Plainfield Parks: Trails, Skating, and Swimming
Plainfield, Indiana, a small suburb just to the southwest of Indianapolis, has a comprehensive parks and trails network that nature enthusiasts will fall in love with. Rivaling the scale and majesty of Indianapolis parks, Plainfield parks span all of Hendricks County and include hiking trails, nature preserves, beautiful vistas, and other Plainfield attractions that visitors and residents alike delight in.
Plainfield features five different hiking and walking trails that crisscross the countryside around this Indiana town: Vandalia Trail, White Lick Creek Trail, Sugar Grove Trail, Clarks Creek Trail, and the Ronald Reagan Parkway, named after the former United States president. Each trail has an access point from one of the many Plainfield parks, and some of them offer an excellent sight or two. They are all a good way to get in touch with nature and see the beauty that makes the Indiana countryside and Indiana parks so attractive.
The Vandalia Trail runs along the abandoned Vandalia Railroad and is nearly five miles in length; take in the triumph of the natural world over the constructions of man and get a breath of fresh air while doing so. At the point where the Vandalia and White Lick Creek trails cross, there is a beautiful bridge spanning White Lick Creek; afterwards, the White Lick Creek Trail meanders across downtown Plainfield and the old National Road, or U.S. Highway 40. The other trails, though shorter than the Vandalia and White Lick Creek trails, stop by interesting sites in Plainfield, and the Clarks Creek Trail features a safe underground crossing of State Road 267.
Plainfield parks comprise seven different family friendly green areas, four of which, Hummel Park, Anderson Park, Swinford Park, and the Friendship Gardens, line White Lick Creek. These seven parks span a total of 540 acres of beautiful landscape and offer several fun things to do in Plainfield. Anderson Park is a seven acre park that features the Plainfield Skate Park, a hub for skaters from Plainfield High School and nearby Indianapolis.
| Video of skating at Anderson Park in Plainfield, Indiana |
The skate park is free, safe, and exciting; boxes, rails, and ramps allow all kinds of extreme Plainfield sports enthusiasts to grind, ollie, and flip their way to greatness while CPR and first-aid trained “Skateguards” make sure nobody gets hurt. The park is open to most non-motorized, wheeled contraptions, including skateboards, BMX bikes, longboards, and rollerblades.
| Video of basketball players at Hummel Park in Plainfield, Indiana |
Franklin Park, founded in 1935, is the oldest Plainfield park. With 35 acres of tennis courts, baseball diamonds, ancient shade trees, and horseshoe pits, Franklin Park is a great place to bring your family for an afternoon of fun. Friendship Gardens is an excellent park for sitting and relaxing. The park has a stone waterfall, a veteran’s memorial, and beautiful Gazebo Pavilion that can be rented out for Plainfield events. It’s the perfect place to clear your mind and think about that next interesting Plainfield arts piece or your next move in Plainfield business.
Swinford Park encompasses 25 acres of playgrounds, volleyball courts, tennis courts, and more. Founded in 1965, this park continues to delight Plainfield residents. Robert M. Ward Park is a fairly new park that is only one acre. It serves as a connection to the Plainfield trail system and has benches, a gazebo, and open fields for Plainfield sports. Newby Lane Park is an effort to help out the environment and preserve Indiana wildlife; it is home to an Indiana Brown Bat habitat.
Though not exactly a Plainfield park, Splash Island Family Waterpark is run by the Plainfield Parks and Recreation Department and occupies a portion of the Plainfield Recreation and Aquatic Center. Splash Island has an indoor and an outdoor section; the outdoor portion is only open during the summer months, while the indoor section is open to the public year round.
Splash Island features some mega waterslides, a lazy river for relaxing in the sun, a delicious refreshments booth, and other aquatic attractions. Adults can simply float on the lazy river with a giant salted pretzel while their Plainfield children zip down the slides, leap across lily pads, and take a wild ride in a vortex, all under the expert supervision of specially trained lifeguards.
| Video of R/C boats at Splash Island in Plainfield, Indiana |
If residents or visitors get bored even with the comprehensive Plainfield parks system, the mega network of Indianapolis parks is only a few short miles away, so nature lovers in Plainfield will never run out of green expanses to enjoy!
Plainfield Parks and Recreation Department
651 Vestal Rd
Plainfield, IN 46168
317.839.7665
Homepage
Splash Island Family Waterpark
Indoor Aquatic Center
651 Vestal Road
Plainfield, IN 46168
317.839.POOL
Homepage
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