Very neat trail. Has numerous observation areas. Trail is flat and easy. Went in the winter and it…read morewas all iced over, can't wait to see it in the spring.

If you want to really appreciate the natural beauty and diversity of Indiana, take a hike through…read moreBeanblossom Bottom Nature Preserve. It will take your breath away, especially if you visit in the spring, summer and fall, when things are blooming. This is a wetland preserve, so there are swamps all around. You'll see wildlife that like to call swampy, marshy land their home, like frogs and dragonflies, and you might even see a snake, although we didn't on our visit. You'll also see lots of beautiful greenery, trees and flowers. This is one of the most unique nature preserves I've visited in Indiana, because the hiking trail starts off on dirt, but then it turns into a raised, plastic boardwalk. Because the boardwalk is plastic, it can be slippery after a rain, so just be aware. On the boardwalk, you're literally walking right over and through the swamp, so you can get an up-close view of everything. The hiking trail is about 2.5 miles, but it felt shorter. This nature preserve seems to be popular with birders, because we saw several during our hike. When I did some research, I found out that Beanblossom Bottom Nature Preserve has been designated a state Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society. So that explains why we saw so many birders! Speaking of birds, we saw a Great Egret swoop down in front of our path and into the swampy water. They're so big! It was like seeing a dinosaur. This nature preserve was closed for a while because a tornado went through it and damaged a lot of the trail. But a renovation was completed in spring 2019, and the trail loop has been completely restored. Parking is at a premium at Beanblossom Bottom Nature Preserve. There are exactly eight parking spaces in the parking lot, but you can also park along the side of the road if the parking lot is full. There are no restrooms or other services, so plan accordingly.

BEAUTIFUL LAKE IN THE FOREST…read more =========================== We rented an amazing Airbnb right on Lake Lemon at the beginning of May. My son, who lives in Bloomington, found it for my husband and I because the hotels in Bloomington were doubling their rates for graduation weekend which was a total ripoff. Lake Lemon is a thirty minute drive from Bloomington and it's surrounded by two big forests. The drive through the countryside is beautiful. I would recommend spending a lot less money and finding an Airbnb instead of a hotel.

I've grown up on Lake Lemon, and spend almost every weekend here. I love this place…read more It is not as large as Monroe, or as fancy as Geist (thankfully), but I prefer it over the others. We have a party cove (the dam), plenty of room for skiing/wake-boarding/tubing, great fishing, a bar with a dock (the Porthole), beautiful wooded shoreline, and great locals.

It was a perfect day for hiking around the paved trail of this park on the NW side of Bloomington!…read more After pulling into the large paved parking lot, I noticed the playground and shelter to the west, the community gardens to the east, and a basketball court to the north. Between the shelter and the court, a wide paved trail (very little change in elevation, so excellent for physically challenged visitors!) takes a short loop around the pond in the park. I would estimate the walk is roughly the distance of what you would find at a high school track. But what you see, particularly in the autumn, is a wide range of color as the woods slope away from the trail. There is also a POI on the east end of the trail called "Hack's Arch" which is made of stone and has its own plaque telling why it is there. Though it is a little out of the way from downtown Bloomington, it is easy to find (despite the small detour for road repair.) Simply take 17th Street west (it becomes Vernal) over the interstate and watch for the park on the north side of the road. Well kept and though some of the large trees were recently removed for safety reasons, brand new trees are being planted to bring more shade to the area with less risk of falling branches. Review #3288

Nice great park to take nice strolls around. A park, pavilion and large field to play on. Trail is…read morenice and paved.

This 41-acre park is maintained as well as it is functional. During my visit, the flowering trees…read moremade it beautiful as well! The park lies in a neighborhood on the south side of Bloomington. There is plenty of parking with a nice playground located nearby. There is a shelter with picnic tables and a grill on a hill over looking a prairie and woodland. To the east is a paved hiking trail that loops around the park, including an area set up for football. The park is also connected to the Jackson Creek Trail which connects to Sherwood Oaks Park to the west. Review #872

The Salt Creek Trail is a hidden gem in Nashville, Indiana. It starts behind the Brown County…read moreCommunity YMCA, and goes for 3/4 of a mile to the CVS parking lot. Along the way, you'll see beautiful things, like creeks, wildflowers, a storybook trail, a playground near the YMCA, picnic benches and lots and lots of trees. At the end of the trail (or the beginning, if you started at the end), you'll see a bridge with a big, colorful mural painted on it called Nature Inspires, created by an artist named Kurt Eagleman. (Read my review about Nature Inspires for more info about that.) The trail is paved and wide and smooth, so it's great for wheelchairs and strollers. It's also nice for walkers, like me. Apparently, this is the first paved trail in all of Brown County! This is an easy trail, and I was at the end before I knew it. I had forgotten my headphones, so instead of listening to music like I usually do when I walk, I recited poetry and sang some songs aloud. If you'd like to know how long it takes to get from one end of Salt Creek Trail to the other and back again, it takes as long as it does to recite The Walrus and the Carpenter by Lewis Carroll, The Owl and the Pussy Cat by Edward Lear, The Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll, half of If by Rudyard Kipling, and sing the Weezer song In the Garage, and the Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh song La Di Da Di.

While exploring Greene County, I saw that there was a moderate 1.6 mile hiking path inside the…read moreDilcher-Turner Canyon Forest. So, I crossed the railroad tracks (heading west) and pulled into the small lot at the south entrance. There is the usual wipe your feet before you enter and the sign in to let someone know the park is getting used. The park is a bit on the primitive side: no restrooms, natural trails, and only a few benches. There aren't actual trail markers, but during the right conditions, it seemed the painting of white patches on trees to help the hiker orient on the paths seemed to work. I could see this being a necessity after the leaves have fallen and covered up the dirt path. Note that there were several dry creeks that I crossed along the way, but because of the 60' elevation change, I could see the need to cross over water or at least muddy ground after a rain storm. The trail does have a short cut for those not wishing to hike the entire distance. After walking up a mild incline for .2 miles, there is a split in the path with a laminated map showing you where you are and the distances around the paths. I recommend snapping a photo of this since there is only one other map posted on the trails. The outer trail to the left (West) is the one with the best views of the canyon. Deep greens and rocky descents are seen and there is a bench to relax and just listen. No immediate access is available here to the canyon floor. However, the trails do gradually reach the lower portion of the canyon to the east, though never quite reaching the bottom, and certainly not near the viewing area on the west end. Along the way, there are a lot more rock outcroppings that have shallow caves. While observing a squirrel who had run into a fallen log, a deer ran by me within 30 yards to the crest of the hill, and then back to where it came from as I followed the path upward. Note: I wouldn't recommend going off trail here unless you have some high tech equipment or are just a bit crazy. The white trail patches are small and are only painted on the side that you can see them from the trail. If you wander off, you will need a lot of luck to find the markers again. If you are unsure, just stop and look to see the next marker before proceeding. They are there....just use patience. Overall, it was an enjoyable hike. I made good time on my trip, including stops to take photos, taking about 45 minutes. Review #1587

This is one of Bloomington's better parks. It has a ton of space and have everything that you would…read morewant in a park. It is very spacious park spanning almost 35 acres and dates back to 1957. The park has tons of parking available spread between 3 lots. There is also parking available near the pool. The playground features 2 parks. The first park is for 5 to 12 year olds and feature a medium sized jungle gym with bridges, tunnels and slides. There is also a sand digger and a bank of traditional/toddler swings. You will find benches and other spots for caregivers to sit. The equipment is a bit dated, but still in fair shape. There is great news though, the playground is scheduled to be reimagined next year. You will find a fair shelter just off of that playground with picnic tables under it and a grill just outside of it. The other playground area is for smaller kids and is fenced in to keep the little ones from running off. There is a cement dinosaur bench that caregivers and sit, along with a bunch of traditional benches. There is also some picnic tables under a canopy. The equipment in this area include a bank of traditional/toddler swings, and another medium jungle gym with tunnels, bridges, canopies and slides. Just like the older kid playground area, this equipment is a bit "seasoned", but still serviceable. The park is home to a nice paved 1/4 mile walking trail, Streamside Trail, that is wheelchair-accessible trail and bisects the park along the south side of Bryan Park Creek. Along the trail, you will find an outdoor fitness area with a bunch a very nice equipment such as a balance beam, chest press, incline sit up board, monkey bars, and dip bars. It is very nice and looks relatively new. I really liked the park's 2 full basketball courts . It was very nice and in great shape. The tennis courts are pretty good too. Other park amenities include a restroom facility, two multi-use fields with backstops, a horseshoe pit, and a ton of green space. You will not find a shortage of green space here, including the multi-use fields. It is suitable for pretty much any field activity including football, playing catch, soccer, a picnic or flying a kite. Along the Park's grounds is another shelter with picnic shelters with tables under it and a grill outside of it and some benches. If that was not enough, the park is co-located with an aquatic center. Being that i visited the park in November though, the Center was closed for the season. The park is well maintained and you can easily spend at least a half of a day or more here. I highly recommend checking out the park. It may be a bit outdated, but upgrades are on the way and the city is investing a lot of money into this park.

This is a great neighborhood park for the kids. There are several playgrounds available.read more

I hesitate in adding this review as I want to keep this a hidden gem to avoid all the crowds that…read morecovid has created in nature, but I felt the need to share to spread the local love! Reasons to love this preserve/hiking trail: - no people. I passed literally no one while on the hiking trail. It was incredible and rare to find nowadays. - inclines! Living in Indy, we don't experiences hills. So happy to have some inclines to add to the hike! - tons of wildlife and nature finds. I found so many mushrooms, insects, and other animal/plants species. - lots of terrain changes. Mostly surrounded by woods, but it meanders around a creek bed and hilltops as well. - the gravel drive and surrounding houses are to die for. *quickly checks Zillow listings* Let's keep this preserve a hidden gem and keep it clean as we found it!