INDIANAPOLIS — Forty-five shiny new trackchairs will be available for use at every Indiana state park and state park inn free of charge. The trackchairs will allow individuals with mobility issues a way to explore off-road and rugged environments within the park system.
The DNR used funding from the Lilly Endowment to buy the trackchairs and portable generators to charge them. Trackchair maintenance will come out of DNR operating funds. They will supplement the other mobility chairs currently in parks. The trackchairs hold an eight-hour charge, and can accommodate anyone from a child to a full-grown adult. The chairs are also outfitted the outdoor accessories like fishing rod holders.
Park users can call a state park office and get your name put on a list ahead of time, or roll into the office and sign up. The chairs will be available first-come, first-served. DNR is planning on rolling out an online reservation system later in the year.
The agency will set out defined areas for trackchair use, and will use a locator so that a user who gets into trouble can be traces. DNR also has beach mats to make it easier to reach the water, fishing piers with ramps and lower railings, wheelchair-accessible hunting paths and hunting blinds, special viewing stations and more for people with special needs.