I was wheeling the Monon Trail from Indy to Carmel today and came across the Vera J. Hinshaw Park…read moreand Preserve. This is a 11.73 acre greenspace/undeveloped nature preserve just north of the Monon South Trailhead at East 96th Street. So, yes, this is part of Carmel's park system. The preserve includes several mature, high-quality trees - hickory, walnut, black cherry, and oak. There a definite effort for restoration in this area and more invasive species of plants have been removed. The park is a bit newer. It's next to the preserve and was recently acquired by the park system with joint management between Carmel-Clay parks and Sunrise on the Monon HOA. There's a small loop, a pond, and a shelter. There is, of course, also a path that allows for direct connection to the Monon Trail. The preserve is technically on Windpump Way (I'll confess that the 12-year-old in me giggles at this). However, it's easily and directly accessed from the Monon Trail. I'd remembered this area, however, it's much nicer and bigger than the last time I came this way on the trail. There's parking at the trailhead (along with public restrooms - thank you, Carmel). So, this is a definite easy spot. While I'd not call it a destination area, it's definitely worth a stop if on the trail. Carmel does a really nice job of caring for areas like this (unlike a certain city that I live in) and it's definitely quite nice. This area of the Monon is well paved, though there are some gentle inclines and declines worth noting. This preserve itself is completely flat and a great place to enjoy nature and get some exercise.

This preserve is located off the Monon Trail at the Indianapolis and Carmel border, just north of…read morethe 96th Street Monon Trail parking lot. (You know, that area that used to have the memorial to Pirate Cat! If you know, you know.) To access it, your best bet is to park at the parking lot at 96th Street (it's also called the Monon Greenway South Trailhead), then walk north up the Monon Trail about 200 to 300 or so steps. Walk through the tunnel, and you'll see a mailbox up ahead. That's where the Vera J. Hinshaw Preserve is located! It's a big, open space with lots of grass, a paved walking trail, a fountain and pond, and now they've recently built a shaded atrium area. It's a nice spot to take a break if you're walking on the Monon Trail in this area. There aren't any benches or even a trash can, but at the entrance of the preserve, there's a brick planter that you can sit on. I've also seen people fly kites in the grass. There's a neighborhood beyond the preserve. Surrounding the preserve are big, mature trees -- hickory, walnut, black cherry and oak. This is a nice little spot along the Monon Trail, and you can't miss it if you're in this area.

Very short trail. If you're going for walking I don't recommend but if you just want to be outdoors…read morein the shade and near the creek it would be fine. I went with my dog hoping to get a decent walk in and I was disappointed.

I'll openly admit that I'd never heard of Hague Road Nature Haven until I decided to do some…read moreHamilton County exploring today following church. Hague Road Nature Haven is a relatively small spot at 43 acres. It's located at the Southeast corner of Hague Road and SR 38. The master plan calls for an outdoor education center, though for the most part the current status of Hague Road Nature Haven is as a fairly rough, immersive, and absolutely peaceful place that makes up for its accessibility issues with being a bit of natural wonder right here in Central Indiana. Hague Road Nature Haven is surrounded by Cicero Creek. There's a small parking lot. It's cleared but still natural in presentation. Plans eventually call for campsites, a natural playground, a nature center, study areas, and I believe I even saw plans for a small, natural amphitheatre. There are no plans, necessarily, to turn this into anything resembling a recreation area and we should be grateful for that. For now, you've got lots of greenery, hiking trails, creekside spots for stomping or wheeling or just watching. There's one absolutely delightful spot with a sort of swing bench. It's an inspired touch for an inspiring location in Noblesville. You can fish here, of course, and I was honestly surprised at just how much of this nature haven I could handle by wheelchair (though certainly not all). The creek itself stays relatively shallow. However, obviously, children should be supervised and care should be taken to ensure safety. This is nature, after all, and things can happen easily. Animals may very well be here, as well. This haven is still relatively light in terms of attendance and in one afternoon I saw fish, tadpoles, lots of birds and, yes, even deer. I wouldn't be surprised if turtles are around here and maybe even a snake or two (I like snakes...for me, that's a good thing). There's a relatively light "nature walk" trail here. It runs just under a mile. The path is natural, though I found it cleared enough that I could manage it. In adverse weather, I probably could not. It's not technically "accessible," but it's wide enough, mostly smooth ground/crushed stone, and almost completely flat. Plus, it's right by the creek. This also means mosquitoes in season, but that's easily handled. Absolutely heaven. This is a relatively secluded area - this can be an amazing thing, but it's also worth noting in terms of taking appropriate precautions. You're really not that far from residential areas here, though this truly is a set-apart haven and a magnificent slice of nature almost smack dab where you least expect it. There's no question I'll be back.

Just a short drive from the State Fairgrounds is a block-sized park with a nice sized hill and some…read moremature trees. Apparently this park is a haven for birds. It looks like just about any other bare lot with trees. It may be a place for bird watching, but with a title like this, I expected some information kiosks or some thing useful to people stopping by the park. Frankly, I'm not sure why this block is named this way. It still is a nice place for the neighborhood. Who doesn't like a calm and shaded woodland within walking distance? But it isn't a destination for anyone else. No benches, no shelter, no playground, no information. Oh, well. Review #720

Hidden away on a quiet little side street, near the Fairgrounds & right off the Monon Trail. Set…read moreaside in 1925, it remains one of the very few urban bird sanctuaries in the US. At first glance, it doesn't seem like much. But get out of your car or off your bike. Look at the interesting varieties of trees, both young & old. Walk the uneven dirt path, concentrating on the uncut native flowers, grasses, & bushes in the interior of the preserve. Suddenly, you're not in the city anymore. You hear the birds, you feel the breeze, the sun filters through the leafy branches. This is the way I like it, mostly undeveloped & undisturbed. Surrounded by a charming neighborhood with well-kept houses, it's a lovely little oasis in the middle of Indianapolis.

Bear Creek Park is still in the beginning stages of development, as of this writing (September…read more2021). The parks department recently opened the park to visitors on Saturdays and Sundays, so people can explore the land and give input on what they'd like in the park. So my review is about the park in its infancy. I'll definitely be back when the park is done and do another review! This park is located in a neighborhood on the northwest side of Carmel, near Westfield. There are lots of native grasses and plants everywhere, and wide paths for hiking around the park. There are four trail loops right now, each a quarter mile or so. The hiking trails are short enough for even the most whiny, reluctant hikers (aka one of my children). Pretty much, the only thing to do at this park right now is walk around and look at all of the beautiful scenery. There is a single picnic bench by the port-a-potties, but other than that, it's just you and nature. And the park is not accessible to the public during the week days, only the weekends. But it's a beautiful patch of land, and I'm excited to see what Carmel Clay Parks & Rec does with the park.

This park is what it is. It has tons of parking available in a few different set at lots. To get…read moreto the park, you take a sort drive through a wooded area. At he front of the park you will find three shelters with picnic tabes under them and grills just out side of them. The entrance to the park ends at the Monon Community Center and the Waterpark. The park's bread and butter by far is its trails. It has mile and miles of trails that are interconnected, some paved, some gravel and some dirt. Some through the woods and in the open. There is a storybook trail near the front of the park by the shelters. The trails are awesome with a capital A. They are well maintained and go for miles. You can walk, bike or run them if you so chooses and if you don't have a bike, don't worry. They have a kiosk that you can rent bikes. near the walkway leading to the water park. There is also a restroom there. You will find another restroom structure at the front of the park by the shelter area. The park itself has 3 miles of trails that wind through a variety of ecosystems including native prairies, wetlands, and woodlands. Its trails also connect to the Monon Greenway (it runs through the center of it, and has pretty much adopted it), which gives you more room to roam. Additionally, this park is connected to one of the most futuristic and best all around playgrounds that I have been to. If that was not enough. it has a community center and waterpark located on its grounds pretty much. RIght behind the playground area is a very peaceful lagoon and a boardwalk. It is very nice and I really enjoyed walking it. It has ducks and fish and I found it very tranquil. If you are planning on bike riding, walking, walking the dog and running (why would you want to do that :-)), this is the park for you, even if you have to drive a bit. This park is beautiful year-round, but I find it especially beautiful this time of year, the fall. When the leaves are changing colors and the weather is nice.

2020 has certainly been a year of new park discoveries. This past weekend, my husband and I…read morecelebrated our anniversary by checking out two new parks and grabbing a snow cone. It's the simple pleasures, right? I had visited the Monon Community Center and Waterpark several times before but never the Central Park East Woods that you pass as you enter the overall park. Central Park East Woods features a handful of trails, picnic areas, bathrooms, a community bookshelf and fun themed trails like the Paw Paw Path. I'm always a sucker for boardwalk paths too (what is about the look of boardwalk paths that always gets me to show up?). You'll find this park on the left hand side noted as "picnic area" as you enter the long winding drive for the Monon Center. Everything is within walking distance of one another.

Zionsville, Indiana has about 20 miles of interconnected paths and trails. This includes the…read moreofficial Zionsville Rail Trail (which I've also heard referred to as the Big 4 Rail Trail). This is a 5+ mile paved trail that goes through the heart of Zionsville, a small suburb on the northwest side of Indy. Trail parking is available at American Legion Trail Crossing, Heritage Trail Park, Carter Station, Zionsville Town Hall and the Nancy Burton Corridor Parking, and just off of Starkey Road. Currently, the trail is being extended north toward Whitestown and south to Zionsville Road. The Zionsville Road trailhead is also currently being constructed. Thus, you will likely encounter some unfinished areas and some construction along the way. While the trail can get busy during good weather, it's a much quieter trail than Monon or Nickel Plate. Because it also weaves through Zionsville, there's also places to stop and it's typically pretty easy to find a public restroom. I know there's at least one on the trail that is clearly marked. Some of the entryways don't look like they would be wheelchair friendly, however, Zionsville has actually done really well to create accessibility along the path. I haven't down this trail during the winter - so I can't speak to maintenance during adverse weather. The paved trail is wide. The most significant inclines are at access points and all those that I experienced met ADA requirements. The trail feels safe and I've seen quite a few parents with strollers on the trail. While you get runners, everyone is considerate on this trail. The plan for the trail is that it will stretch 50+ miles across Boone County and will go from northern Indy to Lafayette. The Big 4 Railroad operated along this corridor from 1889-1930. Zionsville established this trail in the 1990s. The trail is a paved 12-foot wide path with a 3-foot soft shoulder on both sides for runners. It offers restrooms, water fountains, trail markers, picnic benches, and trash receptacles. Pets are to be leashed. If you turn right onto a short path when the trail intersects with Starkley Avenue, you can go directly into downtown Zionsville. Zionsville has a brick-paved Main Street that is quite cool. The trail utilizes nearly all underpasses to go through town. You don't really experience an at-grade crossing until you hit Zionsville's north side. I find this to be much nicer and safer. The trail passes by Mulberry Fields, Jennings Field, Carter Station, Heritage Trail Park, and Rail Trail Gardens Event Center. The trail's a definite winner and only getting better in the coming years!

I walked the Zionsville Rail Trail with a friend in September '23 and it appears it was either…read morestill undergoing construction (or some enhancements). We parked at Zionsville town hall since the map online indicated an access point here. There was one, but it was a gravel path for about a half mile until we realized we were walking through an unfinished part of the trail. The Rail Trail is a straight path through residential areas of Zionsville. It wasn't very busy on a fall afternoon, and I'm not sure if it will have commercial development like the Monon Trail in Carmel and the Nickel Plate Trail in Fishers, since it does back up to houses/neighborhoods.

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.

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.