It's hard to call this tiny 1400 sq foot space a park, but the bricked corner has recently become…read moredesignated as a park under the care of Zionsville Parks & Recreation. Village Corner on Main Street has historically been a focal point for downtown seasonal events. I fondly remember taking my children to visit Santa in his tiny house on this corner. I have walked through the Corner thousands of times. The Corner holds a historical marker describing the platting of Zionsville in 1852. The town was named after William Zion, director of the Lafayette and Indianapolis Railroad. A historic Verdin Clock stands and keeps time on the Corner. The clock also contains a carillon. Two inviting wood benches sit on the brick patio. While the Corner is small and unassuming, it is part of the Village that is so special to the residents of Zionsville. There is free street parking if you are lucky or early in the day.

My husband and I took our grandchildren here for a picnic and hiking/exploring. The nature center…read morewas closed (I had not checked their hours), but we had a great time before incoming rain/storm sent us home. We'll return! The creek is beautiful and the kids enjoyed the bridge. We found deer and raccoon tracks, and some shells. Nature is wonderful

I don't get to this part of Central Indiana often, however, I had the chance to accompany a friend…read moreand we decided to do a bit of a detour and visit McCloud Nature Park in North Salem (Hendricks County). McCloud Nature Park is a 232-acre nature park established in 2003. It has over six miles of hiking trails, easy access to Big Walnut Creek, a nature center with year-round programs, and a pretty good chance you're going to see wildlife while here. The nature center has live reptiles, amphibians, insects, a bird-viewing room, a resource library, and interactive exhibits. In the late spring, summer, and early fall, you can observe live honeybee hives. There's a park pavilion available for rent (I believe it's only $50 a day). For a nature park, it's obvious much effort has been made to offer some contemporary amenities (modern restrooms/picnic facilities) and a surprising degree of accessibility including the availability of a GRIT Freedom Chair to borrow for two-hour increments (no charge). You can also rent a picnic pavilion with tables/grills. For those who don't know, GRIT chairs are capable of handling basic off-roading quite easily. They are manual chairs, but they have levers instead of the traditional wheel-push function. They're quite cool and ideal for hiking trails. While I was able to handle most of the ground here in my chair, a GRIT chair makes it MUCH easier. The trails are both gravel and natural surfaced trails - they are well marked. You can fish, wade, canoe, and kayak in Big Walnut Creek. The creek is known to have smallmouth bass, panfish, catfish, suckers, and carp (you do have to follow Indiana fishing laws and have an Indiana fishing license). As someone who loves bridges, I was in love with a restored iron truss bridge that is over 100 years old. There's also a swing set with belt, tire, infant, and ADA swings. The wetland habitat has a boardwalk and observation decks. While I'm impressed with how accessible Hendricks County has made this nature park, I'm also impressed with how much accessibility was actually just built into it. There was some clear thought. I sure wouldn't call all the trails accessible, though more advanced wheelchair users like myself can definitely have some fun here (and I did). The nature center admission is free. Hours for the nature center: November through March: Friday & Saturday only, 10am-4pm (closed noon to 1pm). April through October: Wednesday - Saturday, 10am - 4pm (closed noon to 1pm); Sundays, 1-5pm. This is definitely worth a visit to the westside to check out. I'd actually call it a destination nature park with enough features to keep folks happy. There's enough accessibility offerings to allow for all members of the family to enjoy the park. This is an absolute gem and I definitely recommend a visit.

Sometimes, a good idea actually takes root and does something good for a community. Back in 2016,…read morea neighborhood (Springdale) decided to turn an empty lot into a park that would help preserve one of the oldest trees in the neighborhood: The Nowland Oak. In cooperation with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful's IPL Project Greenspace, the neighborhood created a small park to tell the story of Indiana during the 300 years of the tree's life. A concrete base was created by a local artist (Nick Gehlhausen) and formed roots spreading down the hillside. On the base, panels were set up showing the history of the state in timelines and script. On the reverse side of the panels, information about native plants is shown. Mosaics were created by artist Barbara Zech to welcome visitors and to follow a path to the park. Note that additional markers were embedded into the sidewalk and lead visitors to an even older Chinquapin Oak a couple blocks away estimated to be 450 years old! (It is probably the oldest tree in Marion County and is called the Temple Oak.) Instead of removing the tree on a lot that was slated for demolition, it is nice to see something pleasant and educational added to the neighborhood. Note: There is no parking other than street parking in the area. Review #578

The Blickman Educational Trail Park at White River was established in 2005 by Sol and Toby Blickman…read moreas an outdoor environmental educational destination for young people with a special focus on both Boy and Girl Scouts. Donating the land that allows a link between Marott Park and Holliday Park, the Blickmans funded this park to ensure it would remain in its natural state for perpetuity. The odds are fairly strong that you've driven by this park many times if you've lived in Indy for any length of time at all. Located right at 64th and Meridian, not far from the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation where the Blickmans were members, the Blickman Educational Trail Park is one of those "over the shoulder" sites where you pass it, you realize there's something there, and you look over your shoulder to try to figure out what it is. Sol Blickman was a longtime philanthropist in the Indy area. He owned Rogers Jewelers before selling it off to Zale's, then started Rogers Swimming Pools in Broad Ripple. He received a Distinguished Hoosier Award from Governor Daniels in 2005. The actual trail itself is short at .7 miles and connects to the White River Trail. There's ample parking here. It's worth noting that the Blickman Educational Trail Park is truly a "nature" resource and is not a recreational area. There are no real activities beyond those related to environmental education. It's also worth noting, and this causes a loss of a star for me, that the trail itself is not fully accessible, though I do believe there's a way you can detour that allows at least some access. Because the trail does have a section by White River, there's also the potential for flooding - when it's not flooded (which is most of the time), it's stunning in its beauty. This is one of those stunning little gems in Indy that it seems like most people ignore. I was honestly surprised it hadn't been reviewed but, again, it's one of those little spots that's such a short trail it's not really worth going out of your way. It's also set aside off Meridian Street and super easy to miss. I would definitely recommend checking it out at least once. It's yet another wonderful example of someone doing something really great for Indy and ensuring their legacy continues long after they've passed away.

I'd seen a social media post that W.S. Gibbs Memorial Park had added a major ADA accessibility…read morefeature - so, after a recent clinic appointment I was able to get a friend of mine to take a detour so I could go check it out. W.S. Gibbs Memorial Park is a Hendricks County Park with an official address in Danville, though the park itself is considered to be in Avon. One of Hendricks County's newer parks, it offers two fishing ponds, nature trails, a disc golf course, and a playground among other features. The feature that attracted my attention is the recent addition of a fully accessible, ADA compliant fishing dock on the park's smaller lake. This dock was paid for in part by a federal Land & Water Conservation Fund grant and is part of a larger project at the park to improve ADA-accessibility and park security. The park is open from dawn to dusk daily, and admission to the park and the 18-hole disc golf course within it is free. In addition to checking out the new dock, I checked out the park itself. The park features: 70 acres of woods, prairie, ephemeral creek, and ponds. Over 2 miles of well-marked trails (gravel and natural surfaces). Two ponds totaling 5.5 acres stocked with bass, redear sunfish, bluegill, and channel catfish. ADA-accessible fishing dock Nature-themed playgrounds for 5-to-12-year-olds and for 2-to-5-year-olds. ADA-accessible concrete walkways from paved parking lots to pavilions. 30-foot-tall observation/sledding hill. Picnic areas. Green space. There are two pavilions that can be rented, both ADA accessible. There's no fee to fish the ponds; properly licensed anglers may keep what they catch as long as all Indiana fishing laws and regulations are being followed. This is an absolute gem of a park and I'm so excited to see that they're taking accessibility so seriously. If you're in Hendricks County or on Indy's far westside, this park is worth the trip.

Beautiful new nature park and Disc Golf Course off of Gibbs road between Danville and Plainfield…read moreIN. There is a large sign that helps you find it off the main road. New park so google maps info was actually wrong when I first came here! Fishing pond, nature trails, disc golf course and playground here.

What a great place! The first 10 minutes on the path are fairly residential, but after that you…read morewalk into beautiful trails and nature! Definitely a hidden gem!

I admit that I've passed by this site a number of times, not knowing what it was. What started out…read moreas a parking lot for the south end of the Big 4 Rail Trail has turned into much more. The site has two prominent pieces of art including a mural of a flowing creek that seems to flow onto the sidewalk. The mural, on the south side of the public restroom building, was completed in 2023 by artist Blice Edwards. If you look at the mural face on, the building seems to melt into the natural background. The mural was made possible by the Zionsville Parks Department. There is a second piece of art which is a sculpture called Wingz by Mark McGarvey. This towering sculpture was also completed in 2023. The "wings" move gracefully, almost flapping, with the breeze. Zionsville really needs more public art so this is a wonderful addition at the south entrance to town. The public unisex restrooms are really nice for Trail users or people out walking. There is natural prairie landscaping around the park. The small site is pristine and has 17 parking spots including 2 handicap spots at the front. I'll be using this new entrance to the Trail. I recommending stopping to enjoy the art.

This pocket park is part of the Bates-Hendricks Neighborhood community making an effort to provide…read morean asset where an empty lot was neglected. Now, there is a clean green space with a pergola and seating, benches, and a wooden playground in the shade. The playground has swings, a slide, and a "rock climbing" and rope climbing side. A nice entrance and pasture plants frame the street sides of the park. It has a nice balance of natural and artistic planning which makes for a calm and restful environment. Review #623

This park has several baseball parks, a basketball court, and a playground. The park is in need of…read moreattention (gravel parking lot needs more rock to fill in holes and muddy patches; large dead branches need to be removed) but nothing is too difficult or expensive, so maybe a good spring cleaning can whip this park into a good condition. Review #707