This is an amazing park tucked away in a small suburb of Lafayette. It sits right in front of the…read morezoo and spans 40 acres. It is relatively well maintained and clean. There is tons of parking available, spread out between a couple of lots and some street parking. The park has lots of shelters with picnic tables under them and a grill just outside of them. I would say there are at least 18 of them that are available to be rented. The park also has a couple of shuffle boards that you can play and a loose picnic tables scattered on the grounds. The park is home to an amazing playground that has just about everything you would want in a playground. It's only negative is that it is on a bed of wood chips. The area is pretty large and divided into different areas for recommended age groups. There is a wide mix of equipment here including traditional and toddler swings, a saucer swing, sit-n-spins, slides, expression swings, and a teen area with a jungle gym that has a suspended pebble bridge and monkey rings. There is a huge jungle gym that sits a top a hill in the area that has a bunch of slides and some monkey bars. The equipment seems to be in pretty good repair and looks great, even though it is a bit older. You will find a share a book kiosk and a glider swing in the area as well. The park features a train depot that sits right across from the zoo entrance and it has an operational train that goes around the park. It was not running while I was there because it was out of season. I really liked the park's man-made lagoon that winds through it. It very picturesque and calming. It adds a nice touch to the park. They have a little pier on the lake where they do paddle boat rentals, in season. You will see little amphitheater at the park. It seems relatively new and is very nice. it has seating and a scenic little plaza area with picnic tables that over look the park's lagoon. There is also a trail, the Columbian Trail, that weaves in and around Columbian Park. It is well paved and has a very scenic view. What sets this park apart though is its veterans area. They have a large area, the Memorial Plaza, located along the water dedicated to memorials to veterans. They have the United Spanish War Memorial, Gold Star Family Memorial, Medal of Honor Memorial, Purple Heart Memorial, and the Vietnam Memorial. There is also a bunch of flag waving from flags poles over there and a Howitzer gun on display. You will also see the Tippecanoe County Veterans Memorial, which is the oldest memorial in the park, dating back to 1949. I did not see a bathroom facility dedicated to the park, but I was able to use the one attached to the Zoo's entrance. It was very nice and well maintained. Also located on the water is the Rush Pavilion which serves as a clubhouse that can be rented for special events. It can hold up to 50 people and includes access to a full service kitchen. The wrap around porch can hold an additional 100 people. This is a destination park that you can easily spend a half of day without even going to the zoo or amphitheater. It has everything that I look for in a park and more. It is very picturesque and I really enjoyed my time there. I also like, that they included salutes to veterans in their planning. I highly recommend checking this place out. It checks off all the boxes and will not disappoint.

Im actually sad this park is not closer to home for me. We enjoyed walking around the lake. They…read morehave paddle boats, an amphitheater, lots of picnic shelters and grills, and a small train. Plus playground equipment, a beautiful banquet hall, and a small zoo. My favorite part was the swinging benches. I'd be there all the time if I lived by this park.

Wolf Park is a wolf sanctuary where people are educated about wolves and taught to be respectful of…read morethese magnificent creatures. You can go out in groups to explore the land and you might get lucky enough to actually see a wolf in the wild. There are lots of fun things to buy in the gift shop. There are plenty of great picture opportunities in the park. If you love nature or wolves this is a great place to check out.

My partner and I went to the wolf park for a guided tour and had a great experience! The park is…read morebeautiful and the animals are so well cared for and enriched. Our tour guide was Katie, she was awesome! Super knowledgeable and friendly with a very genuine passion for the animals. 10/10, would recommend, would go again!

Grounds are very clean. Campground Hosts are quite good at making guests feel less than welcome…read more We are 2 highly educated professionals who had 2 highly educated and productive friends come to eat dinner one of our 3 nights here. Staff (hosts, in particular) couldn't have been much more deplorable to us about it. We understand the policy, but there's a common decency to enforcing it in one's volunteer role (wearing a DNR hat). We're not loud. We respect other people, nature, and the place. Yet, there's 40' pushers with a jeep and 2 motorcycles who apparently don't have to abide by the same rules. When our guests did leave, the hosts thanked them for leaving loudly as they drove by. The campground was more than half empty, mind you. Sadly, we will think twice about returning if there are other options. If management values people coming here to camp on their vacation time, a close inspection of customer service might be a great way to approach that goal.

We came to Prophetstown State Park in the hope of continuing our Battle of Tippicanoe experience…read more I had assumed that there would be some historical memorial to the Indian settlement that had once been here - unfortunately other than a very small recreated Indian village there was nothing. This was extremely disappointing and it certainly isn't worth the entry free to just see the three mock Indiana buildings they have here. Assuming however that you agent coming here to see Indian related memorials, then this park is very cool. There are trails to hike - a working farm to visit - playgrounds to play in. Whatever you would normally expect in a State Park. So like anything else - do your research before arriving. I unfortunately did not.

This is one of my favorite parks in the area! The park is beautifully landscaped and has multiple…read moresport activities available (3 baseball diamonds, a basketball court, and five tennis courts.) There is a hiking trail (2/3 mile) that loops a photo worthy lake with a fountain and numerous gardens lining the shores. There is also a small playground south of the sports complex that is a little distant, but keeps the little ones from any disturbance from the ball games. In the middle is a central building for concessions and restrooms. Near that is a rentable shelter. Oh, and though I didn't get a photo, there is a swimming pool on the west end of the complex, but I don't believe that entrance connects to the central part of the park. Review #1071

Nice community park with 3 baseball diamonds, concession stand, tennis and basketball courts,…read moreplayground, pond with walking trail, and swimming pool. I really like the park but docking a star for parking - it gets tight with multiple events ongoing.

I visited a couple of parks during a recent work trip to Lafayette. I was in the area of Greenbush…read moreStreet and found two parks a couple miles apart. By far, this one was preferred. Munger Park is a 32-acre park developed on land donated by Cinergy-PSI. It is named after Thomas and Alice Munger, whose $100,000 donation made development possible. The park was dedicated in 1997. The trail, which I found very accessible, offers lots of open space for frisbee play. The trail goes around the pond and fishing is permitted (state regs apply). Munger Park participates in Indiana DNR's urban fishing program called FishIN in the City. The shelter is located next to the asphalt parking lot off of Greenbush Street. As Ken N. notes in his review, if you want the playground, enter at the south entrance; the north entrance offers the shelter, lake, and hiking. You can easily access all of it without moving the car if you're able to walk/roll, etc. about one mile. The shelter is available for rent each day of the week. You can reserve online, though be aware reservations are non-refundable. This is a really attractive park. It's relaxing, well cared for, and offers great views and easy ways to enjoy the area and take a stroll. The park also has benches to relax along the way. I'd easily return on future trips. This may be more of a 4-star, however, I liked it enough that I'm sticking with the 5-star rating.

Munger Park has two entrances: One on Greenbush and the other on Union...that's a mile away! So,…read moreif you want to go to the playground, go to the south entrance. If you want to use a shelter, see a lake, and do some hiking, go to the north entrance. Otherwise, you can count on a long walk to get from one side to the other! The park has really nice landscaping on both ends and access to the same trails. Both ends have parking lots on site as well. The playground is pretty standard with swings, climbing and sliding pieces. There is also a fitness station near the playground also. Review #1075

This natural area is a great hidden gem in the Lafayette area. Located on the banks of the Wildcat…read moreCreek, this place has a good amount of trails to keep you busy for an afternoon hike. The trails are maintained very well and there is clear markers of where each trial goes. There is also some really good elevation changes that are approachable for everyone. The NICHS group that maintains the area does an excellent job keeping everything tidy. Being a natural area, many of the plant types and trees types are marked as well as the different geological features of the area.

One of the hidden gems of the Lafayette area, and it has only gotten better over time. Sometimes I…read moremiss the small check-in house with the doggy bags, but the modern updates are really wonderful. Great for a little hike or a short run around the main loop.

Southwest of Lafayette is the new town of Shadeland (it still has a Lafayette mailing address…read morethough). The folks who live there have a fairly new park that has a combination of sports and playground equipment for kids to use. There is a nice parking lot on the southwest corner. To the east is a fair sized shelter with a picnic table and a grill. Down the hill to the north are a basketball court and a baseball field. Between the basketball and the parking lot is a bright and unique playground. There are lots of large animal shapes and even a few dinosaurs for kids to climb on. The rest of the equipment serves the same function of lots of other playground equipment in other parks, but these pieces look unique and might make for a little bit more excitement from kids given the chance to play here. The negative is that there is very limited shade outside of the shelter probably due to the park being so new. Maybe they should plant a few trees around the playground to solve that problem down the road. Review #1070

Pickett Memorial Park is one of my favorite parks in West Lafayette. The park, though small,…read morecurrently has six public art sculptures, three picnic areas, and a small parking lot (hopefully, construction on Stadium will restore driving access soon!) There are a few trees for shade, but mostly, the park is away from the bustle of campus and provides a relaxing spot to enjoy fresh air and some interesting art, several with Hoosier ties. The park is named for a Purdue student who died in a hiking accident. His parents wanted to honor his love of the outdoors by donating funds for the park. The art pieces included the following: Kaikoo VI by Betty Gold (the red metallic one) Limits by Joey Manson (the light blue one) Man and Technology by Don Lawler (the limestone hand) Sycamore Arch by Ken Thompson (limestone arch) Zig by Ken Thompson (a blocky rust brown sculpture) and an untitled piece that looks like an elevated oblong shape with vertical rows wrapped by horizontal rows on the top. Review #1136