I took my dog here for a trail walk. Unfortunately, there was construction going on so we mostly…read moreended up on the Nickel Plate trail instead. Despite the unforeseen detour we enjoyed visiting the creek and the parts of the trail we could. There are lots of bugs in the woods near the creek but other than this I recommend visiting. It's very peaceful.

Cheeney Creek is a nice nature area just south of downtown Fishers. This area features paved and…read morenature trails with tall trees to keep things cool in the summer. If you prefer to walk/hike in the shade, Cheeney Creek is a good place to visit. The trails aren't particularly long, clocking in at around two miles. There is more to see with the nature trails since they run adjacent to a large pond. There are several spots and a dock that are ideal for fishing. Cheeney Creek was moderately busy during a weekend visit. I ran into a few folks here or there and some bikers, but that's about it. Afterwards you can take a short walk or drive to 116th street for some refreshments.

Such a beautiful, scenic well maintained park 9 minutes away from the reservoir. We wanted to spend…read moretime at the reservoir but also spend some quite time with friends and Geist Park hit the spot! Clean park, well maintained shelter areas and a nice play area for kids. They also have restrooms which is always an added bonus. Decent size parking lot and pretty location!

This is a cute little neighborhood park in the Fishers / Geist / Fortville area. We originally…read morevisited because we wanted to check out the playground, but we soon discovered that this park has a beautiful nature trail that winds along the back of the park. The Geist Reservoir runs through the park, and when we visited, we saw people kayaking along the river. We had fun just throwing rocks into the water. Be advised that there are signs all around the park near the river that say that you shouldn't swim in the water because there is a strong undercurrent. So no swimming! The playground has a really neat play structure with lots of ropes, ramps and things to climb. My kids had a lot of fun here -- it's set up almost like an obstacle course. There are also slides, swings (including a swing for really young children), riding toys and tunnels. The ground is covered with wood chips, so it's nice and soft in case your kiddo falls. There are also benches all around so you can sit and see your kid play from whatever angle you happen to be in. There are restrooms just off of the playground, and they were relatively clean when we were there. Parking is plentiful and right by the playground.

It's a little bit rare that I discover a spot previously unknown to me, however, this was the case…read moretoday when I visited Oliver's Woods Nature Preserve. I was between tasks near Castleton and decided to do a Yelp search to see if I could snag a review or two during my free time. As is often the case for me, I searched for "parks" and Oliver's Woods popped up along with a review from the always dependable Nicole S. It's amazing to me that I've driven by this preserve many times without realizing its existence. In fact, even while looking for it today I drove by it a couple of times before realizing the place where I needed to turn. It's not particularly well marked from River Road. As it turns out, this is part of its charm. Oliver's Woods Nature Preserve is a 56-acre preserve owned by the Central Indiana Land Trust. It includes 16 acres of woods, 37 acres of prairie-savanna restoration, and a mile of White River frontage. As is true for most preserves under Central Indiana Land Trust, Oliver's Woods is fairly light in development but a fairly nice effort toward some ADA accessibility is noteworthy. It's not perfectly accessible but, let's be honest, nature seldom is perfectly accessible. As Nicole S. notes, this is a rather sublime weaving together of urban and nature. In fact, I really expected this to be more like a pocket park considering it's situated so close to an office park, apartments, and a nearby shopping center along with the highway. Remarkably, this is simply a well preserved area of nature amidst it all. In terms of accessibility, the accessible parking is by the Daugherty house. Oliver Daugherty, who passed away in 2009, donated the property to Central Indiana Land Trust and some unexpected funding received allowed for increased development of it in 2017. The accessible parking spot allowed for access to a .6 mile trail made of crushed gravel. I'm a wheelchair user and had no issues with it. However, it's worth noting that parking in the usual parking lot is more difficult because the gravel isn't quite as crushed. While the preserve is open daily, there are specific times when a volunteer docent is available to give a tour of the preserve. There is a canoe launch available for any craft legally allowed on the water in the city of Indianapolis that you can carry to/from the river from the drop-off area in front of the Daugherty House. The southern half of the Town Run Trail Park also runs through this property with an agreement that was made between Indy Parks and Daugherty himself. Volunteers have helped plant native trees and plants and to remove invasive species. "This special care is allowing native species like wild ginger, Virginia bluebells, waterleaf, wild hyacinth and trillium to flourish," according to the CILT website. Because this is so wooded and you are along White River, seeing wildlife is also a strong possibility. This is not a "recreational" preserve other than the ability to launch a canoe. This is a wonderful preserve for enjoying nature, appreciating White River, and enjoying a short but nicely done trail. There are signs around the preserve explaining the preserve (including at the Daugherty House). Quite honestly, I'd have loved living here. I saw one other vehicle while I was here, though I never saw the person associated with that vehicle. I did hear traffic and the highway, though on a warm and sunny Fall day it all felt really perfect. Now that I know this is here, there's no doubt I'll return!

Oliver's Woods Nature Preserve is truly an urban oasis. You can see and hear the vehicles roar by…read morefrom I-465, just a short distance away. You walk through tall grasses as you walk past billboard signs. I love the city and I tolerate nature, so this place is a great combination of both for me. There are hiking trails here, but they're not clearly marked, so as we were walking and enjoying nature, we encountered several mountain bikers who raced past us. There must have been some sort of mountain biking thing going on, because there were a lot of bikers at the park. We must have been on the biking trail, because we didn't see any other walkers, just bikers. The path is super slim, so we had to duck into the brush whenever we saw a bicycler, which was every three to five minutes. Eventually, we headed back and found an actual walking path. All this to say: If you find a dirt path that is jutted, it's probably not the walking path -- it's the biking path. Once we found the walking path, it was very pretty and peaceful. The hiking / walking path will take you to the boat launch, where you can take your boat out onto the White River. It will also take you to the Daugherty House, which is a house that belonged to the original owner of the property, Oliver Daugherty. You can't go inside the house, but you can look at the outside, and there are signs and QR codes that give you more information about it. We found a lot of native plants here, including wild raspberries that were ripe and ready for picking. We also saw a beaver (!) and trekked across a stream that fed into the White River. This is such a cool place, and it's a true Indianapolis hidden gem.

Hear me out... this is not my normal park post--but do you want a day trip to a 90s kids park?…read moreCheck out Memorial Park in New Castle, IN. it has a small toddler-friendly playground in the sand bring your bike or stroller and explore all the old 90s playground pieces throughout the park well-established park with tons of shade ponds for fishing (and don't forget bread for the ducks ) open grassy fields + beautiful mature trees = room to roam if your 3-year-old "golfs" like mine... there's a golf course This park has the sweetest history too--it was originally dedicated to Henry County men and boys who fought in WWI, and later rededicated to honor veterans of all wars. It's even on the National Register of Historic Places It's about a 45 minute drive from Indy, so pack a lunch, plan to stay awhile, and let your kids get a little dirty living out that 90s childhood

I was expecting a little more from the park considering how large it is and that it is next to a…read moregolf course. I think it was the layout that bothered me. The park is quite hilly and parts of the park seemed difficult to get to from a central road. Without a map of the park layout, I kept driving around trying to figure out if I could get to the playground from the central road. I never did find a way, so I left the park and pulled into a separate parking lot along Memorial Drive to access the playground, the creek, and the Wilbur Wright memorial. The majority of the park is densely wooded and contains numerous small shelters, many with stone fireplaces. On top of the hill, I found a clubhouse (?) with basketball, tennis, and volleyball courts that were in okay condition, but the netting needed tightening. There was also a natural amphitheater with some chairs arranged to face an "anniversary gazebo". The entrance of the park has a pull off lot for those visitors who wish to climb part way up the hill to see the veteran's memorial. There are several ponds on the lower property with fountains and usually, some ducks. Review #1196

This narrow park located along Stringtown Pike has a lot of bang for the buck! Not only does it…read morehave a 1/3 mile walkway, but there are several playgrounds (one for little kids), a shelter, basketball, tennis courts, and landscaping. There is parallel parking on the nearside of Stringtown Pike. If that's full, there are parking lots for the baseball fields to the south or near the library to the east. Lots to do for kids of all ages! Review #2037

Certainly nothing to go out of the way for, but a decent enough park with ample green space. We…read morehave been here several times for baseball and there are a lot of fields here in various sizes. The large field is way at the back, bring chairs and a wagon. It can be a bit hard to find if not familiar with the area, make sure to check a map before heading this way.

This is a decent nature park. They have an adequate amount of parking available between its lot…read morenear the river inlet, the Pizza King lot, and parking along the park's long drives in the grass. You will find a restroom structure near the park's entrace, just off of the Pizza King parking lot, near the large playground. The first thing I notice about the park is its green space. There is tons of it and it is well maintained. there are a few metal square picnic tables scattered on the green space, as well as some benches that overlook the river. The park features a couple of decent playground areas. The one near the park's entrance is the largest and has a large jungle gym with monkey bars, bridges, slides, a pebble bridge, and a small canopy. There is also a bank of traditional swings, with an ADA swing over there as well. The second playground is by the parking lot and canoe launch. It has a smaller jungle gym with a slide, and a couple of traditional swings. Both playground areas are on a bed of wood chips. The equipment is not the most modern, but is well maintained. The park is home to a very nice, paved fitness trail. It is about a mile and has some very nice equipment stations along the circular route. The park has one very large shelter without any picnic tables under it. There are two smaller shelters at the park and they both have a few picnic tables under them. They are available to be rented. The most prominent feature of this park and probably the most used is its canoe launch. It has a very nice launch that feeds into the White River. In addition to launching some canoes, there are a few shallow spots near the launch that i saw some people splashing around in. It was like ankle deep water. All in all, this is a nice park. I will admit, there is not a lot to this park, but it is still a good option to spend a few hours.

They have free outdoor exercise equipment and a dog water fountain near the restroomsread more

I spent about two hours here in a corner of the parking lot where there was a free Level 1 charger…read moreand waited out a pretty strong rainstorm. Beulah Park is quite large and includes public restrooms, more than one huge picnic pavilion, sporting fields and a playground. The pool is open in the summer, there is a horseshoe pit, basketball (Of course! This is Indiana!) and tennis courts. [Review 1312 of 2024 - 188 in Indiana - 22335 overall]

As part of the county fairgrounds, Beulah Park has an aquatic park, playground, and tennis courts…read more Particularly during non-fair times, there is plenty of parking. The playground has a variety of pieces and has a secure area for smaller kids. There is also an area for horse shoe competition. The park has a lot of shade trees but could use more benches/tables for adults to sit on while the kids are running around. Review #1163

I was out driving in Fishers yesterday as I needed a different view and wanted to grab a meal at a…read moredifferent restaurant than usual. After grabbing dinner at nearby Mashcraft Brewing, I was headed home and thought to myself "Hey, I've never actually driven down 106th Street." So, I did. When you get my age, that's about as close as you get to impulsive. Seriously, I have to admit that I'd never even heard of Heritage Park at White River before yesterday. I started to drive in and completely fell in love with it. As Ken N. notes, it's mostly a park for adults and/or adults with families. It's a calmer, more serene space geared toward more peaceful activities. There's nary a playground to be found and the entire 33 acres of the park scream out "event" rather than social gathering. The centerpiece of the park is the historic Ambassador House. The perfect description of this park is, indeed, "charming." Originally built in 1826 at the corner of 96th & Allisonville Road, the Ambassador House is a Greek Revival-style home that served as the summer home of Indianapolis attorney Addison Harris. Harris served as the U.S. Ambassador to Austria-Hungary from 1899-1901. The Ambassador House and Heritage Gardens can both be rented for special events - in fact, they were in use when I arrived yesterday. You can still visit the park during these times (there's a separate parking area), but access to the house itself is limited. The outdoor event area, complete with a European-style terrace, can accommodate up to 250 including in the Garden Tent. The outdoor area is only available from April - October. The indoor area, which can accommodate up to 60, is available year-round. Heritage Park offers greenways, multi-use trails, nature trails, picnic areas, a shelter, a nice-sized sledding hill, tables, and trails. There's also a public restroom. You will not, however, get a playground or sports equipment. For some, this is a negative but I'll confess I see it as a plus because even adults deserve a park and this is a nice, well kept one. Considering the use as an event space, the lack of "playing" is consistent with the charm and natural ambience of the setting. Heritage Park also hosts some of Fishers more powerful events such as Yappy Hour and Wine Down Wednesday. Because the natural setting has been largely maintained (though it's fair to say the residential surroundings are at times viewable even on the trails), it's not uncommon to see a variety of flower and animal life. Birdwatching is especially popular here. I noticed a wheelchair ramp into the Ambassador House, an obvious add-on to increase accessibility. Fishers has a strong history of addressing accessibility and this park is consistent with that vision. There's a half-mile paged loop that serves as the entryway to the larger White River Greenway. There are benches around it. You can also find benches at the more nature-centered trail. The park also hosts the Angel of Hope! I'm going 5 stars with this park - while it may not have all the features of traditional parks, it's a wonderful park for adults and families allowing for special events and an atmosphere that will make those events special. This was my first visit - it won't be my last.

Heritage Park is a 33 acre park that sits back hidden from the road. The entrance is located at the…read morecorner of 106th street and Eller road. It is known for its wooded trails, one of Fishers best sledding hills and the historic Ambassador House and Heritage Gardens. The Ambassador House and gardens can be rented year round for special events and weddings. In addition to the house and gardens, there are nature trails home to a variety of birds and plants making it ideal for birdwatching and nature study. There is also a paved half-mile loop trail that serves as the first segment of the White River Greenway. The park is open year round daily from dawn to dusk.