Riverside Park

Riverside Park has amazing potential but is in need of major love. The sprawling Park sits on prime riverside real estate and is lush with trees. But the grounds are overgrown and weedy, equipment fading and in disrepair and my encounter with staff was not uplifting. The pool is locked and empty. I inquired about the status at the front desk. The clerk did not look up from her computer but said the pool was being serviced and they had no idea if and when it would be fixed. I didn't see anyone working on the pool. Since they have a summer camp in session, it would be great if the pool was operational. There is a really nice set of tennis courts (12ish). There is green space for football and a baseball diamond. A nice set of workout equipment from the Colts seems in need of a good cleaning. I was excited to find a boat ramp with parking area. This area needs to be cleaned and patrolled. The River access site is beautiful. The park offers free daily lunches to those in need and also provides summer camps. I found these resources valuable to the community. I was really surprised to find the park not pristine and vibrant for 4th of July holiday. The flagpoles were even empty.

We visited for the Colts Fitness Park, which is located behind the Riverside Recreation Center. This section of the park has a really neat playground for kids who like to do things like ninja warrior courses and parkour. Colts Fitness Park covers more than 5,000 square feet and features a PLAY 60 Challenge Course, a 40-yard dash and exercise equipment, which is intended to encourage families to exercise together. The equipment is designed to be accessible to people of all ages and abilities, including those with disabilities. The playground has an artificial grass surface, and includes a 40-yard dash ramp, a jungle gym, and ninja warrior-style playground equipment. There's also a little section with outdoor workout equipment.The Colts Fitness Park is located super close to the water park, so if you know where that is, you can find this section easily. We didn't visit much else besides this Colts area, but Riverside Park is huge! I'll have to explore more of it soon.

This is an huge and amazing old-school park that dates back to 1898. It spans a whopping 860 acres and has a few different parking areas that can be accessed only through their own separate entrances. They are not connected. This park may be a bit on the older side, but has everything. You will notice a couple of community murals adorning the rec center walls. They are very colorful and attracts your attention. You should also notice the water slides of the park's water park. It looks like a very nice water park, but was closed during the season during my visit.There are two playground areas on opposite side of the park and a Colts play space in the front. Both of the playground areas are on a bed of wood chips and fully accesible and have jungle gyms with slides, bridges and tunnels. They are both not very large areas and their equipment is deep into its lifespan I would say. The playground by the rec center has wavy monkey bars and a small rocker car. There is also some outdoor workout equipment, picnic tables and benches out there as well. in the vicinity of that playground area is a shelter with picnic tables under it and a grill outside of it, a very nice horse shoe pit and a small lake.The other playground are is near the tennis and basketball courts on the opposite end of the park. In addition to the jungle gym it has a bank of traditional swings.The Colts Play 60 area is very nice. It is located at the back of the rec center. It is on an artificial grass surface and has a 40 yard dash ramp, a jungle gym and some ninja warrior style apparatus. There is also some outdoor workout equipment right next to it that includes a dip machine, a chest press, arm bike, and elliptical machine. It is a very nice areaThe park has three multi-use baseball fields with the largest backstops that I have seen outside of Top Golf. They are relatively in decent shape. There are also two football fields there, one of which has a goal post that can be turned into a soccer net. This park really has green space for days. You will find about 12 decent tennis courts, 2 pretty good full basketball courts, and about 6 horse shoe pits on the end of the park opposite the pool and rec center. There is also a rest room facility over here.The park has picnic tables placed all along its vast grounds and many of them are covered by shade trees. There is also a few shelters, about 4 or 5, with picnic tables under them and grills just outside of them that are available to rent.The park is home to one of the most amazing outdoor amphitheaters in the city. It looks like something out of ancient Greece. It just recently underwent a $9 million renovation and is state of the art. The amphitheater dates back to 1931 as is the resident home of the Indianapolis Shakespeare Co. The theater's bowl holds 650 people and its open area holds up to 2,000 event goers.This is an awesome historical park with everything you could want in a park and more. It is pretty well maintained and has space for days. You can play whatever field sport you can imagine here, football, soccer, frisbee, fly a kite, field hockey or have a picnic. The only real improvement that I could suggest is to put some money into and make upgrades to the playground equipment. Anyway, you can easily a full to a half day here. There is so much to do. I highly recommend checking this spot out.

Riverside park is one of the beauties of Indianapolis. The green space is gorgeous on sunny days and perfect for getting out for some fresh air to take a walk or run. They also have some very nice basketball courts. If you are a hopper you should definitely check it out. Super awesome park with lots to do for people of all ages. They even have a golf course right by the park! Who could say no to that. The park is always very lively and it awesome to see people out and about utilizing all of the awesome space.

The Taggart Memorial Amphitheatre looks great. Prior to its transformation, the area looked rather dated and in need of a refresh. With proper investment, the memorial becomes the centerpiece of a venue featuring live music and performances. There is a main stage and tiered seating that promises good views for any show. The only drawback is maybe too much sun. There is not much of a shade to speak of.Beside the amphitheatre, Riverside Park has a recreation center and pool for residents to use. The park is one component of the greater Riverside Regional Park Master Plan, which re-imagines the westside of Indianapolis and its greenspace. There are plans to leverage the proximity to the White River and turn the region into one of the best amenities the city has to offer.

I was here for an Indianapolis Shakespeare Company production of Hamlet. I had never been to this park before and was amazed at the size! Before the show we had the opportunity to hear about exciting work going on in the neighborhood and the park. The long awaited improvements are coming thanks to the hard work of those who live in the neighborhood. The setting was delightful for the show, and admission was free! How fun to watch a play while enjoying food truck treats, and relaxing in lawn chairs or on blankets. The crowd was relatively small which made it easy to move around and exit post show.It seemed we were the only ones who parked in the lot where the signs directed us! It was very dark walking back, and we used our cell phone flashlights to avoid tripping in the field. They were running golf carts out to the parking area as well, but we made it on our own! Next time, I'm bringing a real flashlight. I can't wait to come back after the new theater area is complete, but they did a great job with the temporary stage for this production. The aquatic center looked nice too. I need to come back to explore a bit more.

Went to riverside to hang out with friends and play pickle ball. A ton of room here and the courts were in fair shape. Lots of activities going on- football practice, softball, etc.

Love this park and it's getting an upgrade! Largest monument in Indy dedicated to a person, Thomas Taggart, former mayor and "father of the parks system" in Indy. Soon to be home of IndyShakes. So glad to see this outcome. What a gem for the west side!

Came here for an event and there wasn't much parking but it was a nice place. The main playground is Colts themed and they have a pool. I noticed they have one area under construction that says opening summer 2020 so I hope to see them finish that soon as it looked very interesting.

My visit to Riverside Park was less than glamorous but it opened my eyes to a local treasure for the neighborhood. I was visiting the community center for a Park Board meeting and found myself taking pictures of the park both before and after my meeting. 1.) this park is easily accessible from 16th street on the east side.; 2.) Riverside Park is home to a NFL Colts Playscape and outdoor workout area; 3.) The gorgeous Parthenon-looking remains stand in this park (which I believe Indiana Landmarks is currently trying to save/preserve/raise funds); 4.) The Community Center is home to a large gym that was conveniently hosting a lunchtime workout class with at least 20-30 folks working out and dancing while I was there. I found myself smiling and soaking in their fun lunchtime energy and the fact that the park was being used for what it was originally created.