This is a nice park/golf course located in Bedford. The main entrance will take you to the golf…read morecourse section. You will find a little amphitheater near the front entrance. You will find a club house with a grill near the back of the course and two open cement picnic areas that look kind of like forts in between. The park was gifted to the city in 1935 by Fred Otis, a local newspaperman. you will find a lot of historic limestone features at this park. The course is very nice and well maintained. It is considered one of the state's best. The golf course is also home to a disc golf course. It looked like a really nice course. I do not know how much play it gets because not many people know about it. If you are looking for the playground and soccer complex you have to go an an entirely different way. You have to take US 50 to Leatherwood Road. You will find the soccer and playground's parking lot just off of Leatherwood Road. It is a very nice parking lot with tons of spots. The soccer fields at the complex are really nice. the nets are portable and seem kind of small. The playground is on a bed of wood chips and has a bank of ADA, toddler, and traditional swings, a couple of sit and spins and a jungle gym with slides, bridges and number games. It is a nice playground area that is well maintained, but is very small. There is a shelter on that side that has a bunch of picnic tables under it. It is also nice as is most stuff on this side of the park. This is not a destination park unless you intend on golfing. It is still nice though and a decent place to pass some time.

I could easily give this park a four star rating if the parks department of Bedford had better…read moreinformation. It lists the address as if the golf course were the main park. I went to Tunnelton Road and couldn't see the playground or soccer fields from the entrance. All I saw were a marker about the origin of the park, and an under utilized limestone band shell on the west end of the golf course. What I discovered after returning home is that if you drive just a short distance to the west on US 50 to Leatherwood Road, you can gain access to a nice parking lot with access to the soccer fields, the playground, and some open shelter areas (no roofs) for picnics. The setting, even in winter, is picturesque since the golf course maintains the grounds and is part of the largest park in town. I only wish the address of the park was listed on Leatherwood so that I could have found the other amenities. Review #2012

Nice great park to take nice strolls around. A park, pavilion and large field to play on. Trail is…read morenice and paved.

This 41-acre park is maintained as well as it is functional. During my visit, the flowering trees…read moremade it beautiful as well! The park lies in a neighborhood on the south side of Bloomington. There is plenty of parking with a nice playground located nearby. There is a shelter with picnic tables and a grill on a hill over looking a prairie and woodland. To the east is a paved hiking trail that loops around the park, including an area set up for football. The park is also connected to the Jackson Creek Trail which connects to Sherwood Oaks Park to the west. Review #872

The skatepark needs repairs and improvements. To be honest, it needs completely redone…read more The ramps are over 20 years old. They are rusty and dangerous because the lips to the ramps are lifted off the ground. Also, the asphalt is not smooth, and there are large cracks running all the way through the park. Nothing noticeably wrong with tennis, swimming, and basketball court area

There is a lot to do at Thornton Park. They have an aquatic center (seasonal), skate park, tennis…read morecourts, basketball courts, and a playground. They also have a community center and shelter accessible from Q Street with plenty of parking. Parking also is available off Brian Lane Way on the west side of the park. The only negative I had was that I found all the fencing around the different sections of the park (tennis, aquatic area, and skate park) made it difficult to reach the other side of the park without driving out and around the neighborhood to the other side. One bonus though was the pair of limestone guardian heads along the path up to the playground. Very cool! Review #1982

Beautiful waterfalls specially, if you go right after a storm with a lot of rain, trails, and then…read morethere's a patokah four seasons not too far are you can stay in a cabin.

Sometimes, if you are patient, you get rewarded. While exploring the countryside south east of…read moreBedford, I crossed into Jackson County just west of Leesville and wondered whether I would find this preserve or not! Fortunately, I could tell I was on the right path as I headed uphill, losing site of the Guthrie River as I headed upward. Fortunately, before I lost patience, I finally saw the pull off on the north side of the road for the reserve. From the gravel parking lot, I followed the most visible path northward and saw the sign in box. The natural footing trail headed to the west and was marked by blue plastic markers on the trees. The forest is a mix of Eastern Hemlock and hardwood trees that line the bluff that overlooks the lowlands to the north of the river. The largest hemlock in the state is located within these woods at nearly three feet in diameter. The trail makes a turn to the north after about 250 yards. The new trail path walks much closer to the dropoff and offers some better views of the river and lowlands. There is a bench to relax upon. I will say that if you are afraid of heights, then you may feel a bit uncomfortable with the view, but the trail is set on fairly level footing, so using common sense and being aware of your surroundings should keep you safe. I didn't walk the entire trail around the 44 acre preserve, but chose to double back on the original path. It is a remote and very private setting where you can experience a stand of trees that date back before the glacial clearing. Review #2014

A nice little park to play pickleball or hit the playground. The small picnic area isn't spotless,…read morebut it was clean enough. The restrooms right by the playground were closed on Sunday when we were there, but there are other restrooms by the courts that are open. A heads up that gps signals were wonky for me when I was trying to navigate the trails.

As one of the larger parks in Bloomington, this 48-acre park on the south west side has a lot to…read moreoffer. For activities, there are tennis and pickle ball courts and a playground with shade tents nearby. For those into hiking, there is a paved trail and a trail that leads into the wooded area. The park also has a nice sized parking lot, restrooms, and a shelter with picnic tables. Review #875

My sister came across this Forest by reading through a book about hikes in Indiana. Our first visit…read morehere was in April and we hiked along trail 7 which was a rugged 1.7 miles and took us up along a number of overlooks. We then hiked along Knob Lake- trail 5- only .25 miles but beautiful views of the lake. Plenty of people were fishing here. There are 10 trails overall and most range from 1-3 miles. We noticed that there were primitive camp sites and someone told us that it is very rarely full. We decided to come camping here in September after Labor Day. It is only $13 a night and self registration. The camp sites have plenty of room for car and tents. The sites each have a fire pit and picnic table. There are only pit toilets but they all had plenty of toilet paper. There were a handful of people camping so it was a very quiet evening. This time we hiked trail 2 which was 1.75 miles moderately rugged. This takes you up 985 feet above sea level. There are horse trails, hunting, archery range and plenty of picnicking spots. If you enjoy the outdoors- this is only about an hour and 30 minutes from Indianapolis.

Found this park by way of AllTrails app, and I'm so happy I did! My sweet spots are national and…read morestate parks, but I'm so happy I stumbled upon this state forest. Being a state forest, it's free entrance, for one. It's about 1.25 hours from downtown Indy, so not too far of a trek and about the same distance to Brown County area. I came for the purpose of a day hike on the Knoblake and Pinnacle Loop Trail. It's labeled "hard" on AllTrails. As with most Indiana "hard" trails, if you're an experienced hiker, it means they're "easy-to-medium" challenge. However, I will happily say that this trail kicked my booty. It was a challenge. The elevation gains/descents are no joke. Bring hiking poles if you can! The final views were incredible and a great place to feel the spring sunshine and breeze to reward our hard work. It meanders through some creek area as well. I can't wait to come back and take advantage of their buddy camping system. $13 a campsite - an absolute win compared to other nearby campsite prices. Would highly recommend for camping, fishing, hiking and general nature time!

Twin Caves located in Mitchell, IN inside Spring Mill State Park. There are several great trails…read moreand these caves are located not to far away from the parking lot. So, it's not a bad little hike to take. This particular day it was gloomy and sort of wet. I was chilly, and couldn't seem to get warm. This particular Park cost a fee to enjoy but because its not in season the shacks gate was open do no charge. I definitely would recommend and go back again.

Guided boat tours of the twin caves are offered every 30 minutes from 9-5 each day for only $3 a…read moreperson! The tours are in high demand, so make sure someone from your group gets there a few minutes before 9 to line up to schedule your time slot for the day. We did a tour with tour guide Morgan a few weeks ago, and it was awesome! Very interesting and educational. The tour takes about 20 minutes and you get to see a lot of different areas of the cave with different features, as well as some crayfish! There is one part where you can reach out and touch the cave as well. The boat is small and all riders straddle the bench inside for the duration of the tour. Could be difficult for older people and a little scary for some folks, especially those who have claustrophobic tendencies. You also need to be able to go down 85 steps to get to the boat and back up those steps after the tour. Life jackets are provided! Important to mention that my family is NOT outdoorsy at all, but we really enjoyed the tour! I recommend wearing a hat of some sort to prevent panic if any water drips on you as you go through. Highly recommend to those visiting the park!!

Midwest Trail Ride is one of my favorite places to go horse camping. Midwest has electric sites,…read morecabins, and primitive camping. They have plenty of stalls for the horses of their patrons, and they provide all the needed amenities necessary for horse campers. What's nice about Midwest versus regular camping is that it is really set up for horseback riders, and they make it very convenient to bring your horse and trailer. My wife and I have visited Midwest annually since she got me into horses and we have not had a bad visit. With Midwest being on the edge of Hoosier National Forest, you have no shortage of trails to ride. The Midwest trails are well maintained, better maintained than in the national forest in fact. Best part of visiting: no cell phone signal. You are in a nice quiet place you can relax and enjoy yourself without the stress of the outside world.

I have been a patron of Midwest Trail Ride for years. Unfortunately I have to say with the passing…read moreof time and changing of hands the magic of the place is gone for me. I had the privilege of meeting the wonderful folks who started MTR. What wonderful people. I remained impressed as the business changed hands. However, the current management has a lot to learn when it comes to how to treat the people who pay their hard earned money to travel and stay there. I was unpleasantly surprised at how rudely I was asked to move my rig. Courtesy goes a long way with me. Just be polite and remember --we are the customers. I have spent a lot of money in their tack store and have been a weekend and day rider as well. The people who run it now need to remember that they are not the only access point into Hoosier National Forest. Sadly this will be my last visit. I have absolutely loved meeting horse campers from all around....it's just the disrespectful and rude treatment from the female manager/owner that has convinced me to go elsewhere.