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Park and Recreation Professionals Day!

Today doesn’t get a stop in our tour of Vigo County Parks because it’s a very special day. Today is Park and Recreation Professionals Day and we want to celebrate all of the dedicated people who make our parks possible and build a strong community through the power of parks and recreation. We are grateful to have a staff who strive to create high-quality experiences and opportunities for the residents and visitors of Vigo County while also making our parks clean, safe and welcoming. If you’re out today and see any of our amazing VCPRD employees be sure to thank them today!

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Tour of the Vigo County Parks- Ruble Park

Today’s stop on our tour of Vigo County Parks is… Ruble Park! This park is a hidden gem in our system and our newest opened park! While we acquired the land in 2014, it opened to the public in 2022. It features 11 miles of natural hiking trails through grasslands and forest and offers hikers ample chances for wildlife viewing and bird watching! What most people might not know is it has 4 entrances! That’s right, there is an entrance at Ruble West on S Cullen Rd, two entrances to Ruble Central on W Dallas Dr and an entrance to Ruble East on Eaton Dr at Ivy Tech! That entrance features the largest parking area and a restroom for visitors to use. This park is perfect for those who are wanting to get out in the quiet to enjoy nature. Be sure to check this park out soon, especially as the leaves start to change this fall.

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Tour of the Vigo County Parks… Griffin Bike Park

Happy Monday! Our next stop on our tour of Vigo County Parks for National Parks and Recreation Month is… Griffin Bike Park! We featured it recently for National Bike Month, but we had to feature it again. This park has over 32 miles of trail for you to enjoy with trails ranging from Green all the way up to Double Black Diamond. It has something for every skill level of rider including kids tracks, a pump track, dirt jumps, dual slalom course, skills features and so much more.
Throughout the year we host a wide variety of races and rides including a Gravel race, Pump Track races, Dual Slalom races, Short Track races and more. This goes along with our Youth Mountain Biking Team, kids camps and kids trips. We have lots of exciting things coming to the park including a new community center for you all to enjoy.
On your next visit, look out for a flying Santa. You can often find him jumping off of things, or over kids, when he is taking a break from the Christmas season.
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Tour of the Vigo County Parks- Fowler Park

Next stop on our tour of Vigo County Parks for National Parks and Recreation Month… Fowler Park! This park might be one of the most well-known because of our beautiful Pioneer Village which features 20 pioneer cabins and structures, most of which were relocated to Fowler Park to create our village. Thanks to our volunteer group our village comes to life for events like our Summer in the Village series, Pioneer Days, Mini Pioneer Days and Christmas Walk. We love to showcase the village and our pioneer history to visitors during these events and field trips that can be scheduled throughout the year.
The pioneer village isn’t all Fowler Park has to offer though. In fact, it just is one of many activities in the park. During your visit you can fish in our stocked lake, use our boat or kayak launches for some time on the water, swim at the beach, hike on one of our several trails, bird or wildlife watch, play basketball in the goals the Beach Parking Lot or get plenty of playtime in on one of our playgrounds! We even have jon boat and kayak rentals available at our Beach House daily Memorial Day through Labor Day. You can rent your jon boat, kayak or a shelter right on our website.
For those who want to stay longer can do so in our campground. It has 10 primitive sites, 33 electric sites, 15 electric and direct water hook up sites, a pioneer cabin and starting next year a covered wagon! Be sure to come visit Fowler Park for your next family adventure.
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Tour of the Vigo County Parks- George and Ida Smith Park

The next stop on our tour of Vigo County Parks for National Parks and Recreation Month is… George and Ida Smith Park! Or as some would refer to it as, Prairieton Park. This cute neighborhood park is located in Prairieton on Highway 63. It was donated to the department in 1976 in memory of George and Ida Smith by their daughter. It boasts a basketball court, picnic area and playground. You’ll have to check out this quiet park next time you’re in the area!

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Tour of Vigo County Parks- Prairie Creek Park!

The first stop on our tour of the Vigo County Parks this National Parks and Recreation Month is… Prairie Creek Park! We’ll start our journey in the south and make our way north through the county as we highlight our parks, their amenities and some of our amazing parks professionals.
When most folks think of Prairie Creek they automatically think of maple syrup and groves of old Sugar Maple trees because that’s what they’re most famous for. Outside of maple syrup season, this park has a lot of other great things to offer! March through November 3 you can camp in one of our 2 primitive, 26 electric or 15 electric/ direct water hook up campsites. Most of the sites in our quiet campground back up to the woods and with nearby hiking trails for daily adventures!
Speaking of hiking, we’ve got 7 different trails for you to explore during your visit, including the Elliott Woods Trail in the Elliott Woods Nature Preserve! There’s plenty of wildlife to see, birdwatching to do and great fishing to help you relax and unwind. For the sports enthusiast in your life the park offers a baseball/ softball diamond, basketball goals, horseshoe pits, outdoor exercise equipment, a soon to be refurbished tennis and pickleball court and coming soon disc golf! Of course we also have several playgrounds for the kiddos as well.
Prairie Creek is a hidden gem south of Terre Haute for those looking to get away from the hustle and bustle of town. It has a little bit of something for everyone so be sure to stop by and visit it soon!
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Final Master Plan Public Meeting Reminder

Our final public meeting is TONIGHT, June 27th at 6 pm in the Vigo County Council Chambers. Your chance to participate in our Master Plan Survey is coming to an end as it closes SUNDAY, June 31 at midnight. If you are unable to do so at home you may take the survey on an iPad provided at the meeting tonight. We also want to remind folks that our parks include:
Fowler Park
Prairie Creek Park
Hawthorn Park & J.I. Case Wetlands
Griffin Bike Park
Ruble Park
Dewey Point/ Bicentennial Park at Wabashiki State Fish and Wildlife Area
Markle Mill Park
George and Ida Smith Park
Lee Fields Park
and the R. Kermit Flesher Memorial State Nature Preserve
If we do not own that park we are unfortunately unable to include it in our Master Plan or our Survey.
We thank you for your time and input!
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Fowler Park Beach Open

The water main leak has been repaired quicker than we anticipated so the beach at Fowler Park is now reopened! Thank you everyone for your understanding.

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Beach Closed

Due to a water main break, our beach at Fowler Park will be CLOSED next week on June 24, 25 and 26. We will need to close that half of the park to repair the water main including the beach and Shelter B. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.

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Master Plan Survey and Public Meeting Reminder

We are halfway through June so we want to remind everyone that our Public Survey for our 2025 – 2029 Master Plan is still available through the end of June for you to take. It is linked for you below, if you do not have internet at home to take it you can do so on an iPad available at our final public meeting on June 27th at 6 pm in the Vigo County Council Chambers. We also want to remind folks that our parks include:
Fowler Park
Prairie Creek Park
Hawthorn Park & J.I. Case Wetlands
Griffin Bike Park
Ruble Park
Dewey Point/ Bicentennial Park at Wabashiki State Fish and Wildlife Area
Markle Mill Park
George and Ida Smith Park
Lee Fields Park
and the R. Kermit Flesher Memorial State Nature Preserve
If we do not own that park we are unfortunately unable to include it in our Master Plan or our Survey.
We thank you for your time and input!
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