Looking for a change of pace? Here are some fun things to do around Normandy Farm…
Traders Point Creamery
A family-owned artisan dairy farm right in our neighborhood! Produces organic milk, cheese, and yogurt from 100% grass-fed Brown Swiss cows. (Bring grandkids to watch cows line up to be milked around 4:00 pm daily.)
Shop the Farm Store and enjoy organic food in the Loft Restaurant and Dairy Bar.
Farmers Market Friday nights in summer, Saturday mornings in winter.
Located at 9101 Moore Road, Zionsville, 317-733-1700. www.tpforganics.com
Birdwatching
Sunday mornings at Eagle Creek Park. Meet at 9:00 am at the Ornithology Center (former Nature Center), rain or shine. Free with park admission. Phone 317-327-BIRD.
Eagle Creek Park
Engage in your favorite outdoor sport or simply commune with nature. Eagle Creek Park offers activities for every interest: hiking, sailing, picnic shelters, swimming beach, bait shop, fitness course, pedal boats on Lily Lake, Nature Center, cross-country skiing, and more. See especially the Earth Discovery Center, a new facility for environmental education.
For the adventuresome, there’s Go Ape!, a treetop adventure course. Check it out.
Closest entrance at 71st Street west of I-65. Gate admission or season pass required, or join the Eagle Creek Park Foundation to get in free. Open dawn till dusk.
Bark Park
Treat Fido or Fifi to the canine companionship they crave and the exercise they need. Visit Gilmer Park at Eagle Creek, one of IndyParks’ Canine Companion Zones. Located at Gilmer Drive, north of 56th Street at High School Road. Requires immunizations and a one-day or annual Pooch Pass available for a fee.
Village of Zionsville
A quaint, quiet village where Main Street is paved with bricks and lined with shops and restaurants. The Village sponsors fireworks on July 4th. Saturday farmers market.
Zionsville Rail Trail offers 3.5 miles of partially shaded paths for walking or running. South end of the trail ends in scenic Starkey Park. Zionsville Parks
Holliday Park
Best children’s playground in the city, a mere 15 minutes away! Holliday Park also features beautifully landscaped romantic “ruins,” a hillside rock garden, and forest walks with views of the White River. State-of-the-art nature center is nestled among plantings of native perennials.
To get there, head west on 79th Street, then south on Spring Mill to the entrance just past 64th Street. Phone 317-327-7180.
Newfields (formerly Indianapolis Museum of Art)
“Discover what you love by exploring our galleries, strolling our gardens and grounds, or discovering the past at our historic home.” Also see lectures, films, performances in the new Tobias Theater, “The Toby.” Something for everyone.
Affiliates include Asian Art Society, Contemporary Art Society, Horticultural Society, Design Arts Society.
Phone 923-1331 or visit https://discovernewfields.org/.
Oldfields—Lilly House and Gardens
Tour the home of J.K. Lilly at Oldfields, one of the few surviving estates of America’s Country Place Era. Make a day of it with lunch at Puck’s and a stroll through the magnificent gardens. On the grounds of Indianapolis Museum of Art.
Pike Performing Arts Center
State-of-the-art theater at 6701 Zionsville Road (Pike High School) featuring top-notch touring companies and shows at reasonable prices. Phone the box office at 216-5455 or visit www.PikePAC.org.
The Children’s Museum
Not exactly in the neighborhood (3000 N. Meridian St.), but well worth the drive to see one of the nation’s best museums geared to children. The 356,000-square-foot facility houses 10 major galleries that explore the physical and natural sciences, history, world cultures and the arts. Many exhibits are “hands-on.”
Fun for the young-at-heart of all ages. Phone 334-3322 or visit www.childrensmuseum.org.
Shopping and Dining
Traders Corner shopping mall at 86th Street and I-465 features an AMC movie theater complex, fine restaurants, Petsmart, Monical’s Pizza, Chocolade, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Michael’s, Books-a-Million, Old Navy, Starbucks, and more.
Trader Joe’s is at 2902 West 86th Street.