The Discover White River Pass is a free way to earn exclusive real-world rewards like stickers, shirts, and on-water experience simply by visiting parks and attractions or helping with volunteer activities along the White River in Indianapolis and Hamilton County.
The pass is digital and does NOT require you to download an app. Follow these quick steps:
- Sign up to receive the pass to your email and as a text message.
- Visit a park or participate in one of the eligible activities.
- When at the park or event, just open that pass link and choose to check-in.
- Parks and attractions will check-in with your GPS location, and volunteer activities will require a numeric code provided by the organizers.
The big idea in the White River Vision Plan is that, with more than 10,000 acres of parks, open space, and attractions along the White River, and with experiences that range from water and park recreation to cultural museums and concerts, Central Indiana has an amenity on the scale of a smaller national park. By continuing to restore the river and invest in diverse places and experiences that connect more people to it, we can have a national park-like amenity in the heart of Indiana’s population and economic engine!
And our pass prizes reflect that idea! What are the prizes? We’ve developed “badges” in the spirit of the national park idea for three iconic locations along the river.
Strawtown Koteewi Park in northern Hamilton County is one of the largest parks along the river and is home to restored prairies and wetlands, American Indian archeological artifacts and a reconstructed Lenape tribe village, the river’s only campground, and activities including horseback riding, archery, and a treetop zipline course.
Potter’s Bridge Park in Noblesville features the only remaining (and incredibly picturesque) covered bridge across the river. The wooden bridge is accessible and closed to traffic. A playground, nature trails, and a canoe and kayak launch offer recreational amenities, and the park is the northern terminus of Noblesville’s White River Greenway.
Riverside Park in Indianapolis is larger than New York’s Central Park and is under active improvement. A former golf course is being converted to Riverside Adventure Park with parking, nature trails, shelters, and a new nature playground under construction this year. The iconic 30th Street arched bridge is under complete reconstruction as well, and it’s a great construction scene for families to watch from the riverfront patio of the Parks Alliance. The park also has plenty of tennis courts, outdoor athletic equipment, a summer pool, a playground, boat ramp, and summer concerts and programming at the restored Taggart Memorial Amphitheater.
You can get the badges for each of these parks in the form of stickers (we’ll mail them to you) or t-shirts (pick them up at White River State Park or Hamilton County Tourism’s offices).
You can also redeem points for gift cards for both White River Canoe Company in Noblesville or Frank’s Paddlesports Livery in Indianapolis. Finally, you can redeem points (by August 1) to be entered into a raffle for a full-day guided fishing expedition with Two Forks Guide Service (a $450 value!).
How many points?
Passholders can earn 100 points for visiting a park or attraction along the river. All of the parks are free to visit, while most of the attractions require an entrance or activity fee. Passholders can earn 400 points for helping with a volunteer activity. Most of these happen in the spring, but we’ll add others to the pass if they come up throughout the year.
To redeem, a sticker is just 100 points, while a t-shirt is 500 points. Livery $25 gift cards are 1,200 points while the fishing trip raffle is 1,000 points for an entry.
What are some of the locations or activities?
There’s really something for every interest!
- Want a playground for kids? There are lots of them, including a newly renovated and accessible one at Carmel’s River Heritage Park. Broad Ripple Park and Riverside Park also have larger playgrounds.
- Want to check out some wildlife along nature trails? Check out Strawtown Koteewi Park in Northern Hamilton County (where you can also check out wildlife from a guided horseback ride!) or Southwestway Park in Indy.
- Swimming? We don’t recommend swimming in the river, but Forest Park in Noblesville and Broad Ripple Park and Riverside Park in Indy have swimming pools open during the summer months. There’s also a play fountain at Holliday Park.
- Creek stomping more your flavor? There’s no better place than Marott Woods Nature Preserve, where the calm Williams Creek is perfect for play.
- Mountain biking your thing? Southwestway Park has plenty of those too, as does Town Run Trail Park, built specifically for the sport.
- Want to get active? There are lots of places to launch paddle craft and a few to launch boats for recreation and fishing. You can also do a treetop zipline course or shoot some arrows at Strawtown Koteewi Park.
- Culture more your thing? We’ve got that too with art at the Indy Art Center and Newfields, concerts at Everwise Amphitheater in White River State Park or Federal Hill Commons in Noblesville, exotic wildlife at the Indianapolis Zoo, and history at the Indiana State Museum, Eiteljorg Museum, and Conner Prairie.
- Want to help improve the river? We have spring cleanups with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful along Pogues Run and Friends of White River on the river itself. And if science is more your thing, White River Alliance hosts volunteers each month to collect water quality samples at various locations along the river.
Sign up today and earn points through October 2024!
