Eagle Creek Park Beach — Attraction in Indianapolis

Wonderful large seasonal lake beach for swimming, with picnic areas and bleachers in the grass to set items, 'sandy' strip at the lake for playing / sitting.

Water slope is gradual and I can barely touch in the deepest area at the back. The water is murky but I love lake swimming, the soft water, serenity, tree lined lake views!

There's no cost to swim here, once you pay gate admission for the park (or a membership pass). It's less busy than pools, quiet, spacious and affordable. Great for cooling off, swimming, families and all ages!

Fully staffed with lifeguards, following the same hours of operation and procedures as other Indy Parks swimming pools: 11-6 T, Wed., Thur., Sat., 11-8 Fri., 12-6 Sunday. Fairly handicapped accessible, with a ramp as well as stairs to the beach. The building is old but the restrooms and showers have been tidy, some sand/ dirt when it's busy.

Look for the sign for swimming beach and rowing center, closer to 56th street entrance.

Adjacent to a large reservable shelter area, newer small playground, large parking lot and...

Ok real talk... this place was pretty sad.

I went on a Sunday afternoon and it was dead, except for families grilling out. It was a nice day. The rest of the park was nice to walk through.

The main shelter at the beach looks like a poorly-maintained artifact of the Escobar era. The guy there said they serve 2 things: chips and Airheads. .. Likely also leftover from the 80s.

Is it a tiny roped-off area of water with maybe 2 feet of sand preceding the grody, mushy shoreline, where 3 lifeguards are fighting the urge to fall asleep? Absolutely. Is it a BEACH? Highly questionable.

Plus, $7 for vehicles to enter is diabolical.

Goose poop everywhere, rusty trashcans, patchy/muddy grass...

Wes Montgomery didn't die for this. 😭 Indy...

It's really nice that they have a beach area, but it has quite a bit of room for improvement.

First, the playground and shelter facilities are awesome. The playground looks brand new and quite different from the standard play stuff. I think mostly older kids will make the most of it, as some of it is rather high off the ground for toddlers.

The beach itself is rough. It's rocky and dirty, and there are beer bottle caps and trash scattered about. I stepped on and retrieved a beer bottle in the water that was, fortunately, not broken. I suppose it's not much the fault of the park as it is the people being nasty here.

The whole beach was also closed when we visited, so they might just not be doing any...