Canan Commons Park is located in downtown Muncie practically across the street from Courtyard by…read moreMarriott and Horizon Convention Center. Established as part of the Muncie park system in 2010, Canan Commons includes a stage for performances, open space for gathering and informal recreation, and lighting that includes solar panels and wind turbines. Canan Commons is a community gathering space that hosts movies, music, the biannual Arts Walk, Muncie's community Christmas Tree, and the city's New Year's eve ball drop. There's free street parking to the east and west of the park. There's a garage next to Courtyard, however, it's only free for guests. Canan Commons is a fairly simple park. It's mostly a green space, though it has hosted some cool concerts including Pokey Lafarge and the Muncie Three Trails Music Series. The park is named after former Muncie Mayor Dan Canan, a popular three-term mayor whose family has long contributed to the community. Easily within walking distance from the Courtyard, Canan Commons also offers easy access to downtown Muncie restaurants and shops. While it's not really an upper-tier park for me, it's an enjoyable place that I visit during nearly every visit I make to Muncie.

Tucked away along Park St is Streaty Park. It has a small parking lot on site that allows quick…read moreaccess to a shelter and playground area with the standard equipment. Not too far away on the south end are basketball courts that looked to be in good condition. Not many amenities otherwise (like running water). The shelter had a couple tables and an on site grill. Review #1096

I'll give this park a three star rating for now, but hope that it continues to be developed over…read morethe next few years. It opened in 2017, but has been owned by the city for around 90 years. A recent change in purpose was proposed a few years ago to create the Robert Indiana Arts and Culture District. The famed sculptor was a native of New Castle and it seemed fitting to create a district for the active art scene in the area. As part of the development, money was used to create twin smaller replicas of Indiana's "LOVE" sculpture. One is located on the northwest corner of this park and the other is in the Arts Park farther up 15th Street. The LOVE sculptures are roughly 8' x 8' x 2' and are painted a bright red. Other sculptures were also added to the park including "ART" which stacks the three letters in bright blue. Another sculpture done in black metal spells out the park name Murphey. I believe all the sculptures in the park were created by local welding students. Other than a rock garden by the LOVE sculpture, there are some mature trees and a lot of open space in the 3 acre park. No sidewalks or trails exist here. Review #1417

Hear me out... this is not my normal park post--but do you want a day trip to a 90s kids park?…read moreCheck out Memorial Park in New Castle, IN. it has a small toddler-friendly playground in the sand bring your bike or stroller and explore all the old 90s playground pieces throughout the park well-established park with tons of shade ponds for fishing (and don't forget bread for the ducks ) open grassy fields + beautiful mature trees = room to roam if your 3-year-old "golfs" like mine... there's a golf course This park has the sweetest history too--it was originally dedicated to Henry County men and boys who fought in WWI, and later rededicated to honor veterans of all wars. It's even on the National Register of Historic Places It's about a 45 minute drive from Indy, so pack a lunch, plan to stay awhile, and let your kids get a little dirty living out that 90s childhood

I was expecting a little more from the park considering how large it is and that it is next to a…read moregolf course. I think it was the layout that bothered me. The park is quite hilly and parts of the park seemed difficult to get to from a central road. Without a map of the park layout, I kept driving around trying to figure out if I could get to the playground from the central road. I never did find a way, so I left the park and pulled into a separate parking lot along Memorial Drive to access the playground, the creek, and the Wilbur Wright memorial. The majority of the park is densely wooded and contains numerous small shelters, many with stone fireplaces. On top of the hill, I found a clubhouse (?) with basketball, tennis, and volleyball courts that were in okay condition, but the netting needed tightening. There was also a natural amphitheater with some chairs arranged to face an "anniversary gazebo". The entrance of the park has a pull off lot for those visitors who wish to climb part way up the hill to see the veteran's memorial. There are several ponds on the lower property with fountains and usually, some ducks. Review #1196

I really enjoyed my visit to this park. First, I don't think many people know about it and so I…read morehad the entire park to myself. I was able to grab one of the limited street parking sites on Bunch Blvd near the north entrance to the park. Second, there was a small plaza with informational signs describing the park, the folks involved with getting it built, and general wetland information that was brief, but helpful. Next, most of the pathway for visitors is slightly elevated on a boardwalk. Even though there was disturbance in the area during the construction, the wetlands have now recovered and the elevated trail makes for easy walking without damaging the surrounding wildlife. The rest of the trail is equally broad and hopefully gives good enough views that visitors won't wander off into the prairie area of the park. Note that during my visit, the wetlands appeared mostly dry but green. About half way through the trail, a large wooden shelter was constructed with a slightly elevated observation deck that offers great views over the lowlands of the park. There are more benches available there and lots of shade in an otherwise open area of the park. I really appreciate that the area has been preserved as a beautiful green area that can accommodate both humans and nature. Review #1053

Mary Scott Park is one of Richmond's smaller parks. It's a seven-acre park with an open-air…read moreshelter, playground, and a converted log cabin. As the late Yelper Ken N. notes, the cabin was built in the 1820s. It moved to this spot in the 1940s, and it experienced some significant renovation including losing one of its two stories, gaining a kitchen, gaining a meeting room, and also getting a fairly basic yet effective wheelchair ramp for access. Mary Scott Park was previously known as Northwest Seventh Street Park. It sits next to Parkview Elementary and Dennis Middle School. Mary Scott Park is on Richmond's northwest side, between NW 7th and 8th Streets. It was formerly named "Northwest Seventh Street Park." The park spans seven acres and sits next to Parkview Elementary School and Dennis Middle School. This certainly isn't a destination park. It's a comfortable, laid back neighborhood park. I suppose if you really wanted to see the log cabin, it could be considered a "destination." However, for the most part this is a relaxed, minimal activity park. My seminary is on the west side of Richmond, so experiencing Mary Scott Park was a pretty regular happening for me during those years. On my most recent visit, not much had changed but I still find the park a nice place to chill out. Because of the efforts at access, I'm moving up to a 4-star for this one. For most people, Ken N. is probably right in calling this your mid-range 3-star park.

This park on the west side of Richmond is nestled south of a school with its own private parking…read morearea. The park has a shelter and a playground with mature trees for shade. There is even a converted log cabin on site but it doesn't have any history posted so that visitors can find out the history. Turns out that the cabin was built in the 1820's and moved to this site in the 1940's. The renovation of the cabin reduced the size from a two-story to a single story and used the old wood to build the porch. A kitchen and meeting room were added to the back of the cabin after the modification of the height. The park has signs posted about no baseball or golfing allowed on the seven acres. I assume the city thinks there are enough other places to play those sports. Review #1021

While walking along the Pennsy Trail in Greenfield, I noticed this mini park covered in shade near…read moreState Street. There is a small shelter and a mini Japanese garden that can be visited by a gravel path. Several Japanese stone lanterns are also on site. The park gets its name from the "Sister City" relationship between Greenfield, IN and Kukuda, Miyagi, Japan on the northeast side of Honshu Island. Both cities have manufacturing and agriculture as prime industries. Kukuda is also known for raising silk worms used for making silks. The park is a nice acknowledgement of the relationship between the cities, but misses out on the opportunity to tell the story between them. If the goal is bring understanding of another culture to people of your town, there should be some information posted about the relationship and the significance of the ornamentation that has been selected for the park. As far as being a park, there is a small picnic table for someone to rest while at the park. Review #3131

During my seminary years, I spent quite a bit of time at Richmond, Indiana's Glen Miller Park. It's…read morea 194 acre park on Richmond's eastside directly off Main Street. Glen Miller Park also houses the administrative offices for Richmond Parks. Glen Miller Park opened on June 6, 1885. It's named for Colonel John Ford Miller, a railroad executive who'd bought the land specifically to establish a park and ended up selling it to Richmond five years after acquiring it. One of the things that attracted Miller to the Park was its freshwater springs. He had them tested and they were noted as being high in iron (which was believed at the time to be good for your health - people still fill water jugs here). In 1890, Glen Miller Park established a zoo within its grounds and it grew in 1908. By 1964, it had 250 different birds and animals. Unfortunately, it started to decline and by 1984 was named by Parade Magazine as one of the nation's 10 worst zoos. It closed in 1986 and all the animals were relocated. The entrance to the park is marked by the Madonna of the Trial Monument - it's one of 12 monuments built by the Daughters of the American Revolution along U.S. 40 dedicated to the spirit of pioneer women. The Richmond Rose Garden is also housed here. At one point, Richmond was known as The Rose City as it served as home to three of the nation's premier growers and marketers of cut roses. Park amenities include a band shell, concessions, fishing, the Rose Garden, golf course, nature area, picnic areas, an ADA accessible playground, restrooms, both open and closed shelters, an 11,000 square foot skate park, splash pad, and tennis courts. You can, of course, rent the shelters for your events. As the most popular park in Richmond, Glen Miller Park hosts a lot of the city's special events. It's had occasional issues with crime, but I've been here many times during my weekends in Richmond and have never had any issues. Because it's on the main drag through Richmond, police presence is not uncommon here.

I have comical memories of busting my butt on one of the old metal slides at Glen Miller Park in…read morethe early 90s. Despite only being in preschool, I will never forget slamming off the end of that slide. Ha, now days the slides are plastic, lower to the ground and padded more at the bottom for soft landing. Fast forward 27 years and I found myself at Glen Miller Park to swap Christmas gifts with my mother in the parking lot. Funny enough, we weren't the only ones swapping gifts outside for the holidays. 2021 Glen Miller Park features a music garden with hands on instruments, ponds filled with ducks, extensive playscapes and walking trails. The bathrooms were closed during our December visit. Overall, a pretty straightforward but spacious park a stone's throw from Richmond's shops and restaurants.