Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
A parenting magazine that provides resources to families in Indiana recently highlighted three kid-friendly places to visit in the Radius Indiana region. Indy’s Child listed PLAYoli, a park in Orange County, Spring Mill State Park in Mitchell and the Polar Express train ride at the French Lick Scenic Railway as some of the best destinations worth the drive.
PLAYoli
In its list of “13 Indiana Playgrounds worth the Drive,” Indy’s Child listed PLAYoli for its unique, Paoli-centric park with miniature replicas of some of the most well-known features of the town.
“It’s a great honor to have Playoli recognized by Indy’s Child as a top playground destination. Our community takes great pride in the finished project and the kids absolutely love it. Many would never know, let alone dream that a small community in rural southern Indiana would have a playground of this magnitude,” said Billy Vincent, vice president of operations at ElectriCom.
Built in the summer of 2021, the park’s design and construction was led by ElectriCom, which has its headquarters in Paoli. The company was looking for ways to give back to the community when the idea for a park bubbled up.
“In a casual conversation at work one day, one of our employees mentioned that Paoli did not have a nice playground where the kids could play,” said Vincent. “Long story short, we decided that a playground was going to be our focus.”
ElectriCom did not want to build an ordinary playground. Vincent said he, his wife and kids had visited Riley’s Place, a Salem playground, and were impressed with its design and functionality. They found that park’s designer and began to draft a plan for a park that would be like no other.
A committee of local visionaries formed to raise $275,000, which was raised in the form of grants and donations. The group got input from students at Throop Elementary to find out what kind of playground kids would want. Visiting the playground is like a mini tour of the town, with replicas of the iconic courthouse, Ski Paoli Peaks, Lost River and the historic iron bridge. The park is suited to kids of all ages and abilities.
“Another unique thing about our playground is that all of the build was performed by volunteer labor. Hundreds of people volunteered thousands of hours to help with planning, design, and build as well as volunteering their time for food services, tool maintenance and check-out and babysitting while parents helped,” Vincent added. “Not only were we able to provide the community with a fantastic playground for children to come and enjoy for years to come, we were able to bring the community together and work as a team to make it a reality.”
The playground is located not far from downtown in the Paoli Community Park, 1999 W. Main St.
Read on for more kid-friendly places in the Radius area from Indy’s Child.
Polar Express
The Polar Express train ride in French Lick made the list of Indy Child’s “7 Best Holiday Train Rides in Indiana (2023)”.
Relive the classic story on an 80-minute trip to the North Pole. Each guest receives the first gift of Christmas – a silver sleigh bell.
The Polar Express runs select days from Nov. 3-Dec. 23, and is sold out for 2023. Tickets for 2024 go on sale in early 2024, so book early to get seats for next year.
Spring Mill State Park
Earlier this summer, Spring Mill State Park got a mention from Indy’s Child in its “6 Best Indiana State Parks to Visit with your Kids.”
With eight hiking trails, cave boat tours, pioneer village, grist mill, Nature Center, picnic areas, lake, swimming pool and campgrounds, the state park offers outdoor adventure and a chance to experience life in the 1800s in the restored village. Fall is a great time to visit this state park; check the park schedule for special activities this month.