's best to have a companion with you, especially if you have mobility issues, as there are places where paths are a bit more rustic and even the playground is a bit more natural in setting. Pecar Park is off the main drag in Hendricks County and seems to be a still underutilized park. It seems to be more about natural activities than just "fun." There's also a bird aviary and a low ropes challenge. Again, this feels like a work in progress but a cool work in progress. It seems like this park has grown a bit since its 2019 opening, however, it remains one of Avon, Indiana's more underrated gems. While accessibility is definitely a bit of an issue here, with a little assistance it's likely one can really appreciate this more natural and relaxed setting. As near as I could tell, the nature center itself was solid in terms of accessibility. I got everywhere I wanted to go here - it just took a little effort.

This park had a lot of the typical park structures. We stayed for a little while, but then moved on…read moreto a park with more to do. I overheard someone who was there with a child with braces on her legs say in disappointment that she wished there were a swing for her daughter and it saddened me as I realized that for her daughter there really wasn't much to do.. it would be nice if all parks took all children into consideration when building their playground.

This is a nice park, equipped with a playground, pickle ball courts, a bathroom facility, a…read moreshelter, and baseball fields. It covers 25 acres. The playground is nice and pretty spread out. The equipment is not the newest, but it is well maintained There is a small jungle gym (for younger kids) with a small rock climbing wall and slide. Also in that area you will find a a carriage shaped monkey bar, a merry go round, two banks of traditional swings and some rocking vehicles and animals. Right next to that area is a bigger jungles gym for older kids (it did not intimidate my 2 year old though). It has a barn yard them and has a bunch of slides and bridges and stairs. In that area you will also find a maze, sit and spins, a bank of traditional settings and rocking animals. The shelter, which can be rented, is right by the larger kid play area and has picnic tables under it and a grill right outside of it. The shelter also has a wood over inside of it. It is a very nice shelter. There are 8 very nice pickle ball courts here. Four on each side, divided by a semi-covered sitting/waiting/spectating area. The courts were very busy. The park is home to 4 lighted baseball fields. The fields are very nice and they were having some little league girls games going on while I was there. Good luck finding a parking spot when they have baseball or softball going on. There were a good amount of spots near the playground area though. Even though they are not officially part of the park, there a some tennis courts, that belong to Plainfield Community Middle School, which borders the backside of the park. They were open while I was there and are pretty well maintained. This park has pockets of green space that can be used to toss a ball, have a picnic, run around, or have a football/soccer game. And as an added bonus, even though the park does not have a designated trail, it does have some pretty good paved paths that can be put together to get a decent walk or run in. This is not your newest park, but it is a very good traditional park with a lot of amenities. It is a solid park that the little ones will enjoy for hours.

This park is 88 acres and has many features. The first thing that you will notice as you enter the…read morepark is the Southern Hancock County Veterans Memorial, a memorial dedicated to the Veteran heroes that called Hancock County home. It is a well done and fitting tribute to those men and women. There is no problem parking at this park. It has a decent sized private parking lot. The park also has a basic dog park that is basically two large fenced in areas with some seating. To the best of my knowledge, the use of the dog park does not require a membership, which if true, is nice. The park is home to a decent paved trail. My only issue with it is that it is a down and back trail and not a circular one. It runs along the side of the park and is about 2 miles, round trip. There are a few benches along the trail for people to use and take a load off. The trail also has some fitness equipment along its path to use that has bee there for over 12 years. You will find a picnic shelter at this park, with picnic tables under it and a grill just outside of it. The shelter and picnic tables are a bit aged and could use a little TLC. It is available to be reserved through the county, if you are looking. The park's playground area is on a bed of old wood chips and has some older equipment that consists of a pebble bridge, a spiral slide, rocker bees, a rock climbing wall, a jungle gym with a spiral slide, canopies and bridges, a bank of traditional/toddler swings, a pyramid net climber, and a see-saw. They have benches along the area's perimeter for caregivers to sit and watch their little ones, while their little ones play. The playground equipment is serviceable, but you can tell that it has been since 2010. A 9-hole disc golf course was also installed at the park in 2010 as part of a Boy Scout project. There is no shortage of field or green space at this park. The park has a multi-use field with a bunch of soccer nets spread out on it. There is also a backstop on the field as well, that could be suitable for sports such as baseball, softball, or kick ball. The open field could be used for just about any field activity including football, soccer, field hockey, flying a kite, playing catch, or having a picnic. The park does not have a rest room facility. You will see a porta-potty by the dog park, just off of the parking lot though. Feel free to use that. Anyway, the park is relatively well maintained, but there was a little trash and junk around the shelter though. On a positive note, the grass was well groomed. Does it need a few updates and new equipment? Yes, but it works for now. It is a decent park to pass some time and hang out at, if you are in the area. I probalbly would not call it a destination park though.

One of the first things you notice at the entrance of the park is that there is a new installation…read moreof the Southern Hancock County Veterans Memorial going in. The memorial has flags and some nice monuments and a bunch of loosely laid bricks with veteran names on them. I hope that these bricks will be installed properly when the memorial is completed. The rest of the park has a dog park, a playground, something that looks like it might be a frisbee golf game (I honestly haven't seen anything like it), and space for sporting events. And poor drainage. So much so that even after two days since the rains cleared out, much of this former field had standing water. The playground was surrounded by water, so I can't see this being an ideal condition for most visitors. I guess if you want to use this park, you hope for a drought and then there is a lot you can do. I will give it a bonus star out of respect for the memorial, but the rest of the park needs some drainage and attention. Review #780

A beautiful park located just off Main Street in Greenwood. Great walking trails, although not too…read morelong and some paths are hilly, but woodsy with a creek flowing next to them. Great playground, baseball fields, and newly renovated tennis and basketball courts.

Beautiful park with walking trails, playground, and sports fields. Walkers and bikers. Beware,…read morethere are steep grades, though they are marked.

Really nice park tucked off in the broad ripple area. This park is great for little and big kids…read more Everything at the park is updated and it seems to be a lot of different people that come to the park with their families. Parking is right out front so that's easy access. There is also a basketball court, soccer and football fields. There is also a trail around the entire park. My little ones enjoyed playing here and I also saw a building for restrooms which we did not visit. We will be returning.

This is a good park for a family gathering. It's really a hidden gem and off the beaten path. It's…read moretucked away in a quiet neighborhood and I didn't know of its existence until today. My family reserved the shelter and there are several picnics tables and benches. It was a very hot day so the kids tired theirselves out at the playground and splash pad. It was very convenient and in good shape. There is a paved trail looping around park, which is good for walking or even bike riding. We saw a couple of walkers during our day. The restrooms are a bonus, but they could've been cleaner. The park wasn't crowded and the adjacent parking lot was another added bonus. My family liked the park, the location, and the amenities and will probably try to use it again next year.

This is a nice clean park with well maintained facilities and trails. There is ample parking for…read morethe park at its parking lot and along the street in the adjacent neighborhoods. The blue river trails run through that park. They have a nice playground, a ball field, tennis courts, picnic tables, grills and restrooms. It is one of the larger parks covering 10 acres. They also have nice shelters that can be rented. 2 hours - $40, 3/4 hours - $60, 5 or more hours - $80. The park is peaceful and a nice place to take a stroll, work out or just relax.

Although I visited the park on mowing day, I came away feeling this is one of the nicer parks in…read morethe area. There are large shaded areas with picnic tables and benches. There is a playground and baseball diamond here with a shelter and restrooms conveniently located nearby. The Little Blue River runs along the opposite side of the road, so it is easy to cross over via a metal bridge that spans just below a mini-waterfall (about a foot or two). Because the water flows quickly through here, swimming and wading is prohibited. The park needed some trash pickup and hopefully the maintenance crews took care of it after mowing (better if they did it before hand!) Sadly, it is a shame that people can't be bothered to throw away their own waste. It makes the park less enjoyable for those who come by later. Review #861

I love when I pull up a place on Yelp to review it, and see that the only other review is from my…read moregood buddy Ken N. (RIP). It makes me feel nice to think about my friend, who has transitioned to writing Yelp reviews in heaven. Brandywine Park looks like it mostly functions as a sports park. There are soccer fields, softball diamonds and walking trails. The fields are beautiful and lush, which seems unusual considering we're just now entering spring. They really take care of the fields here, apparently. There's also a snack bar, which was closed when I visited. The playground is fine and does the job of giving kids something to do while their siblings are playing soccer or softball. I wouldn't go out of my way and bring my kids to visit this playground, but if we were here, my kids would have a good time. One thing to look out for is that the only two slides on the playground are made out of metal, so I'm sure they get super hot and unusable in the summer. There are also swings and a little playground structure for young kids. Lots of parking here, but not lots of shade! Probably bring your own shade if you're coming here to see a game. Also, there's a gaga ball court, but you need to bring your own ball.

This park is best known as a large baseball and soccer park. There are so many practice fields…read morethat I wasn't able to count them all....I think some are temporary. Anyway, there is a shelter and a small playground area. There is also some caged area that looks like it might have been a tennis court, but there are no signs of pavement within the fencing. I am not sure whether it may be some sort of community garden or if some new construction is going to fill the area. Good place for kids on athletic teams. Otherwise, there are plenty of decent options elsewhere. Review #787

During a recent visit to Lacy Park, I was dismayed to learn that for some reason someone had…read morereported this vibrant neighborhood park as closed. It is not closed. It was impacted by the current health pandemic (as was most of the state of Indiana). However, Lacy Park is alive and well and on a recent weekend when I visited it was definitely being utilized. Lacy Park is practically the definition of a neighborhood park. This 2-acre Fletcher Place park is nestled in nicely at the corner of Greer St. and East Street. In fact, it was originally known as Greer Street Park until being named after Edna Balz Lacy in 1995. The park itself was established in 1917. While Edna Balz Lacy may not seem like a familiar name, her impact on Indy is rather profound. She was an Indianapolis native who started off as a teacher in 1972; in 1934, she married Howard J. Lacy II (son of U.S. Corrugated-Fibre Box Company founder Howard J. Lacy). Lacy took over the company from his father in 1952. He passed away in 1959 and Edna took over the company and led it for 24 years. In 1972, it became Lacy Diversified Industries. In 1973, she established the Stanley K. Lacy Foundation in memory of her son. The Stanley K. Lacy Leadership Series is one of is many contributions to Indy and it continues to this day. Edna passed away in 1991. Lacy Park was developed to reflect its diverse heritage. If you notice, its gazebo is painted red, white, and green to reflect the Italian heritage of the area at the time. Along with playgrounds and picnic areas, there's a sand volleyball court along with four bocce ball courts that were contributed by the Italian Heritage Society. The group hosts bocce ball leagues here. Holy Rosary Italian Festival is also located in this neighborhood that is easily within view of Lilly and is close to downtown yet feels like a little bit of a wooded oasis. This is a small neighborhood park that remains as welcoming today as it was designed to be in the early 20th century. It continues to be considered a "family park" - a reflection of Lacy's own emphasis on family including ensuring that her business continued to stay within the family. While this is not really a destination park, for those near downtown needing to get away for awhile this is a perfect place to get away. If you're looking to have a near downtown picnic, Lacy Park is a great place to do so.

This park is a very small, only covering 2 acres. It does not have a parking lot, but there is a…read moredecent amount of street parking available. The park has a decent gazebo with a picnic table under it. The gazebo could use a coat of paint. There are also a few picnic tables scattered across the park. The grounds could have used a little TLC. I do not know if the parks department has stopped for the season, or if this park was just missed. In the front of the park you will find an adequate sand volleyball court. There is also 4 dirt boccee ball courts near the back of the park. They did not look very inviting though. The park has a small jungle gym with some slides, a larger jungle gym with more awesome slides, a bank of traditional swings, and a bank of toddler swings. The playground is lined with wood chips and the equipment is a bit on the older side. It has definitely seen better days. This park has a history dating back to 1917 when it was known as Greer Street Park. It was renamed the Edna Balz Lacy Family Park in 1995, to honor a notable local businesswoman. Fun fact: One of Indianapolis's first recreation centers was built here at this park. The park has a strong Italian heritage background. The gazebo is actually painted in the Italy flag colors, red, green and white. Also, the boccee ball courts were a gift from the Indianapolis Italian Heritage Society. They hosts spring, summer, and fall bocce ball leagues on those courts. This is an ok park to visit, if you are in the area. But last many of the features, and maintenance of the newer mega parks. It is definitely a gem if you live close by, but is probably not a park that you would drive to to bring the little ones, or run. I saw the park getting most of its use with kids on the playground equipment for a bit and it was also popular with people walking their dogs.