Northeast of Matthews, Indiana is a covered bridge and affiliated park that shares the story of…read morethis National Historic Place. The Cumberland Bridge (also known as New Cumberland or as the Matthews Bridge) is on 3rd Street in Matthews where it crosses the Mississinewa River. The bridge was built in 1877 by William Parks and spans 181 feet. During the great flood of 1913, the bridge was lifted by the water and carried down river about a half mile. It was saved and hauled back on rollers by horses. The Matthews Covered Bridge Historical Society has created a nice park for visitors to park and rest near the bridge on the south east corner. The park has observation points to see the bridge and flowing river. There are also information kiosks that tell the story of the bridge's history. The bridge looks to be in good shape and is still used for light traffic. Review #2546

This newly created park has a lot of potential and could be a real eye-catching benefit to the near…read moreeast side of downtown Muncie. In addition to the stage/amphitheater on the lawn portion of the the park, there is a large, colorful art piece called "Extess" by PROJECTiONE located on the Northeast corner. However, during my visit, the lawn area had not been maintained causing the lawn grass to be nearly as tall as the decorative plantings in the flowerbeds! Seriously, if the city wants to spend money for a beautiful park, set aside some budget dollars for maintaining what you've built. Parking is limited to street parking on both sides of west bound Main Street on the north end of the park. Review #931

Next to the Sunnycrest United Methodist Church is the Sunnycrest Park. The park has its own…read moredriveway and small gravel parking lot. By the lot are the single shelter (paved concrete flooring) and the playground. Beyond the playground is a basketball court and a baseball field. The park appeared to be generally well maintained, but the equipment could use some touch up paint in the spring to restore its look. Review #2243

This is the best park that there is, it's safe fun, inviting, and always a very welcoming place to…read morecome. You never want to leave once you get here. my grandma and I used to come here almost every day when I was a kid the best park in the whole world. I just love it. Wish I was a kid again.

By now, it's no secret that I do quite a few charitable events with a good majority of them…read moreinvolving long-distance wheeling. Over the past 30 years, I've traveled over 6,000 miles in my wheelchair with various events nationwide. Distances have been everything from one mile to 1,000 miles. I'm finally sitting down to review some of the places I've traveled and some of the trails and parks I've experienced. I'm also reviewing some of the non-profits I've worked with. While I'm focusing on more recent events for obvious reasons, it's giving me a great chance to remember these tours. I visited Muncie's Westside Park on the closing day of a recent Tenderness Tour. It was going to be an event on the adjacent White River Greenway, a beautiful trail that runs alongside, you guessed it, White River. This was an awful day. It was cold. It was rainy, actually stormy, and I had a good 15 miles to. My attitude is that violence doesn't stop in the rain, so I can't stop trying to prevent it in the rain. So, I wheel in all weather. Fortunately, this day also included some of the best volunteers I've had included the young woman pictured in my photo - a work peer who works in the Muncie office of my agency (I work in the main office in downtown Indy). Westside Park is located in the floodplain along the southern boundary of Muncie's Westside (I bet you figured that out, didn't you?). It has a little league sized baseball diamond that is also used for softball. It has picnic tables and shelters, basketball courts, a playground, a shuffleboard court, three wire-control airplane circles, and tons of greenspace. The White River is along the southern boundary of the park and that's where you can join up with the White River Greenway. The White River Greenway is a paved trail that is wide enough for a wheelchair, though it's worth noting that it does have a couple of steep inclines on it. I had my challenges in adverse weather. The park has been going through a series of improvements over recent years and seems to be steadily used. The basketball courts have been resurfaced. There's a new parking lot on the westside of the courts. New trees have been planted. Also, the White River Greenway was extended and includes a turn-around. I'll be the first to admit that I didn't get to use the park as much as I'd have liked given the horrible weather I was wheeling in. However, I must say the shelters came in handy and were pretty wheelchair friendly. Also, the greenway gave us a nice surface and it was a cool place to be at when the local media from Ball State University showed up. There's also a public restroom here and drinking fountain, though I didn't use it and can't speak to its wheelchair friendliness. The real selling point to me with this park is the adjacent White River. It's really beautiful and I enjoyed the trail. The trail does get a bit urban at some points, think graffiti at a bridge point, but the vast majority of this area is a wonderful residential park and awesome trail for walkers, wheelers, runners, and bikers. I felt safe here and had no hassles, though I suppose you'd have to be a really committed criminal to come out and hassle a guy in a wheelchair during a rainstorm.

I came here with a group to start out our canoe trip. There's not much to this park. The entrance…read moreis well marked and the road is smaller and gravel in parts. The road leads to the parking lot. There is a shelter house with picnic tables. The boat ramp is wide and easy to use.

Tipton City Park is a 30-acre park located on Tipton, Indiana's southside. The park includes a…read morewalking trail, recreational facilities, flowers, benches, picnic tables, quite a few mature trees, and two foot bridges that cross Cicero Creek. There's a fenced in play area for toddlers and quite a bit of playground equipment. Tipton City Park was established in 1914. Because of its location, features like a golf course, baseball diamonds, various game courts, a swimming pool, a Boy Scout Cabin, and other features are within walking distance from a nearby hospital, Fairview Cemetery, the schools, and the Tipton Historical Society's Heritage Center. You can rent the Boy Scout Cabin and pavilions. There's also a gazebo available for rent. Tipton City Park is clearly one of the main recreational spots for the city of Tipton. It offers a ton for children and youth - it's also pretty darn good for adults with the gazebo frequently being a spot for special events and musical events. This was a fairly quick stop for me this time around, though I went by it a couple of times during my recent Tenderness Tour event. Located on SR 19, Tipton City Park is super easy to get to if you're in the Tipton area. While it's not a fully accessible park, it's surprisingly solid and I had very little difficulty getting around the park.

The city park in Tipton is a place that would be a lot of fun for little kids to play. And a fun…read moreplace for adults to roam its 30 acres of mature tree lined grounds. There is parking near the large shelter and there's a large gazebo near the front. There is playground equipment spread over a wide area, so lots of kids could play without making it feel too crowded. There's even a small equipment playground for the smaller kids to feel just the right size! Well kept and easy access make this a nice park to visit while in Tipton. Review #2041

I really enjoyed the layout and the purpose of this park which is immediately west of the county…read morecourthouse. Although small in size, the plaza is tastefully arranged with gardens and benches with paved walkways to get around. The park features a great view of the courthouse and has a dedication marker for honoring the area's veterans. There is also a flag pole. The park could use some shade since no trees are in the area and the benches don't have any shelters. So, on hot summer days, it could get pretty hot sitting for very long. The sidewalk leading into the park is starting to show some signs of cracks, so it is due for some maintenance. Review #2560

This is a decent nature park. They have an adequate amount of parking available between its lot…read morenear the river inlet, the Pizza King lot, and parking along the park's long drives in the grass. You will find a restroom structure near the park's entrace, just off of the Pizza King parking lot, near the large playground. The first thing I notice about the park is its green space. There is tons of it and it is well maintained. there are a few metal square picnic tables scattered on the green space, as well as some benches that overlook the river. The park features a couple of decent playground areas. The one near the park's entrance is the largest and has a large jungle gym with monkey bars, bridges, slides, a pebble bridge, and a small canopy. There is also a bank of traditional swings, with an ADA swing over there as well. The second playground is by the parking lot and canoe launch. It has a smaller jungle gym with a slide, and a couple of traditional swings. Both playground areas are on a bed of wood chips. The equipment is not the most modern, but is well maintained. The park is home to a very nice, paved fitness trail. It is about a mile and has some very nice equipment stations along the circular route. The park has one very large shelter without any picnic tables under it. There are two smaller shelters at the park and they both have a few picnic tables under them. They are available to be rented. The most prominent feature of this park and probably the most used is its canoe launch. It has a very nice launch that feeds into the White River. In addition to launching some canoes, there are a few shallow spots near the launch that i saw some people splashing around in. It was like ankle deep water. All in all, this is a nice park. I will admit, there is not a lot to this park, but it is still a good option to spend a few hours.

They have free outdoor exercise equipment and a dog water fountain near the restroomsread more