The first zoo in South Bend was located in Leeper Park from 1902 to 1914. The current zoo in Potawatomi Park was founded in 1921 when Albert R. Erskine, the president of Studebaker Corporation, donated a single deer to start the zoo. The Potawatomi Zoo is the second oldest zoo in Indiana. It has more than 400 animals on its 93,000 m2. The zoo is now operated by the Potawatomi Zoological Society. Along with the zoo, the South Bend Parks and Recreation Department operates over 50 parks, golf courses, and recreation areas throughout the city. Notable parks include Rum Village Park, with a disc golf course, mountain bike trails, hiking trails, and a nature center, and Potawatomi Park, with the region's largest public playground and a performance arts pavilion and outdoor viewing area.

Near the Potawatomi Zoo are the Potawatomi Greenhouses and the Ella Morris and Muessel-Ellison Botanical Conservatories. The greenhouses were originally built in the 1920s, the conservatories were added in the 1960s. In 2007, the greenhouses and conservatories threatened to close due to increased running costs, but a campaign by the Botanical Society of South Bend was able to raise funds to keep the facilities operational.

The city is home to the East Race Waterway, used for boating and water sports.

In developing City Plan 2006, the city's comprehensive 20-year plan, citizens said that promoting cycling as an alternative form of transport was a top priority. In 2010, South Bend became one of 303 communities in the United States recognized as a "bicycle-friendly community" by the League of American Bicyclists due to the city's "remarkable commitment to bicycling" and the long-term plan to build a 116-mile South Bend Bikeway Network. At the end of 2014, 66.8 miles of bike routes were established: 17.4 miles of multi-use trails separated by roads, 17.0 miles of striped bike lanes, and 32.4 other designated roads. The area is also served by the St. Joseph County Parks Dept, which maintains eight distinct parks and recreation areas. The Parks Division serves the metro area and is managed by a permanent staff and an appointed board of directors.