This is a great park for beginning hikers or those short on time. The park, while beautiful is much…read moresmaller than State parks, with trails that are harder to get lost on. There is small playground, a "Sensory Garden" area that has a pond with running water & frogs (for sound), highly scented flowers (for smell) and even some safe to taste herbs (for taste). There is a covered picnic area that can be rented out for parties. It can also be used freely when no parties are booked. One could make a day of this place but it's not a requirement to see everything.

such a beautiful park, i love the trails available very pretty views and everyone that travels is…read morenice. good for walking and biking.

My favorite park in the whole area, simply because the playground they have for the kids is HUGE,…read moreand they have padded area surrounding it. It's also right by the river, which is a nice view while taking a walk.

Merrifield Park is a unique park in the area. Not only does it offer a public swimming facility…read more(for a fee), it also has public ice skating (you have to enter through the park's admin building to gain access.) The rest (north side) of the park has several shelters, a large elevated playground with towers and slides, and a public access ramp to the river. The grounds were in great condition other than it could use a bit of watering on some of the lawn areas. Lots of parking and open space for running around or organized games that need space. I also noticed a lot of trees that had been carved into wooden sculptures left in place around the shelters. All have been coated with a rust colored treatment to preserve the images. Most feature some type of animal though one has a female image with the word Princess carved at the base. It's a nice park if you have a specific interest in swimming or skating, or just strolling along the river. Review #3101

Great kayaking, I had a lot of fun. When we went the water was a bit low, but wasn't a problem…read more Hardly any current so it was a nice easy kayak trip.

After years of playing this as my home course, I have come to the realization that this course is…read moreamong some of the best I have played. It's well maintained, good variety of play and very nice park staff.

The Millrace trail is a fantastic place for a family walk. The Kid's Castle at Shanklin Park is a…read moregreat stop along the way. Have played slow-pitch softball here and fields are well maintained. Boat launch at Shanklin is too. ***Word of caution, if you do plan on visiting nearly any part of Shanklin park, be ready to encounter many Canadian Geese and tons of what they leave behind.*** Goshen Parks are one of the main reasons my family chose to live here and we visit them or take advantage of their programs or services as often as we can.

Shanklin park is a great space. It has lighted baseball/softball diamonds, a canoe launch for the…read moreElkhart River, Kiwanis Pavilion, Shanklin Pool and Schrock Pavilion, a large rentable enclosed pavilion. Best of all is the community-built Tommy's Kids Castle, a large, fun, and well maintained kid's play area. It has areas for larger and smaller kids, baby swings, regular swings, tons of slides and things to climb. Best of all there is a bottleneck in/out which means you can give kids the freedom to explore without worry by sitting near the entrance.

It is beautiful well kept park with plenty to do. Besides the many organized events, there are…read moretrails to walk, playgrounds, a tower, archery, disc golf and more. It costs $3 to enter the park with your car.

Very nice park, entrance fee varies depending on season and residency…read more Very well appointed with bathrooms, pavilions and trails. There is a canoe launch on the Elkhart river. This is a big park and quite a few areas look exactly like the one you came from...so a map isn't a terrible idea if you're going to be hiking. This is a great place to spend the day w family. I have never tried the disc golf here. They are in the process of building an observation tower similar to the one at Bonneyville Mills

Wonderful visit, warm sunny day. Greatly enjoyed chatting with the head miller. He was full of…read moreinformation about the mill itself and expanded our knowledge of multiple grains while discussing bread making tips n tricks. We strolled a shorter bath but forgot our bug spray so didn't adventure into the woods. The gardens around the mill were picturesque and the mill store had a great variety. I would recommend a visit and be sure to engage the miller for all your questions !!

Well done tours of a genuine mill. Fascinating story behind the original owner! Great place for a…read morepicnic or a stroll - the grounds are beautiful. Check online for hours - not open every day (for tours).

The year was 2019, and my parents and I were spending another lovely week in Northern Indiana to…read moreroot on our Irish women's basketball team in the NCAA Tournament. Sadly, our steadfast friends were out of town, but they benevolently let us stay at their place, so everything was comfy and familiar and homey, if a little lonely because of the absence of our gracious hosts. We needed additional stuff to do on the days between games, so I suggested following the St. Joseph River to find out where it starts. On the way (back, I believe), we discovered tiny Bristol, Indiana, and its even tinier Subway, whose bathroom was extremely useful. Near that Subway is Congdon Park, a lovely waterside park right at the confluence of the St. Joseph and Little Elkhart Rivers. The park is cute and quaint and spectacular in its unexpectedness. The location is perfect, but it's not just some random piece of greenery. There's a gazebo and picnic tables and play equipment and some kind of weird deck/pier (for fishing?) and a bench swing. That's right, a bench swing. The grass is pretty well maintained, and there's a nice paved path all around the little park so that you can take a walk without getting mud on your shoes. This would be a five-star deal all the way around except that as we walked south along the shoreline from the bench swing, we were almost instantly swarmed by vicious but ultimately harmless insects--harmless, that is, unless you wanted to avoid breathing them in, because the swarms were huge and relentless. As we ran south, they dissipated a bit, but once we reached the deck/pier, they were back, and this time, they were unbearable. Bugs don't normally frazzle me, but these did. Maybe they only appear at a certain time each year, like the midges that invade Cleveland for a couple of weeks each spring, but it wasn't quite spring yet, so I doubt it. The bugs ruined what had been a perfectly charming park visit, but that's just because we happened to walk east from the parking lot and then head south. If we had gone counterclockwise, things would have been fine. You should visit this park, and you should also try to find the source of the St. Joseph River. Take a picture of you and your sweetie sitting in the bench swing and post it. You know you want to.

This compact "pocket" park along the St. Joseph River at the base of the Main Street Bridge is well…read morelandscaped and manicured. Massive trees create a large scenic canopy of shade. There are a few mounted park benches to sit and enjoy nature. There are no facilities nor playground equipment -- however -- there is a professionally designed ADA Compliant Canoe / Kayak launch ramp.