Forest Park

Forest Park is awesome. Great running trail, train station, playground. Pool is nice in summer.

Amazing park! There are so many neat features here that I don’t know where to start, so I guess I’ll start with the carousel! Yes, there is a carousel in this park. (I’ve been calling it a merry-​go-​round, but everyone I spoke to here called it a carousel; I’ve been so wrong for so long.) A ride on the carousel costs $ 2 per child, and adults ride free with a kid. Adults can’t ride on the actual horses — they are relegated to the stationary seats or standing by the child.
There is also a miniature golf course, which we didn’t play this visit. It’s very small and doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of, say, Pirates Cove in Indy, but what the heck: it’s a putt-​putt course in a park! We should just be happy it exists, because it does.
There are two different playgrounds a short walk from each other: one playground for bigger kids with a tall twisty slide, rope merry-​go-​round, a gong-​looking swing and climbing wall. The other playground, which is near the carousel and mini golf course, is designed for younger kids, and has swings, jungle gyms, and even these rad excavator digging toys that you sit on and use to excavate and dig. There is lots of sand here, too, so bring your shovels and buckets.
We stayed close to the playgrounds this trip, but Forest Park is huge and there were other interesting things we didn’t see, like the Indiana Transportation Museum, the water park and swimming pools, and the copious trails throughout the park.

When you have a ‘lil guy a park is always a necessity to burn off some energy and be outside. I’m new to the area and my wife discovered this amazing gem on Unilocal.Thanks fellow Unilocalstas for throwing it out there in Unilocal World.
Several play areas with the standard slides, swings, climbing wall and rope towers are located within the grounds. The biggest and coolest score was to discover a carousel in the middle of the park with the sounds of an ‘olé fashioned pipe organ.
And. It got better with a miniature golf course directly behind the carousel. We «put-​putted» 18 holes and peddled over to the train museum. Yeah– there was a train museum!
A couple of shelters are available for gatherings and an expanse of space for bike riding and hiking. I only wish I lived closer.

I love this park! I love walking here anytime of the day. There are so many walking trails that begin here and a lot of the paths are shaded by trees which is great on hot sunny days. You can rent the shelters and buildings for events and parties — the prices seem pretty reasonable. There’s the train museum inside the park with train rides throughout the year. I love the carousel in the center of the park. It’s an old restored carousel with beautiful artwork on it. I think my son enjoys watching it go around from the sidelines more than he does riding it.
The park has many playgrounds for all ages, sand volleyball courts, a skate park and the aquatics center is right next door. There’s also a pretty nice golf course inside the park.
There are movies and concerts in the park but I have not made it to one of those yet this year.

I have been out and about exploring the parks of the north side this year. Since having Max, it’s important now to find places to hang out that are child-​friendly and inexpensive. Every Thursday, Forest Park hosts a free music event.
We went last week with another couple and their children and it was PACKED, but in a good way! So many families out to enjoy a nice evening on the lawn watching live music. They had a full stage set up, a bounce house with people working it for the older children, a concession area and plenty of grass to pull up a stroller or lay out a blanket for a relaxing night as the sun went down.
It was the most fun we have had in a long time. We brought wine, beer and fried chicken and had a wonderful time! I highly recommend to couples, families and friends looking for something mellow, unique and free on the north side :).
Downsides: Not as much parking as they need for this kind of event, but otherwise is fine. Pretty far north… almost to Cicero.
Upsides: Very large park, lots of things for children, right on a beautiful golf course, easy to find.