Drive-in trails
begin on the southwest corner--just north of the CSX tracks--and lead to the
east and north, where visitors will find a large fishing pond.
The
catch-and-release pond is home to large mouth bass, crappies, blue gill, and
carp.
Porter County Parks
& Recreation has hosted kids’ fishing programs at the pond, and plans to do
so again in the future.
Brookdale Park is a
work in progress. Porter County Parks & Recreation recently acquired funding
through a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service cost-sharing program to add native
pollinator plants around the edge of the pond, to stabilize the banks and
discourage geese.
In the autumn, the
Porter County Parks & Recreation archery deer hunting program maintains a
stand along the southern edge of the property.
The 5-Year Master
Plan calls for upgrades to the park’s entryway and parking lot.
Improved signage,
benches and picnic tables will be added soon.
Meanwhile, to fund
operations and protect the land from invasive species, the county continues
to lease the bulk of the acreage to a farmer for crop production.
Brookdale Park was
originally Brookdale Farm, owned by the Michaels family. Porter County Parks
& Recreation acquired the land in 2010 from Barney Michaels, a purchase
partially funded by a grant from the Lake Michigan Coastal Program, a
program of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
The 66.44 acre park
extends from 50 West to Meridian Road along the north side of the CSX
railroad tracks. The Swanson-Lamport legal ditch runs through the park and
acts as a rough northern boundary.
For information
about Brookdale Park, contact Porter County Parks Communication Director
Darlene McCarty Cohn at (219) 548-0219.