Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park

Great park! Lots of open fields where people brought blankets and food. Lots of dogs and neat artwork. I met several good people with dogs and my own dog loved the interaction. Hard to believe this amazing park is in an urban setting, but it's here for us all to enjoy. I highly recommend visiting this beautiful place. Take your friends, your kids, and your dogs. You will be glad you went!

Beautiful park to walk around and enjoy to many picturesque views. Sculptures are cool, especially the basketball one! Paths along the pond and river are so nice to walk, and dog friendly too.

This place has become my home away from home. I love running and walking the trails. I can bring my daughter to play and learn about nature. Staff is friendly, and takes good care of the place. Other patrons are friendly and approachable.

not local. visited for funky bones. walked the main trail around the lake. nice, clean, and mostly even ground. plenty of places to sit and gather! had a good time walking with my partner. maybe spent an hour in total there. (my partner took the funky bones photos so none to attach at this time, but please enjoy the cool bug we saw there)

Excellent park, Indianapolis does itself proud with the overall quality of this park, a great place to take a walk, and check out the fall colors. You could very easily spend the day here, if you really enjoy nature.

These are notes from the perspective of a hiker, visiting this Park for free.

* A good hiking/bicycling 🚶🚴‍♀ trail entrance is around 4200 Michigan, between the White River and the Central Canal. You can also cross underneath Michigan Road here, avoiding traffic worries; on the other side of Michigan, the trail becomes the Central Canal Connector Trl on the canal's west bank, essentially ending near N. Meridian and 56th Street.

* The Ruth Lilly Visitors Pavilion 🚻🐦🏡 isn't far from the Michigan Road entrance. The surrounding trails are beautiful, and the Pavilion "sanctuary" is amazing, too.

* You can head down to the Pacers Bike Station. 🚲 Although I'd currently expect the bridge crossing the Central Canal there to be gated and locked. 🔒

* Funky Bones 🦴💀 is one place to visit on the trails, and Stratum Pier another. But the best part aren't those specific destinations, but walking the lovely hiking trails themselves. 🏞 (Women especially seem to enjoy walking the paths with their large dogs. 🐕‍🦺)

* The other logical way to hike would be starting from "Free Basket" 🏀, where there is also parking and an entrance from 38th Street.

* You may be best off entering from a different nearby location on 38th Street to get to this different section; but Sutphin Fountain ⛲ is pleasant, as are the areas by the Newfields main building.

* I don't remember seeing a single ugly piece of litter anywhere in this park. 🚮 🏞 So if you start messing that up, you're probably going to stick out here, and not in a good way.

Loved this park we don’t have this nature experience in Miami

Always a treat. Construction is a bummer (the glade by the circle sculpture is gone 😢) but still a beautiful respite in the city.

The four of us (wife, son, beagle, and I) first came here on a sunny Saturday afternoon and were utterly charmed by this lush gem of a nature preserve within Indianapolis. So much so that we returned there Sunday morning for a longer visit prior to returning home. On both days, we saw the beauty of it expressed through a harmonious integration of natural features, thoughtful design, and inviting scenery. The trails are well kept and provide a light to moderate exercise for walkers and joggers. Animals are welcome too. Parking capacity can max out on a Saturday so consider visiting on other days. There are porta potties not too far from the entrance. Our best sightings were of a bald eagle soaring high over the pond, a snake that darted quickly into the grass, and a red-tailed hawk on the hunt.

Easy walking paths with plenty of benches. Beautiful flowers and trees. Didn't have a chance to see the sculpture garden, but can't wait to come back.

Absolutely beautiful park. We loved walking around on the trails and seeing many different sculptures. Everything was very pretty to look and and we enjoyed seeing multiple views of the lake as well as the canal. It’s connected to the Newfeilds, but we didn’t go inside that part.

Incredible facility trails hard to follow never found visitors center felt lost a couple times many what appeared to be unmarked trails. Otherwise beautiful lake, canal and Sculptures

Nice, quiet park with tons of public art to look at. Clear trails and beautiful scenery. Easy to navigate trails so you won’t get lost

Gorgeous park with beautiful trees and flowers and stunning views! I could spend all day here. The paths were wel kept (I saw several people riding motorized scooters and such along them) and the art was cool. They even had little benches along the path to sit at. Probably the best park I’ve ever been to.

Horticultural paradise that is fun for the whole family. What a park to enjoy a day of wonder. Highly recommend a day to explore and play. Great for kids, just ask them. Come and see

I highly recommend adding this to your day if you are visiting the art museum. There are plenty of off-the-path art installations to go explore and discover throughout! Watch the schedule for special events like group yoga. Many visitors come to fish, jog, bike, play, or have a picnic. Make sure to explore the paths that branch off the main path, as you might find your new favorite spaces! There is a route with a bridge to enter the museum property as well. Keep in mind that the museum bridge does not open until 11:30am.

This park has some visually interesting play structures that are fun for both adults and children. The playful lip into the parking lot takes you to a pair of basketball hoops surrounded by arches.
A trail leads into the main area where there are fun, yellow multipurpose benches, settings, and a lake with some shoreline to explore.
This was a lot of fun, and it was completely free.

Great for kids!outdoor art installations kids can interact with. We walked the loop trail and it was well maintained with pretty views of the river. Will be back when the weather isn't so hot.

Great place to get out, stretch your legs, and see some great artwork while enjoying nature.

Looked lovely, didn't get to walk around as it was raining