Wheelchair users and guests with mobility disabilities can explore more-challenging trails at Potato Creek State Park, thanks to a new trackchair, which they can borrow from the park’s nature center.

The addition brings the number of trackchairs available for outdoor use at Indiana state park properties to 15. Chain O’Lakes, Charlestown, Fort Harrison, Mounds, O’Bannon Woods, Pokagon, and Spring Mill state parks and Salamonie Lake have one each. Indiana Dunes has four, and McCormick’s Creek has two. Potato Creek’s chair, manufactured by Action Trackchair, is joystick-operated and equipped with a seatbelt and arm and leg rests.

The chairs available across the state park system vary in design and appropriate trail use. Potential users should consider discussing the conditions with property personnel before visiting. Guests may also reserve a chair ahead of their visit. For contact information at the individual locations, visit stateparks.IN.gov or check the Indiana Recreation Guide at on.IN.gov/recguide.

The new chair at Potato Creek was made possible by a grant from Ford’s Bronco Wild Fund, an organization focusing on accessibility, preservation, stewardship, and connecting people to the outdoors. The funds for the chairs and other projects come from a portion of the profits from every Bronco® model sold.

The grants were coordinated through the America’s State Parks Foundation, a national nonprofit arm of America’s State Parks, which supports and promotes state park systems and their leadership across the country. Indiana was one of 18 states awarded funds for the chairs.

Potato Creek State Park is at 25601 State Road 4, North Liberty, IN 46554. Learn more at on.IN.gov/potatocreeksp.  

Firewood permits at Turkey Run, Shades state parks

The public is invited to cut up and remove certain downed trees at Turkey Run and Shades state parks for firewood. Trees eligible for firewood have fallen as a result of natural causes or have been dropped by property staff. They are along roadsides or in public areas such as campsites and picnic areas.

Permit sales and cutting both end Feb. 28. The cost of one pickup-truck load is $10. A load is defined as an 8-foot standard pickup truck bed without any modifications. All proceeds will be used for resource management and restoration efforts at the parks, including replacement of trees in campgrounds and other public areas.

A firewood permit must be obtained for each load at Turkey Run’s office, Nature Center, or entrance gate from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Permits are not available on observed state holidays. Wood may be cut and removed from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. For more information, call 765-597-2635. 

Firewood cut at Turkey Run or Shades state parks is for personal use only and cannot be sold.

Turkey Run State Park (on.IN.gov/turkeyrunsp) is at 8121 East Park Road, Marshall, 47859.

Shades State Park (on.IN.gov/shadessp) is at 7751 S. 890 W, Waveland, 47989.

Paynetown hosts open house

Monroe Lake will host a winter crafts and scavenger hunt open house on Dec. 17, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Activity Center inside Paynetown State Recreation Area (SRA), 4850 S. State Road 446 in Bloomington. It is a drop-by event, and registration is not required; however, RSVPs are appreciated on the Facebook event page bit.ly/winteropenhouse-monroe2023 to help staff prepare.

Several winter-themed crafts will be available for attendees to make inside the building. There will also be hot tea and cocoa available as well as a simple outdoor scavenger hunt which may be completed for a prize.

Attendees are encouraged to arrive at Paynetown SRA early or stick around after the open house to enjoy a hike on the park trails, which range from 0.5 to 1.25 miles in length.

Questions should be directed to the Paynetown Activity Center at 812-837-9967 or emailed to Jill Vance at jvance@dnr.IN.gov.

There is no fee to enter Paynetown SRA during winter season.

Readers can contact the author by writing to this publication, or e-mail to jackspaulding@hughes.net.

Spaulding’s books, “The Best of Spaulding Outdoors,” and his latest, “The Coon Hunter And The Kid,” are available from Amazon.com in paperback or as a Kindle download.