Riverfront IIA officially opened on June 27, 2023! Pictured above Steve McDaniel, Director (far left), Mayor Tom Henry (in the middle) and the four Park Commissioners. Construction for IIB will be at least a year and a half.
Enjoy a few photos from IIA!
Mayor Henry Leads Riverfront IIB Groundbreaking Celebration
September 20, 2023 - Progress along Fort Wayne’s riverfront continues as Mayor Tom Henry today joined the City of Fort Wayne’s Community Development Division, Parks and Recreation Department, and community leaders for a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the start of construction on Riverfront Phase IIB Public Open Space. Read more....
The Parks History & Highlights link will be updated monthly with the latest Parks Showcase being released. If you would like to see a detailed list of each park with their amenities, check out the Park Page Linksor if you would like to see a detailed history through the years, check out the History of the Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation Department link.
IF you enjoy history, check out the More Than Just Fun and Games (1863-1975) video!
A picture from 1980 with Jerry Byanski and Larry Walter (retired employees) with a Landscape Designer from our sister city Takaoka, Japan showcasing the new Japanese Friendship Garden.
River Rangers (ages 5-12) are invited to an hour of fascinating outdoor learning of STEM on every Wednesday in June and July. Each program is FREE, however, space is limited to 30 children, so pre-registration is required. To register, please email your child’s name(s) and the class title to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Registration deadlines are the Monday prior to each date.
Weather Rangers
Weather Rangers
June 7, 10:00-11:00 a.m.
Become a Weather Ranger! We forecast a lesson on weather, meteorology, and extreme storms. Plus, there’s a 100% chance of games and weather experiments. Take home your experiments and earn a STEM badge.
Slime VS Oobleck
June 14, 10:00-11:00 a.m.
Get ready to get messy, River Rangers! We will be making and learning the different properties of slime and oobleck. Take home your experiment and earn a STEM badge.
Lego Day
June 21, 10:00-11:00 a.m.
Are you up for the Lego build challenge? River Rangers will be tasked to build various STEM projects with the blocks provided to understand the mechanics of each part. Challenge accepted? – Earn a STEM badge and take home the Legos.
Build a Boat
June 28, 10:00-11:00 a.m.
River Rangers will learn all that goes into what makes a boat, a boat! Come and join us for boat rides on the St. Mary’s River and a chance to build your own boat! Take home your experiment and earn a STEM badge.
The Life of a Butterfly
July 5, 10:00-11:00 a.m.
Join us for a chance to see what it is like to be a butterfly. During this, River Rangers will learn about the beautiful life cycle of a butterfly and different types of butterfly species! Take home your experiment and earn a STEM badge.
DIY Scratch Paper
July 12, 10:00-11:00 a.m.
River Rangers have the chance to make their own secret message for their peers to discover. Take home your experiments and earn a STEM badge.
Bug-Tastic
July 19, 10:00-11:00 a.m.
Discover the amazing world of bugs! Your adventure will include a bug hunt and crafting your own insect. Construct a bug hotel to earn a STEM badge
Moon Observing 101
July 26, 10:00-11:00 a.m.
River Rangers will learn all about moons. From types of moons, when the moon is visible, and other factors that play a role in what is visible to the human eye. Take home your moon observing sheets and earn a STEM badge.
Storytime at the Park
Park Foundation Pavilion Patio
Promenade Park, 202 W. Superior St.
Join the Allen County Public Library and Riverfront Fort Wayne on Wednesday mornings for fresh air, sunshine and children’s literature at Promenade Park. Most dates will be held under the awning of the Park Foundation Pavilion. No pre-registration is required.
Promenade Park, South Boat Dock 202 West Superior Street All Ages Welcome
Tours on Sweet Breeze will be offered again next spring!
Relax and enjoy a guided cruise on the Fort Wayne Rivers. Sweet Breeze, Fort Wayne’s authentic canal boat replica is offering 45, 60 and 90 minute tour lengths. This fully accessible tour will be a fun experience for everyone! Each tour provides an opportunity to learn something new about Fort Wayne through its riverfront.
Purchase tickets next SPRING!IF you prefer, you can purchase tickets via phone (260) 427-6000 or at 705 E. State Blvd., Fort Wayne, Indiana 46805.
Private Rental Cruises
Check out the information below on private rentals available in 2024!
The boat is handicap accessible with an accessible restroom on board
There is a ramp in the park down to the dock, a loading ramp to get on board the boat, and the boat chairs are easily removable
For wheelchair parking, on this map, the blue line is where the handicap parking spaces are, and the white line shows the path and walking distance from there down to the loading dock, and the green line represents where the boat will be.
Do you have additional questions? E-mail:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
A special thanks to Mark Jones, Friends of the Rivers, for this photo!
A Little Background Information:
Sweet Breeze was built by Scarano Boat Builders out of Albany, NY. It is flat-bottomed, aluminum hulled boat which is 54’ long, has a draft of 2.75’ and an air draft of 8.5’. The new build was modeled after 1840s canal boat, but in order to better fit our waterways, was scaled back to ¾ the size of the historic canal boats. It is powered by a single 55 HP Marine Diesel Volvo Penta engine. It was delivered by a lowboy trailer in January 2017, craned into the Maumee River on May 20th and christened on June 5th. The Sweet Breeze is wheelchair accessible.
A Brief History
Fort Wayne’s history is tied to canal boats and to the Wabash and Erie Canal. The Canal was a shipping canal that linked the Great Lakes to the Ohio River via an artificial waterway. The canal provided traders with access from the Great Lakes all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Over 478 miles long, it was the longest canal ever built in North America.The canal began operation in the summer of 1843, yet only operated for a decade before it became apparent that it was not economically viable. Even when the canal boats were operated at extremely slow speeds, the banks rapidly eroded, and the canal had to be constantly dredged to be operable. The last canal boat on the Wabash Canal made its last docking in 1874 in Huntington, Indiana. Sweet Breeze recreates the mystery and excitement of what was to be a new era of commerce and travel in the Midwest. Fort Wayne was the highest point on the canal (i.e. the summit), so Fort Wayne earned the name “Summit City”. Canal boats carried people and goods on our rivers and canals from 1843-1874 which was much faster than burdensome wagons. Drafts animals, usually mules, pulled long, narrow canal boats by a rope on a path next to the canal, called a towpath.
The Sweet Breeze Canal Boat is back on the St. Marys River! Step aboard and learn more about the upcoming season of general and specialty tours at the Season Kickoff Open House on Friday, May 26, from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Testimonials
Yesterday I had the pleasure to take the Sweet Breeze boat tour. Absolutely everyone involved from tickets to disembarking was a great representative of FTW Parks Dept. Mark also was a delight and knowledgeable of the history. It was a wonderful 90 minute boat ride. Thank you, Carolyn T.
Our thanks to you and your staff for your service to our Senior Saints and for your assistance in helping our Senior Saints with their wheel chair, walkers, canes, etc. on our tour of the rivers of Fort Wayne. Your staff, your docent, your captain and his assistants provided our Senior Saints, with our special needs, the assistance to enjoy the river tour. You and their service was above and beyond what we would have expected. Larry G.
Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation is offering Sweet Breeze Boat Tours through a partnership with Friends of the Rivers.
School Group Field Trips on Sweet Breeze
Friends of the Rivers will again be offering on-river school group field trips again in 2024 that meet Indiana DOE Standards for Social Studies (Indiana and Regional History) for grades 3, 4 & 5. All field trips are open for all abilities on our fully accessible boat.
The 45 minute field trips will again have a discounted cost of $5 per student underwritten by Friends of the Rivers. There is a minimum of 20 youth per tour. A maximum of three school staff are admitted free and any additional adults are charged the community tour rate.
AWS Foundation fully funds our Adaptive Education tours. Friends of the Rivers underwrites a limited number of field trips. Please call Amanda Black (427-5023) to reserve a discounted field trip for your school. If you prefer, you can e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Above is a video of Sweet Breeze being launched for the 2022 season. Purchase your tickets in the SPRING of 2024 to ride Fort Wayne's replica canal boat along our rivers.
Sweet Breeze ends the season! Sweet Breeze is pulled from the river to go to her winter home! We thank you for joining us on a tour this season.
