In 1895, Lakeview Park, the creation of the Middletown Street Railroad Co., opened its gates for summer picnics, vaudeville, baseball games, band concerts, amusements and of course swimming and boating. A large, covered stage in the middle of a pine grove provided entertainment from vaudeville acts to miscellaneous troupes. Acts entertained parkgoers daily with parachute jumps, high-diving exhibitions and minstrel shows.
These days, things have quieted down as Lakeview Park has long disappeared, except for the memories of the city's oldest residents. On the remote southern end of the lake is the Ron McCutcheon Park, run by the city's park and recreation department. It remains relatively undeveloped with baseball fields, picnic grottoes, horseshoe pits, a beach, boat launch and some great hiking trails. The park is named after the late Ronald McCutcheon, who was a veteran swimming instructor and was known as the overseer of Crystal Lake.