Spring Date Day At Holiday Park
With all of this harsh and cold weather we have been having lately it feels like spring is never going to come. I mean by this time last year my husband and I had planted all of our flowers in our yard, mulched, and we were mowing the lawn weekly. It's the middle of April and yet here in Indianapolis it is still snowing! Spring has been giving us short little sneak peaks here and there so we have had to catch them while we were able to. There have been a couple of warm days recently but its hard to plan a day trip or date day out when the weather has been so unpredictable. Plus it doesn't help that my husband and I don't have very many days off together so the days where we have been off have been the ones with the difficult weather. However, there was one sunny day last week where we were both off of work and were able to take advantage of the warm weather to enjoy a nice date day at Holiday Park in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The day started off late since I had to work the night before, but I was determined to not allow myself to sleep away the beautiful weather. I woke up at 12:30 pm after only about 4.5 hours of sleep and got ready for our date day out. We left our home about 2pm and headed to the broad ripple area / rocky ripple area where the park is located. It was a mid 70 degrees out with little wind and a lot of sunshine. We decided to take city streets in lieu of the highway so we could keep our windows down and our music blaring. It was fun to drive, joke around with my husband, and sing along to Imagine Dragons' new song "Whatever It Takes" (my favorite jam right now). It was the perfect start to our spring date day.
The park itself is not super big but it does have a ton of character and some interesting trails. We only spent about 2 hours at the park and in all honesty if you don't have children to watch play on the playground, you can see just about everything in 3-4 hours. If you love hiking, the trails aren't very difficult, steep, or long, but the view is beautiful. There are a couple of look out points but the park doesn't sit up very high so while beautiful to look out from, there isn't really a wow factor. Here are some photos of the trails:
The main trail breaks off halfway through and leads to two different areas. The one trail leads to a little bridge with a tiny brook and the other leads to the bank of the White River. Both are very pretty and equally delightful although I prefer the serenity of the babbling brook. The bridge was so cute and the area had plenty of seating so that you could sit and enjoy the scenery. We even met an older couple sitting by the brook, enjoying their date day out as well. They had their cell phone on with some old music and were sitting snuggled up on the park bench singing and joking with one another. It was adorable to see the love and admiration that they had for one another.
The Bridge and Brook:
White River:
The whole park area is very pretty but I have to admit the main reason we decided to visit this park particularly was to view The Ruins. When you first enter the park you can find The Ruins in the middle of the green grass near the Nature Center. It is old stone architecture that was built in New York in the 1890s. It was once a large building / skyscraper in New York City. It really is the center and gem of Holiday Park, gargoyles and all. There is even a fountain on the one side and I can only imagine how much prettier it would look had it been full of water and working.
The Ruins:
If you have children you can't forget to stop by the large children's playground or the Nature Center. The playground has two very large set ups and is shaded so your kiddos can play the day away in the hot summer months. The Nature Center has a little bit of something to offer everyone but is mostly an educational area for children. There is a nice play area, exotic animals, classrooms for events or classes, and even a bird watching area. This park is perfect for a family day out in the Indianapolis area. Here are some photos of the Nature Center and the Playground.
Nature Center:
Playground:
Our first Spring date day of 2018 was so much fun. It was nice to walk the trails hand in hand with the sun shining on our faces. I loved joking, laughing, and spending the day with my husband. No matter what we do together we always manage to have a good time but exploring new places together has always been my favorite. It was a short experience at the park but we continued our date into dinner time as we stopped by the Broad Ripple area on our way home for some food. I really didn't want the day to end but I know that once the weather starts warming up again we will have more date days just like this one. We already have plans to explore other parks in the area and this summer have a 1 year anniversary trip planned to Lake Michigan. So stay tuned and subscribe to my blog if you are wanting to hear about all of our adventures or get new ideas to experience your own. You can find more beautiful photos of Holiday Park in the Gallery page on my website. And here are some fun photos of my husband and I enjoying our day at Holiday Park:
