VCPRD Programs

2025 Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department
Programs & Special Events

For all Griffin Bike Park Events please click on the link below:
Griffin Bike Park Events

February

1st Buffalo Soldiers Winter Ride
Saturdays throughout the month- Maple Syrup Boiling at Prairie Creek Park
8th Pancake Breakfast at Fowler Park
15th Family Maple Syrup Hike at Prairie Creek Park

March

15th Family Hike at Hawthorn with the VCPL
31st – April 4th Spring Break Camp at Fowler Park

April

12th VCPL Oregon Trial Game at Dewey Point/ Bicentennial Park
19th Pain Train Spring Tune-up at Griffin Bike Park

May

3rd Steel Dynamics Garbage Mountain Gravel Grinder
7th Griffin Bike Park Youth Team Begins
10th Family Hike at Prairie Creek Park
17th Experience Otter Creek at Markle Mill Park
17th Summer in the Village at Fowler Park
17th Blacksmithing Classes at Fowler Park
23rd Afterburner Memorial Day Ride
28th Thompson Thrift Short Track

Maple Syrup Hike
Prairie Creek Park- Sugar Shack Cabin
Saturday, February 15th 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
All Ages Welcome!

Join us for a hike at Prairie Creek to enjoy the winter scenery and learn about maple syrup making! View the process from tree tapping all the way to syrup boiling and bottling. Children must be accompanied by an adult. For more information call 812-462-3392 or email our Natural Resource Programmer at [email protected]

Family Hike
Rotating Parks
March through October- one Saturday a month 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
All Ages Welcome!

Gather your family and join us with the Vigo County Public Library for our monthly hiking club! One Saturday a month from March through October lace up your shoes and join our programmer for Family Hikes on some of our beautiful trails. Each month will feature a hike in a different park, schedule below!

March 15th- Hawthorn Park
May 10th- Prairie Creek Park
June 21st- Fowler Park
July 19th- Fowler Park
August 23rd- Ruble Park
September 20th- Wabashiki
October 18th- Hawthorn Park

Spring Break Adventure Day Camp
Fowler Park Log Barn
March 31st – April 4th 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Ages 8-15
$150 Registration Fee – Preregistration required.

Join us for a week of fun and Adventure at Fowler Park and Griffin Bike Park. Activities include games and sports, mountain biking, hiking and fishing. Be sure to pack clothes to be both inside and outside, comfortable shoes for outdoor activities and a sack lunch. Drop off will be at 8:00 am in the Fowler Park Log Barn and pick up will be at 5:00 pm at the Fowler Park Log Barn. For more information call the office at 812-462-3392 or email [email protected]
For registration please visit Fowler Park Spring Break Camp

Free Kayaking Days
Dewey Point- 110 E National Ave, West Terre Haute, IN 47885
April 26th & April 27th 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. College Students- April 26th and General Public- April 27th
All ages welcome- children must be accompanied and supervised by an adult
Free

The gentle flow of the river, the wind rustling in the trees, the quiet murmur of nature. It’s amazing what 60 minutes of kayaking can do for your mind and body! Join the Wabash riverSCAPE and the VCPRD for free kayaking days this April at our very own Dewey Point! Voted the Best in Indiana’s 2024 Best Place to Paddle, Dewey Point will have tranquil views and ample wildlife spotting opportunities for an afternoon kayak adventure. College students can kayak on April 26th and the general public on April 27th. Kayak rentals are for one hour between 1 pm and 4 pm, advance reservations suggested as kayaks are limited! This event is free for all to enjoy!

Steel Dynamics Garbage Mountain Gravel Grinder

May 3rd at 11 a.m.

$40 registration before April 25th and $50 after

*This is a fundraiser for Griffin Bike Park

Check-in and registration begin at 9 AM. Located at 10700 Bono Road, Terre Haute, IN 47802.
Parking at the site

Steel Dynamics Inc. presents a Springtime Gravel race with fabulous views of well-known attractions like Garbage Mountain (the local dump) both out and inbound, ride by many pork and turkey farms, and over Numerous train tracks in this Lil more than a Metric long course. There will also be a medium-length course that cuts off the final loop at the Sag stop.

This will be an all-weather event (barring serious weather) so dress accordingly.

The course is a mix of chunky gravel, dirt roads, a bit of pavement, a few hills, and probably lots of mud.

There will be timing/placing for the top 3 in each class, course marshals, and signs to mark the route. GPS devices ARE advised and course route files are available on RideWithGPS. You will find yourself in the middle of Nowhere, Indiana. Often. This is NOT road bike friendly.

Races will be a mass start at Griffin Bike Park and finish at Griffin Bike Park.

Min 1 sag stop will be provided at the 35-mile area. And 2 sag vehicles will be on the course at all times.

Long: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/35681209

Medium: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/35710444

Categories Men’s and Women’s.

Expert Long Course

Novice Long Course

Expert Medium Course

Novice Medium Course

Ebike Long Course

Ebike Medium Course

Mass neutral start for all categories – 11 AM

Griffin Bike Park Youth Team
Griffin Bike Park
Every Wednesday May 17th through September 3rd, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Ages 7-18
$150 for the full season

Do you have a young rider between ages 7-18 that would like to learn to ride better? Or just ride with kids his age and skill level? Or maybe learn to race? We have the program for them! Teams are broken down by skill levels and age. We teach fundamentals, racing techniques and above all how to have fun on a mountain bike.

Team membership includes: A team jersey, free entry fee into Short Track races, half price entry into Pump Track and Dual Slalom races.

Our season runs from May 7th through September 3rd and ends with an end of season cookout party and awards.

Register now at https://go.teamsnap.com/forms/467648
Your registration is a donation to Griffin Bike Park
for more info email [email protected]

Experience Otter Creek
Markle Mill Park
May 17th, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
All ages welcome
Free

Join us on May 17th at Markle Mill Park for our annual Experience Otter Creek! From 9 am until 12 pm visit with organizations from around Vigo County for hands on activities and learning about Otter Creek and its plant and animal life. Providence Wildlife Rehabilitation will be bringing some of their wildlife for a presentation at 10:00 a.m.

Blacksmithing Classes
Fowler Park Pioneer Village
May 17th through October 18th, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Ages 10+, children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult
$60 Registration Fee – Preregistration required.

Check out the blacksmithing classes at Fowler Park! Participants will learn how to operate a blacksmith forge, understand the parts of an anvil, and the uses of various hand tools in the blacksmith shop. They’ll also get to shape metal using learned techniques including forging a curve, a twist, a square, and more! Call 812-462-3392 or email our Natural Resource Programmer at [email protected] for more information. Classes fill up quickly so make sure to register today!

For registration please visit: 2025 Fowler Park Blacksmithing Classes

Summer in the Village
Fowler Park Pioneer Village
May 17th through August 16th, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
All ages welcome
Free

Join the VCPRD every third Saturday of the month May through August from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. for our Summer in the Village! Our cabin caretakers will open up their cabins for all to explore and demonstrate early 19th century skills and crafts. Each month will have a focus on a different craft or demonstration for you to learn! Schedule to come!

Memorial Day Bike Party
Afterburner Brewing Company- 629 S. 9th St Terre Haute, IN 47807
May 23rd, 6:30 p.m.
All ages welcome
Free- Donations to Griffin Bike Park Welcome

BIKE PARTY AT AFTERBURNER!
On May 23rd we will meet at Afterburner Brewing Company at 6:30 for Beers, Bikes, and Remembering our Fallen Soldiers.
We will be doing a casual-paced urban ride on the Heritage Trail out to Memorial Stadium Memorial Mile and back to Afterburner.
While at Afterburner make a donation to the Bike Park, Grab a beer, and some grub from the food truck on hand.
2 ride lengths.
7.5 Mile Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/45923199
11 Mile Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/45923420
We hope to see you at the Party

Thompson Thrift Short Track Series
Griffin Bike Park
May 28th, June 18th, July 23rd, FRIDAY! August 1st (Double Points), and August 27th (Triple Points).
All ages welcome
$20. On site registration, series passes are available.
Registration starts at 5 pm with racing starting at 6 pm.

It’s the Thompson Thrift Short Track Series! Come out and try your hand at racing or bring your family and watch some of our local talents go at it on the ever-changing Griffin Bike Park short track! Classes for everyone and maybe the easiest courses you will ever see at GBP!
Your best 4 out of 5 races count towards your season of end awards. You must race 4 out of 5 in order to qualify for end of season awards. Awards will go to the top 3 at each race and top 5 at the end of season.