If you’re looking for a park that has it all in Kokomo, you’ll find it at Highland Park, the oldest and most historic park in town. This 80-acre park is truly worth the drive, and is a little less than an hour from Indianapolis.
Playground Features
Highland Park keeps true to its history throughout the park, and you can see signs of that with the playground, which includes both new playground equipment as well as vintage metal equipment. The playground has something for all ages, with a merry-go-round, zip line and lots of opportunities to climb and take (safe) risks. Slide lovers will enjoy all of the different slides at the playground: tunnel slides, twirly slides, and even a wavy slide.
The toddler area of the playground is located close to the big-kid playground, and includes lots of fun features for little ones, including a fire truck jungle gym and several other playground structures. The toddler area is completely fenced in, which makes it a nice place to let your child play while keeping them always within sight.
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Other Park Features
Highland Park also has a lot of open space that’s perfect for picnicking and gathering, including sheltered picnic tables and restrooms nearby. Sports fans will find four full-sized tennis courts that can convert to pickleball courts, basketball courts, a horseshoe pit, and a baseball field at the back of the park.
As you walk around the park, you’ll also notice a bridge nearby. Howard County’s last remaining covered bridge, The Vermont Covered Bridge, is located in Highland Park, and is a piece of Kokomo history that you don’t want to miss seeing.
Highland Park Visitor’s Center
Make sure to stop at the visitor’s center located in Highland Park to see Old Ben, a taxidermy steer that is reported to be the world’s largest steer. (Old Ben was even featured in Ripley’s Believe it or Not in 1968!) The visitor’s center is also where you’ll find the giant Sycamore Stump, which is estimated to be more than 500 years old, and at one time, stood 100 feet high before storms brought it down. The tree has been measured to be 57 feet in circumference at its base.
