The best Indianapolis neighborhoods to walk around with the kids and dogs
Surrounded by many bars, restaurants, shops, and attractions, South Broad Ripple (SoBro) is one of the most walkable neighborhoods in Indianapolis.
You can learn a lot about a neighborhood, your community, and yourself just by taking a walk
I'm convinced one of the best ways to make a connection to a place is to walk around it. People who think it sounds downright pedestrian to walk don't understand how much you can see and experience a place by walking. Indianapolis is a porch-and-backyard kind of town. You miss out on casual conversation and meeting new dogs when you don't go walking around.
Many neighborhoods in Indianapolis are great for walking to get someplace, stretch your legs, exercise the dog, or take the kids out. I've personally walked around a lot of places, and there are a few specific routes worth mentioning, too.
First, understand my definition of what counts as the “best walkable neighborhood” includes three things:
You should be able to walk to someplace comfortably, in about a mile—such as a library, grocery store, restaurant, etc.,
You should be able to stay on a trail or sidewalk the entire time and,
There should be at least a few urban amenities like trash cans, benches, and parks along the way.
Indy's best walk is around Broad Ripple Village and SoBro
Broad Ripple Village has a nightlife scene reputation, but that's changed a lot over the last ten or fifteen years as Broad Ripple Village has blended into South Broad Ripple (SoBro). The result is a lengthy walkable area that includes people-friendly residential and commercial spaces.
A 1950s brick ranch home in the heart of SoBro –– close to the Monon Trail and Bacon Swamp.
It's no surprise considering the Monon Rail Trail connects much of the area, but streets like Park Avenue, Broadway Ave, or Carrollton Street are quiet, low-stress, and have wide sidewalks that are neat, well-maintained, and safe. My dog Penny appreciates all the people who set dog bowls with water and treats outside their fences, too.
Truly, much of the historic northside sometimes feels like one giant Indianapolis neighborhood with edges that blend into one another, but they're all neat. Some of the historic neighborhoods along Meridian Street, like Meridian-Kessler, have striking architecture. Others have their own pocket parks, each with unique amenities ranging from monuments to volleyball pits.
Interesting fact: Broad Ripple is one of Indianapolis’s original “suburbs”, and was a vacation retreat in the late 19th century for the city’s elite who wanted a place to cool off in the summer away from the city.
More on the Monon
The Monon is the best-known walking space in the Indianapolis area. While a paved trail may not strike many as a "park" in the traditional sense, it's a vital piece of green space that connects dozens of neighborhoods in Indianapolis to each other.
At twenty-six miles long, you're probably not going to walk all of it anytime soon. But a bicycle ride from Downtown Cultural Districts like Massachusetts Avenue (Mass Ave.) up to Broad Ripple takes about 30 minutes by bike. That's pretty good when you consider driving can sometimes take 15-25 minutes.
In between you'll find neighborhoods with homes so new the lawns haven't grown in, like those in the Kennedy-King neighborhood near 16th Street. Some homes around the west side of this neighborhood exchanged driveways with walkways that give easy access to the Monon. Their addresses are even listed as "Monon Trail".
New improvements are underway to widen the Monon because it's so popular. It'll connect Broad Ripple Park—complete with a swimming pool—to a new boardwalk along the White River when it's all done.
Walking around Downtown Indianapolis is sometimes the fastest way around
It doesn't happen every day, or even every week, but sometimes a big event or convention will make Downtown traffic bonkers. When that happens, it's truly faster to walk or bike. Luckily, Downtown Indianapolis is probably the best, most walkable neighborhood in Central Indiana.
Super wide sidewalks, the Cultural Trail, and lots of pedestrian signals make it comfortable to walk around Downtown, and all roads—including many that span across Indiana—lead to Monument Circle at the center of Indianapolis. You can almost always see people around the fountains, in plenty of shade, and in the relatively quiet space around the Circle.
Downtown is Indiana's top spot for urban living as housing options go, too. Single-family homes, condos, townhomes, and apartments abound, and most are all well below the national average for what you get.
You can walk a few blocks in just about any direction within the "Mile Square" around the center of Downtown and be a stone's throw from local businesses and cocktail bars to a movie theater. Or, walk an extra couple of miles on a nice day up to the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site (be sure to grab gelato at Goose the Market on the way).
Residents in Downtown Indy can easily live car-free, too, which can be challenging in some of the outer neighborhoods in Indianapolis, depending on your lifestyle. But if you can swing it, Downtown Indy has some of the Midwest's best job opportunities, dining options, and other amenities.
Walking around Fountain Square for the music
Where Downtown Indianapolis has big musical acts, Fountain Square is all about the music. Music venues and outdoor sound stages around Fountain Square and Fletcher Place fill the air with live music in the evenings and on weekends. The HiFi, Radio Radio, White Rabbit Cabaret, Fountain Square Theater, and Square Cat Vinyl Record Store put on a lot of live events featuring a mix of local and national artists.
Some of the best food, ethnic eateries, and dining options are in Fountain Square and neighboring Fletcher Place. Kuma's Korner, a burger joint owned and operated by the Iron Chef Michael Simon, and Bluebeard, an award-winning restaurant with a hip atmosphere, are among the favorites.Calvin Fletcher’s Coffee Company is a long-standing hot spot among local coffee shops and roasters. And if you’re feeling adventurous, there’s The Inferno Room cocktail lounge that takes tiki-themed dining to a whole new level.
Fletcher Place is one of several local historic districts in the city. Italianate homes like this one and other historic homes from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries can be found throughout this walkable, downtown neighborhood.
Unlike the Downtown-to-Broad Ripple walk, you can walk from Downtown to Fountain Square, and do it all via the Cultural Trail. The Trail connects all six of Indy's Cultural District and many upscale options in food, entertainment, and shopping with a recessed trail completely off the road.
Walking around Irvington for historic charm
Look at a map of neighborhoods in Indianapolis and you'll see most have neat little street grids with a few exceptions for rivers and highways. And then there's Irvington, which looks like someone threw spaghetti on a wall and labeled each string.
Irvington is another of Indy's original "suburbs", that, in a time when you rode around on horseback would have been a short commute to Indianapolis. Today it's a neighborhood tucked neatly in the eastside of Indianapolis and has a lot of historic homes worth gawking at (or buying!).
This American Foursquare home stands proud in Irvington, located within walking distance of local schools, restaurants, coffee shops, and parks.
Ellenberger Park is a nearby gem, too, with multiple tennis courts, a swimming pool, and even an ice skating rink in the winter. Public golf courses aren't far away, either.
Butler University used to be in Irvington until it moved around 1830, and walking around Julian Avenue you get the sense, "Yeah, this kinda does feel like a campus." Many of the homes and buildings in south Irvington were built for professors, classes, and students.
If you wander along Lowell Avenue or Audubon Avenue you can get to a lot of other neat places. There's the local watering hole, Strangebird on South Audubon, and Bittersweet Bakery on East Washington, and Jockamo's Pizza also on East Washington (one of Alton Brown's favorites from when he visited on tour a few years ago).
All are worth your time and, after you've eaten too much in pizza and cinnamon rolls, you can walk it off on the newly completed Pennsy Rail Trail, which connects all the Eastside with Cumberland and Hancock County.
Want to find a home in one of Indy's best neighborhoods for walking?
Most Realtors want to drive to all their appointments, but if you're looking for a walkable neighborhood in Indianapolis, let's hit the streets, trails, and sidewalks. There are a lot of options available, including new home construction.
Contact me directly at ally@indyhomeguide.com or use this message form.
