Fort Harrison State Park in located in Northeast Indianapolis, Indiana. It is a new state park, since 1995 when the military stopped using the area. Fort Harrison is set up on 1700 acres. It has hardwood forest areas and several lakes and a part of Fall Creek.

For the most part, I am going to review our lodging at the Harrison House (the Garrison Restaurant contains the restaurant, front desk for the lodging, and a golf resort). I will mention other things to do at Fort Harrison at the end of the review.

We stayed in the Master Suite of the Harrison House. It had a king size bed in the bedroom area, queen size sofa bed in the living room area, a private sunporch, kitchenette, full bathroom, and a walk in closet with iron & ironing board. The suite was very large and nicely decorated and more than met our needs for space. We are now a family of 5 and we had plenty of room for the kids to move around. The off peak rate is $129 (Labor Day to Memorial Day) and the peak rate is $159, plus 11% in tax.

There were six other rooms in the Harrison House(2 Sergeant's rooms--1 double bed and 4 Major's Suites--sitting room & queen size bed). The House also has a common gathering area, kitchenette, dining area, and three sunporches. All room include free local & toll free calls, refrigerator, coffee maker, hair dryer, cable television, daily housekeeping services, and complimentary continental breakfast. Check in is 4 pm and check out is 12 noon. Rollaway beds are available for $5 per night and cribs are $3 per night. Three Officers homes are available, they are fully furnished and can hold 10 people.

The Park is also the home of an 18 hole championship golf course and pro shop. I am not a golfer, so cannot tell you much about the course. I did read that they have packages to include rounds of golf and lodging. They have military discounts.

Now onto the history of the park---the area was used by the military from 1906 to 1995. It housed the Citizens Military Training Camp and prisoners of war during WWII. Recently the Military Reservation began closure and in 1995 renovations began to make it a state park. It is in the heart of Indianapolis, so very pleasant to enjoy the outdoors so close to the metro area.

To enter the park area, there is a $4 per car admission fee for IN license plates and $5 for out of state vehicles. The park now offers 3 trails. One of them is a paved multi-use trail measuring 2.5 miles with some rolling hills. They allow bicycles, walkers, runners, and in-line skating. The other trails are moderate and measure about 2 miles in length. These were gravel and dirt packed. Several picnic areas contained tables, bathrooms, and small playgrounds. We visited the Nature Center (open Wed thru Sun from noon to 4 pm) and took a walk around the horse stables (with guided rentals).

The Restaurant was reasonably priced and provided good food. We ate during a dinner buffet ($10.95 per adult, under 5 is free) and 2 continental breakfasts (included in our lodging). The dinner buffet had lasagna, pork, meatloaf, veggies, salad, vegetable soup, brownies, and apple pie. The continental breakfast was prepared while we waited, no reason to get out food that no one wants. It contained sweet rolls & danishes, and several cold cereals, 2 juices, coffee, and milk. Nothing gourmet, but filling nonetheless.

My only complaint would be in the small kitchenette in our suite. I called the day before our arrival to inquire as to what the kitchen contained. I was told it had table service for 4, pots & pans, microwave, oven, refrigerator, and small stove. Thus, I went to the grocery store and planned our meals accordingly. I was in for a big surprise when we had no oven, but a microwave oven. There was also one skillet and no pots & pans. We did ask for some additional equipment and my husband was given a 2 qt saucepan, which needed to be returned to the kitchen upon our departure. We also had only 3 teaspoons, not really service for 4. It did contain some fine china in addition to regular, everyday use table ware. There was plenty of cabinet space for storage.

Fort Benjamin Harrison State Park has lots of potential. We observed ongoing additions to the park--more picnic areas and walking trails. It needs continued attention to make it a worthy visit. The Harrison House was very nice, but needs some attention to minor details to make it a "GREAT" place to stay. It was nice for our family, which included a 2 month old baby. We didn't need to do a lot to be happy in our short vacation for this summer.

If you need lodging in the Indianapolis area or just need to relax, I do recommend the Park area. My husband commented that they would need to add several things before he would visit again---including a swimming pool and more hiking trails. The scenic view is nice if you have been stuck in the metro area for a while and need to see some signs of nature.

For more information, visit the website at
http://www.state.in.us/dnr/parklake/parks/ftharrison.html

or call 317-591-0904


Recommended: Yes

Best time to go: Anytime
Recommended for: Anybody
Review Topic: Campgrounds & Lodging