The Quiet End of Fairland: Exploring Indiana’s Lost Lakeside Park

Driving west along Interstate 74 at sunrise, I caught sight of the trees that once framed Fairland Recreation Park.

Driving west along Interstate 74 at sunrise, I caught sight of the trees that once framed Fairland Recreation Park. Curiosity led me to pull over for a short stop. The early light fell across the overgrown grounds where families once swam, camped, and watched water skiers perform on Fairland Lake. In the 1960s, Dick Herr and Lowell Haverstick had transformed this former highway borrow pit into a local getaway, complete with a beach, concession stand, and later, miniature golf, batting cages, and campgrounds. For decades, the park and its companion, the Fairland Ski Club, hosted tournaments, races, and summer gatherings that drew people from across central Indiana.

Now, nature has reclaimed much of the site. I sent the drone up for a brief flight, and from above, the outlines of the old lake and a few crumbling structures came into view. One building still stood open, its empty rooms layered in dust.