Parks and recreation Indianapolis

a white-tailed deer in eagle creek park, 1 of largest municipal parks in u.s.

indy parks , recreation maintains 200 parks covering 11,246 acres (4,551 ha). eagle creek park largest , visited park in city , ranks among largest municipal parks in u.s., covering 4,766 acres (1,929 ha). fishing, sailing, kayaking, canoeing, , swimming popular activities @ eagle creek reservoir. notable recreational trails include canal walk, pleasant run trail, , monon trail, accommodating 2.8 million users in 2012. there 13 public golf courses in city.

military park established city s first public park in 1852. 20th century, city enlisted landscape architect george kessler conceive framework indianapolis modern parks system. kessler s 1909 indianapolis park , boulevard plan linked notable parks, such brookside, ellenberger, , garfield, system of parkways following city s waterways. in 2003, system s 3,474 acres (1,406 ha) added national register of historic places.

two state parks located in marion county: fort harrison in lawrence , white river downtown. encompassing 250 acres (100 ha), white river city s major urban park, home indianapolis zoo , white river gardens. indianapolis lies 50 miles (80 km) north of 2 state forests, morgan–monroe , yellowwood, , 1 national forest, hoosier. crown hill cemetery, third largest private cemetery in u.s., covers 555 acres (225 ha) on city s north side , home more 250 species of trees , shrubs comprising 1 of largest old-growth forests in midwest.

according trust public land s 2017 parkscore index, indianapolis tied last respect public park accessibility in 100 largest u.s. cities evaluated. currently, 68% of residents under served. city s large land area , low public funding contributed ranking.