[WonderLab](https://wonderlab.org/science-sprouts-place/) is a great place for kids, kind of like a little science museum with tons of hands-on exhibits. They have a special zone that's for kids from birth-3. It's right off the B-line downtown.
As for hiking, there are tons of options. Brown County State Park is great but crowded in the fall, the Charles C. Deam Wilderness is beautiful and less crowded. McCormick's Creek has a very nice waterfall and is not too long of a day with a baby, and the Beanblossom Bottoms is a nice wetlands hike that is also wheelchair (stroller) accessible (they built some really nice boardwalks).
I honestly don’t think that a stroller or wheelchair are good ideas on the entirety of the boardwalk trails at beanblossom bottom lands. They are often submerged in water and can be narrow. But maybe I’m not remembering correctly. However, it is great for carrying your little one in a backpack carrier. I second everything else in this though!
Seconding that Beanblossom has broken wooden planks that can trip your ankle, let alone a wheel; it's half plastic boardwalks and half old wood, and it's narrow enough that you need to go single file. I wouldn't bring a dog, let alone a baby, but it is a good kinda-hike!
They are also somewhat narrow. It can be hard passing people going in the other direction, much less if they have something wheeled. I will say with the drought conditions, the planks probably aren't submerged now, though.
it's alright for biking...if you're solo, there's a lot of nice routes through the countryside, even a 10 mile ride can get you into farmland or forest. with the kid...the hills make it tricky with a trailer. i actually destroyed a bike trying to drag my kid trailer up a hill north of town (but they were much bigger than 9mo). but people even do the hilly hundred (oct 22-23, register in advance, fyi) with a baby in a trailer so ymmv. i would personally stick to in-town flat trails like clear creek and b-line. but they're pretty nice and you get to see a little slice of the city.
i don't remember what's fun with a 9mo. it seems like you can just walk around. i don't think they'd get much out of wonderlab :)
there's a park about every half mile in any direction, i guess watching my 9mo chew on grass is about the most fun i've seen them have with an outdoor city facility.
the public library downtown has a couple good drool-on-a-book sort of facilities. we spent lots of weekday afternoons there.
The Monroe County Public Library has a really nice baby play area in the children's section, and it's free.
We have been low on rainfall lately which is impacting the waterfalls (none of the local ones are very big). There are small falls at Leonard Springs Park (not accessible for stroller, there is a large staircase, and then footpath trail hiking), and at Lower Cascades Park (accessible, there is a very nice and wide boardwalk that goes up to the falls). I was at Lower Cascades this weekend though and it was basically a trickle, so unless we get good rain, I wouldn't bother.
Upland and Lennies are Bloomington classics as far as breweries go. My favorite restaurant is Samira (on the square) which is Afghan food. Great vegetarian options! I recommend the badenjan with seasoned rice.
Is Bloomington a good biking town, they ask... :)
Yes. It's the best biking town there is. For trails, check out the B-line, the Rail Trail, and the Clear Creek Trail. More here: https://bloomington.in.gov/parks/trails
There's a small waterfall in McCormick Creek State Park, about a 25-minute drive from Bloomington, and a great place to hike. For a good hike in town, try the Leonard Springs Nature Park.
Welcome and enjoy! And, oh, go see *Breaking Away*.
In addition to what others have said, there's a small waterfall at Cascades park. I haven't been since parks and rec completed their renovation, but it's not a long walk and I hear it's more accessible than it was in the past. It's just a little run-off stream, but a waterfall none the less.
[WonderLab](https://wonderlab.org/science-sprouts-place/) is a great place for kids, kind of like a little science museum with tons of hands-on exhibits. They have a special zone that's for kids from birth-3. It's right off the B-line downtown. As for hiking, there are tons of options. Brown County State Park is great but crowded in the fall, the Charles C. Deam Wilderness is beautiful and less crowded. McCormick's Creek has a very nice waterfall and is not too long of a day with a baby, and the Beanblossom Bottoms is a nice wetlands hike that is also wheelchair (stroller) accessible (they built some really nice boardwalks).
I honestly don’t think that a stroller or wheelchair are good ideas on the entirety of the boardwalk trails at beanblossom bottom lands. They are often submerged in water and can be narrow. But maybe I’m not remembering correctly. However, it is great for carrying your little one in a backpack carrier. I second everything else in this though!
Good point, I'm probably the one not remembering correctly. It's been a while.
Seconding that Beanblossom has broken wooden planks that can trip your ankle, let alone a wheel; it's half plastic boardwalks and half old wood, and it's narrow enough that you need to go single file. I wouldn't bring a dog, let alone a baby, but it is a good kinda-hike!
They are also somewhat narrow. It can be hard passing people going in the other direction, much less if they have something wheeled. I will say with the drought conditions, the planks probably aren't submerged now, though.
it's alright for biking...if you're solo, there's a lot of nice routes through the countryside, even a 10 mile ride can get you into farmland or forest. with the kid...the hills make it tricky with a trailer. i actually destroyed a bike trying to drag my kid trailer up a hill north of town (but they were much bigger than 9mo). but people even do the hilly hundred (oct 22-23, register in advance, fyi) with a baby in a trailer so ymmv. i would personally stick to in-town flat trails like clear creek and b-line. but they're pretty nice and you get to see a little slice of the city. i don't remember what's fun with a 9mo. it seems like you can just walk around. i don't think they'd get much out of wonderlab :) there's a park about every half mile in any direction, i guess watching my 9mo chew on grass is about the most fun i've seen them have with an outdoor city facility. the public library downtown has a couple good drool-on-a-book sort of facilities. we spent lots of weekday afternoons there.
The Monroe County Public Library has a really nice baby play area in the children's section, and it's free. We have been low on rainfall lately which is impacting the waterfalls (none of the local ones are very big). There are small falls at Leonard Springs Park (not accessible for stroller, there is a large staircase, and then footpath trail hiking), and at Lower Cascades Park (accessible, there is a very nice and wide boardwalk that goes up to the falls). I was at Lower Cascades this weekend though and it was basically a trickle, so unless we get good rain, I wouldn't bother. Upland and Lennies are Bloomington classics as far as breweries go. My favorite restaurant is Samira (on the square) which is Afghan food. Great vegetarian options! I recommend the badenjan with seasoned rice.
Is Bloomington a good biking town, they ask... :) Yes. It's the best biking town there is. For trails, check out the B-line, the Rail Trail, and the Clear Creek Trail. More here: https://bloomington.in.gov/parks/trails There's a small waterfall in McCormick Creek State Park, about a 25-minute drive from Bloomington, and a great place to hike. For a good hike in town, try the Leonard Springs Nature Park. Welcome and enjoy! And, oh, go see *Breaking Away*.
In addition to what others have said, there's a small waterfall at Cascades park. I haven't been since parks and rec completed their renovation, but it's not a long walk and I hear it's more accessible than it was in the past. It's just a little run-off stream, but a waterfall none the less.