Page last updated on March 9, 2026 at 10:35 am
Lower Cascades Park, originally known as "Cascade Park" when it was dedicated in August 1924, was Bloomington's first city park. The park is located on either side of Old State Road 37 North in Bloomington in the valley formed by Cascades Creek.
Quick Park Information
- Features: playground, asphalt-surface trail and wooden boardwalk, picnic tables, shade sails, limestone block and bench seating, interpretive signs
- Restrooms: restroom south of playground, open seasonally
- Property rules and hours of operation for Bloomington's city parks
Picnic Shelters
- Reserve a picnic shelter
- Sycamore Shelter— Bathrooms (open seasonally) are a part of the building, and the limestone shelter has a large grill, electrical outlets, lights, fireplace, water, drinking fountain, playground access, and a large parking lot. It is wheelchair accessible. Maximum 75 people.
- Waterfall Shelter— This historic limestone shelter has electrical outlets, lights, fireplace, playground access, large grill, and a sand volleyball court nearby. Maximum 75 people.
- Shelters are available for rent April 1 through October 31. Rental times are 6 a.m. until 11 p.m.
- List of all reservable picnic shelters in city parks.
Land and Water Conservation Fund
Park improvements in Lower Cascades Park were partially funded in 1975 by the Land and Water Conservation Fund through the U.S. Department of Interior and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
About Bloomington's City Parks
City Park Property Rules, and Removal or Suspension from Park Properties
Property rules and hours of operation, actions that could result in removal, and the appeal process.
Event, Filming, and Class Permit Applications
Apply to hold an event or class in a city park.
Chemical Applications in City Parks
Record of chemical applications in city parks and trails.
Official Bloomington Parks Mobile App
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Nearby Parks and Trails
History of Cascades Park
The original portion of Cascades Park, now referred to as "Lower Cascades" Park, was 
entered in the Indiana Register of Historic Sites and Structures by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology on July 17, 2024. Cascades Park was also listed in the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior on August 20, 2024.
Bloomington's Park Board formed in 1921 for the purpose of preserving what is now Lower Cascades Park. The Park Board's purchase of 26 acres was approved in December 1923 for a total expenditure of $6,800. Cascades Park was officially dedicated in August 1924.
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) era saw additions to Cascades Park. The Bath House Shelter, now called the Sycamore Shelter, was built in 1930 to serve the pool that remained from a previous owner's amusement park; the amusement park was destroyed by fire in 1925.
The South Shelter, now known as the Waterfall Shelter, was dedicated July 5, 1937.
The Park Board purchased additional property, including a drive-in theater, at Lower Cascades Park in 1972. Two softball fields at the old drive-in property were in place in June 1975.
A total renovation of Lower Cascades Park took place in 2005-06. Pervious pavers were laid in the parking lots for the Sycamore Shelter and the park's new playground, and local mosaic tile artists Danielle Urschel and Paul Patch created in the center of the playground a tile mural featuring the George Bernard Shaw quote, “We don’t stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing.”
The Cascades Motorcycle Salvage property on Old State Road 37 south of the picnic shelters and playground was purchased in 2006, and the former trailer park and stone mill north of the picnic shelters and playground was purchased in 2008.
The first phase of the Cascades Park Trail from Lower Cascades Park to Stone Mill Road opened May 17, 2012.
An additional 2.89 acres of property north of the Sycamore Shelter was purchased from Dagom Gaden Tensung Ling Monastery in 2018.
A significant project to add to the Cascades Park Trail, stabilize the creek bank, and improve accessibility throughout the park, was completed in 2022. The project added 700+ feet of accessible, wooden boardwalk from the Waterfall Shelter to the park's signature waterfall.