Fort Harrison State Park — Attraction in Indianapolis

Cannot recommend the horseback riding at all. The staff is rude as hell. First I showed my husband, who is nervous around horses as he has no experience, some horses relaxing in a paddock. We were yelled at multiple times by an employee on a smoke break (at a barn, and near children - are you kidding me?!) To "Not feed the horses". She was about 20 yards away, and there was a sign immediately next to us stating not to feed them. As we were not feeding them, I continued to acclimate my spouse to the horses. I about 5 minutes she screamed twice more about not feeding the horses, but couldn't be arsed to come over and actually SEE that no one was feeding the horses. When we get around to actually requesting a ride, the woman behind the counter seemed exasperated - the ride we wanted was just getting ready to leave. And by that she meant they hadn't even been assigned horses yet. Speaking of horses - half of them are overweight, and all of them are bored out of their minds. They tack them in western gear, but instruct you to use English signals "if you need to - but you shouldn't have to do anything." That's right, they tell you that you should literally have to give no direction to these horses. Good thing, too, since the makeshift reins they give you are so short that if you try to actually have an appropriate grip the guide will scream at you to loosen the tension. I spent this entire ride contorted in an awkward position to keep my arm stretched 1/4 way up the horse's neck, holding the reins with a single hooked finger. I guess it's a good thing we never broke out of a slow walk.

I've been riding since I was a child. I know the equestrian community is famous for having stuck up, hypocritical people as the majority of their rank. If the point of this barn is to demonstrate this, bravo, job well done.

You've managed to make my husband want nothing to do with "horse people" unless I can make sure they aren't like...

This place has huge beautiful woods and walking trails that seem to go forever sometimes. The duck pond and horse stables are my kid's favorite! The duck pond is a great place to fish with a nice spacious dock area. The horse stables are amazing, to say the least! Everyone is so nice and so kid friendly. My kids had a blast! They even offer pony rides for little ones, and my son was 2 yrs old at the time. Now, I'm one over protective mom. I let my kid's have fun and explore the world, but I'm not going to let them be involved in an activity if I feel like it's unsafe. So, you best believe I asked A LOT of questions and made sure the animals were very friendly. The staff was so kind and patient with us, took their time, and even allowed us to check everything out first. They were so awesome!! My son had the time of his life! It's just a few small laps around the stable area, but that was enough for a toddler. You should definitely have the little ones experience this! The lady who works there has control of the lead the entire time, so it's very safe, and the horse is a little pony and so so sweet and definitely gentle to kids. The staff were all very welcoming too and allowed me to be involved, which made me very even more comfortable. I was on one side and his big sister on the other, but he was all smiles! Very memorable times there! I've been attending this park since I was around.. I'd say probably 14 or 15 years old? Maybe even a little younger than that, and now I'm 30 years old.. so that should tell you right there how awesome that park is, lol. Go check it out; you...

🔅Porter Books and Bread 🍞 is a 5🌟 restaurant in my book! 😄 They are far superior to any sandwich place on the planet! For example, I had a Poe. Yes their sandwiches are named after authors. How cool 😎 is that? And it was THE best sandwich I've ever had! Sorry Subway. The veggies on it were varied and so fresh! And they have an extensive menu. If you have a dream sandwich, you'll find it there. 🔅Then, of course, there are the books 📚! They have shelves and shelves of used books at a low price. If you're looking for a book to read, you'll find 1 or 2 or... there. 🔅Then, unexpectedly, there are multiple games you can play while you're eating or just hanging out. My granddaughter found one she liked and we enjoyed it thoroughly as we continued to wipe our hands before each turn.😁 We couldn't have had more fun! Just like we do at home! 🔅Then there's the ambience. Being surrounded by people just hanging out, eating and enjoying each other and their surroundings. 🔅But I gave the park itself 4🌟 because I was in an electric wheelchair and there were fallen trees in the path and I couldn't negotiate that of course, abruptly ending my excursion.😢 🔅And I would venture to say the park was even a three-star because the museum was only about tools of war. How about featuring a Peace Museum? Including all of those who have worked for peace in Indiana. Now that's something that would be meaningful to me and uplifting for others. Let's focus our minds...