I'm a lover of labyrinths and working to develop a memorial labyrinth here in my home city of Indianapolis. I've long been an activist and I've frequently visited Terre Haute on my travels allowing me to visit the Kenneth E. Smith Memorial Labyrinth, an 80-foot in diameter labyrinth with 34 turns located in Hawthorn Park adjacent to the Dogwood Shelter. It is patterned after France's Chartres Cathedral Labyrinth, an early design that continues to inspire many of today's labyrinths.
This labyrinth is one of the few in Indiana to make a conscious effort to be wheelchair accessible. The path is 30" wide with 6" in-between in an effort to allow room for wheelchairs and strollers. My guess is that this would actually work well for most manual wheelchairs.
This labyrinth was completed in 2003 and is constructed of aggregate mix concrete. As it's in a park setting, it's surrounded by much greenery. I wouldn't say this is one of Terre Haute's premiere parks, though most times I've visited it's been fairly well kept. This is especially true of the labyrinth itself as it has a garden maintained by the Wabash Valley Master Gardeners.
A meditation garden surrounds the labyrinth. It features a swing, benches, rose bushes, a fountain, trees, and other greenery. Much of the funding for the labyrinth was donated by Mrs. Lavern Smith in memory of her husband who had passed in 2000. It is intended to be a family friendly labyrinth and is open to children during the dawn to dusk park hours.
Because of the meditative atmosphere here, it's an ideal location for a small wedding or more serene, spiritual type of event. The J.I. Case Wetland Refuge is also located within the park's grounds. The entire park is just over 256 acres and includes camping options. It's on the border of Rose-Hulman and also accessible from the Heritage Road National Trail. read more