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Eagle Creek Park
On the northwest side of the city, Eagle Creek Park is one of the largest urban parks in the country. On wooded land that hugs the northern end of the Eagle Creek reservoir, it has as challenging terrain as Indianapolis can offer (not very) for biking and hiking, and has a marina renting a variety of boats to take out on the lake. During the summer, there are concerts every Wednesday night, ranging from bluegrass acts to the Latvian-Estonian ensemble, as well as occasional theatre productions. I took the pictures below from a kayak one hot summer afternoon.
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Getting there:
by car: From downtown, take I-65N to the 71st Street exit. Turn left at the bottom of the ramp onto 71st Street. You'll arrive at the park nearly immediately. It takes about 15 minutes.
by bike: You'll have to know Indianapolis pretty well to avoid the major roads, but eventually you're going to have to get on 56th Street. Head west on 56th (not terribly bike friendly, so be careful). About a mile after you cross I-465, you'll see the 56th Street entrance on your right. From downtown, it's roughly 12 miles of mostly flat biking.
Costs:
$3 per car weekends, $2 weekdays
$.50 per bike/pedestrian
Canoe/Kayak rentals start at $7 per hour; sailboats and pontoon boats are more. Bike rental is also available. The marina is open May-September till sundown.
Links: