Photos by Andrew Doench
Walk It Off
Two keys to a long, healthy life are exercise and creating/maintaining social connections. Few put these together quite as seamlessly as the Indianapolis Hiking Club, whose roughly 600 members have pounded pretty much every trail in the state since the group’s 1957 founding. Membership skews older (50s to 60-plus), and a disconcerting number of the group’s pedestrian excursions start at 8 or 9 a.m. There are perhaps a half-dozen events scheduled pretty much every day, ranging from a 5-mile “easy” jaunt through Eagle Creek Park to regular, crack-of-dawn sojourns through Zionsville and evening hikes around Broad Ripple. Distances and difficulty levels for each journey are noted on the club’s packed online event schedule. To join, you must complete two walks with the club as a guest, fill out its application form, and pay the annual dues ($25 for an individual,
$40 for a family membership). After that, you’re off to the races. Or rather, the strolls.
Start Pedaling
Cycling alongside strangers gives you plenty of time to chitchat as you bond over the shared miles—as well as, perhaps, the aching calves and sore butts. Founded by volunteers and fueled by community spirit, CIBA (the Central Indiana Bicycling Association) can turn a long stretch of Hoosier back roads into a fast track to new friendships with more than 600 rides a year, from laid-back breakfast jaunts to the iconic, quad-killing Hilly Hundred. The IU Health Momentum’s women-only Divas welcomes riders of all levels but groups its weekly rides by ability level (from “Dolly” beginners to “J. Lo” pace-line pros) to ensure that everyone finds their groove. With the $150 annual membership, you’ll gain access to weekly rides, mentor clinics, a supportive community ready to answer all your questions, and a cool Divas jersey to show you’re part of the pack. Bike Indianapolis offers a nice entry point for city dwellers eager to pedal into a new community of urban cyclists. Dedicated to making two-wheeling around the city safer and more convenient, the organization connects riders through group rides and a shared passion for advocacy in a city where two wheels are increasingly welcome.
Join a Team
Playing a sport isn’t just about scoring goals or shaving seconds off your time. It’s about forging friendships in the heat of competition and finding camaraderie in the shared victories and even defeats. (And let’s not forget about the after-parties and post-game hangs.) CCA Sports, which organizes coed adult sports leagues, is your ticket to reliving the sports you grew up playing, from kickball and dodgeball to cornhole and sand volleyball. Its more than 20 intramural leagues bring locals together to compete, socialize, and celebrate the love of the game both on the playing field and at post-game meetups and events. Beyond CCA’s standard huddles, Indianapolis is home court to a variety of niche teams. The Indianapolis Blues Vintage Base Ball Club, for example, brings the gentleman’s game to life by playing “base ball” as it was played in 1864—no gloves, underhanded pitching, wooden bats, and period uniforms. Travel games have included a tournament with other throwback teams (including the St. Louis Brown Stockings and the Vermillion Voles) on the grounds of the West Baden Springs Hotel. The Indianapolis Gaelic Athletic Association celebrates Ireland’s national games of hurling and women’s camogie in a laid-back, welcoming (but still highly athletic—weak ankles need not apply) atmosphere. The fast-paced pub leagues are perfect for bonding with teammates over shared bruises and victories both on the field and during the subsequent pub crawls. Sliding into the Circle City Curling Club is your opportunity to get involved in the Winter Olympics staple and sweep alongside its quirky enthusiasts. With entry-level leagues and learn-to-curl clinics, you’ll master the art of sliding polished granite rocks on ice—and earn the right to use one of the most obscure emojis on your smartphone, the red-handled curling stone. And Indianapolis has no shortage of active roller derby teams, each with its own ecosystem of close-knit players, coaches, officials, and superfans. Naptown Roller Derby, Circle City Roller Derby, and the Race City Rebels men’s team all host tryouts and boot camps to get more people involved in the rough-and-tumble sport that is also, ironically, known for its extremely welcoming and inclusive spirit.
Dance
Whether your style skews toward hip-hop, country, retro, or classical, Indy is home to a range of dance partners. Within its sleek downtown studio, DanceWorks Indy caters to active adults with a busy schedule of movement classes that cover jazz, ballet, tap, fitness, contemporary/modern, and something called “Swerk”—a sexy hip-hop/cardio hybrid. Meanwhile, swing is king at Naptown Stomp, a lively group that meets downtown at McGowan Hall on Thursday nights to give participants the chance to perfect their Charleston and Lindy Hop. You can keep the energy and the good vibes going during Swing Nights at Fountain Square Theatre, a twice-a-month opportunity to don your snazziest vintage duds and show off your new moves. For a different kind of stomping, scoot your boots over to Duke’s Indy for free line dancing lessons led by experienced instructor and caller Jeff Smilko. Admission’s free, y’all, and every skill level is welcome. So are song requests.
Get Out There
Nature programs offer great chances for meeting like-minded tree huggers, and in Indianapolis, they’re as common as trash-stealing raccoons. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources offers its Indiana Master Naturalist Series at locations around the state, from Danville, to Carmel, to West Lafayette. The subject matter of each class varies widely, as does the (typically nominal) fee to participate. Visit the program’s website for a full list of offerings. Each course includes a minimum of eight three-hour sessions focusing on some aspect of Indiana’s natural environment, such as geology, botany, or zoology. If this sounds like too much of a commitment, Eagle Creek Park Nature Center offers a very extensive list of much briefer nature dives, including everything from regular (and free) Sunday bird walks to the intriguingly titled Axe Throwing for Seniors (closed-toe shoes required). Fort Harrison State Park’s roster of wholesome-to-quirky gatherings includes a catfish fishing tutorial (not noodling, just using a fishing rod), a summer schedule of dog-friendly concerts on the park’s sledding hill, and regular Sunday Morning Bird Walks. If you’d like to taste nature as well as see it, check out the Wild Edible Indiana website for a handful of spring and summer events guided by wild food forager and wild mushroom identification expert Carrie Vrabel. And if you’re interested in communing with creatures that might eat you (if they had the chance), then visit Wolf Park in the small town of Battle Ground, near Lafayette. The decades-old research facility keeps multiple wolf packs in very large outdoor enclosures and offers visitors several ways to interact with them, the most popular being Saturday Howl Nights, during which guests gather outside the pens and howl along with the massive, furry canids. This is exactly as fun and surreal as it sounds. Adult tickets cost $15.
