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

This is a nice little neighborhood park with a small playground, shelter, and a soccer field…read more There is a limited amount of parking along the roadside. The soccer nets were down for the winter, but there seemed to be a decent playing field for the kids. The playground had swings and a climbing/slide structure in the center of the mulched area. Review #2006

This park is located right next to the North Lawrence Community Schools Office. That complex is…read morelooked down to keep park goers out. You have to drive all the way around the park to get to the park's parking lot. It is a huge lot and is located by the ball fields. The park is home to 3 nice ball fields that are suitable to host a small tournament. The park has a restroom facility near the ball fields, but it was locked during my visit. I guess they must be unlocked for special events. There is a shelter near the ball fields with picnic table under it. You will encounter some picnic tables and pavilions along the side of the drive leading to the parking lot. The park has a playground but it is in need of repair and some updates. There are two banks of traditional swings, a bank of toddler swings, a stand and spin, a bridge, and a wooden balance beam. The playground area is on a bed of spongy wood chips and features a jungle gym with a bridge, a slide, a conveyor belt slide, monkey rings and a ladder. As I mentioned, the equipment is in bad shape, and is very old, the ADA swing is broken. It is just bad. My littles did not stay long and only played on the rusty conveyor belt slide. The park has easy access to the woods, hence it names. I saw a few people walking in the woods while I was there. I think that there was even some people riding dirt bikes there. This park is not bad. However, they need to invest a lot of money and energy into the playground. The park has a lot of potential. It is off of the main drag and has a quiet peacful vibe. This is on the border of being a destination park depending on what you are looking for. Just keep in mind that there are no restrooms available or water fountains, so plan accordingly.

Near an elementary school, the park has a shelter by the roadside, several baseball fields, and…read moresome picnic benches in the wooded area between the access road and the highway. Although the parks department lists this park as having a playground, I didn't see any play area other than the school property, so I think it is a bit misleading. The facilities were in good shape and there was limited parking by the shelter. Not much here unless you are planning an event at the shelter, but it was limited since there were no restrooms or grills. Review #2004

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

I don't know what's going on here being a visitor to the town, but when I look at pictures from…read morewhen the park was dedicated in 2012 to a veteran, this park has slid downhill...hard! The playground is gone. The play area has been bulldozed down to the dirt. All that is left is a small shelter and a bench. No parking. Bad location next to a recycling/trash area. I can only hope that the park is being renovated and I just visited at a bad time. Signs could help if that's the case! Review #2005

This is a small park that you will find across the street from Otis Park Golf Course. There is not…read moremuch to this park. It runs along Leatherwood Creek and gives you some decent views of the creek and a steel bridge. You will find a few picnic tables and benches that are positioned to overlook the creek. The park does not have a designated parking lot, but there is tons of places to park here. The park has a dirt area to park, some green space to play and a small play ground area. The playground is on a bed of wood chips and the equipment includes a double slide, a tire swing, a small bank of traditional swings, a net climber, a log roll and a hold and spin. There is a bench just outside the play area where caregivers can sit and watch their littles. The park is well maintained and the equipment is in great shape. This park does not have any shelters, restrooms, or water sources, so plan accordingly. My littles enjoyed their time here and it is not a very popular park in town, so it is never really crowded. definitely worth a visit if you have some time to kill and you find yourself in the area.

This park seems like an afterthought. Across the street from the entrance to the golf course at…read moreOtis Park, there is a steep inclined driveway down into the gravel lot for parking. There is a slide and a couple swings for the playground. There is a picnic table, but no shelter on the site. The park runs along the creek and there is a steel bridge that spans the creek that no longer allows vehicular traffic. I didn't see any signs telling people to stay off the bridge, but it does have a number of road barriers in place to discourage anyone from going there. I can imagine that after heavy rains, the park has flooding issues as well. Not much to do unless your kids just love running around and creating their own fun. Review #2011

We went to check this place out with family visiting from out of state…read more They offer cave boat tours (every hour I believe it was). Adults were $26 as of 7/2026. Our boat trip probably had 12 people - give or take. The boat tour was really informative and immersive. The tour guide shares in's and outs of how the cave was found, how they expanded, and how they created the business. You can see some fish, crawfish, and bats. The tour is done in lower level lighting from the light on the boat and with the tour guides flashlight. They also have a little section to "mine" for gemstones. You can buy a few different sizes in the gift shop and that was a fun way to do while we waited for the next tour.

Very cool, peaceful, intriguing, wonderous, sciency, fun…read more Make sure you take the quick trail around the massive sink whole/Woods/creek. Looks boring at first but it's getting more interesting as you walked around it. Overall a great trip.

May 3, 2025 We took the Spring Valley Trail which is a 10,8…read moremile loop. We waited out a rainstorm for about an hour in the parking lot. It had rained a lot and the trail was fairly muddy. I wouldn't want to take it in anything other than hiking boots. When we came to the fork we went to the right. About two miles in, where the trial and the lake intersect we saw a fishing camp. I think these guys leave it up all summer. They had huge coolers, cots and pop up weekenders. About a quarter to a half mile further we took a light trail to the left and found our campsite. I have zero idea how it got there but it had an actual full size picnic table. There are no labeled campsites but if you pay attention you'll spot the side trails leading off from the main trail. The trail is incredibly well marked and even if it wasn't a blind person could follow it. You could take a large four wheeler if you had to. It rained all night so the trail was wet and muddy. There are some cool rock formations, some great water features and some good views of the lake. We came across an old stone building that was pretty cool. Some interesting signs along the trail about the history and region. We didn't see any mountain bikers or horse people but there were obvious signs that they use the trail. Trail had very little trash. Hiked it with full packs and even with the mud it was pretty easy. There were only two blow downs that blocked the trail. There were quite a few streams that crossed the trail, but we only had to put on our sandals for the very last one and I imagine if it hadn't rained so much we could've crossed it in our boots. Saw a box turtle, plenty of squirrels and chipmunks. Heard lots of birds.

This huge forest has a lot to offer and doesn't charge for admission!…read more Within the last couple months, I've hiked, camped, canoed, fished. Once I got there, there was no other charge. There are also horse trails that I saw people using. There are 200,000 Acres & 266 Miles of Hiking Trails here!

Our tour guide was fantastic! He was knowledgeable, fun, and ensured we had time to look around…read morebefore moving on in the tour. As a privately owned cave, you can really get up close to cave features while still being respectful of the fragile ecosystem.

Really great tour--informative and enjoyable! Definitely worth a visit. I came during the…read moreoff-season, so it was a bit slower, but still an awesome experience.