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Directions
This trip will take approximately 1.5 hours. *Please remember the time difference Take I-74 East until you get to Waynestown, Indiana, exit 25 (73 miles) Take IN-25 North to Northwestern Avenue (West Lafayette, IN) (20 miles) [/one_half] [one_half_last][/one_half_last]
What You’ll Need
An extra pair of clothes or swimsuit Towel Bug Spray Camera Cost Food costs Wolf Park, $6 for children, $8 for adults (See fee schedule here) When you return to the place where you grew up after living somewhere else for 13 years, it’s amazing to see how a place change grow and change. There is so much about Lafayette that is foreign to me now, but if you are looking for a family friendly day trip that includes great food, animals, hiking and historical educational opportunities, then Lafayette is a great place to visit.
Fountains at Purdue University
We started the morning off at Purdue University where there are two giant fountains that kids love to play in during the summer months. When my kids were little, we would put them in their swimsuits to play in the water. Now that my kids are older (almost all teenagers) we just let them run around in their clothes. 
No matter what your age, the Purdue Fountains never get old. Ranked as the #3 fountain on college campuses by Complex.com, the Purdue Engineering Fountain is a great place to study, read or get soaked. When I was a teenager, the Engineering Fountain did not have a tube over the spout. This happened when I was in college. We used to sit on the fountain grate, and when the water turned on, it’d lift our bodies off the ground. 
My kids enjoy the Engineering Fountain, but their favorite fountain to play in is located by the Liberal Arts Building. With several spouts of rushing water meeting in the middle, they enjoy seeing how long they can hug the stone statue in the middle or skipping around the outskirts. Honestly, they’d spend all day here. But we had more to show you.
Lafayette Brewing Company
After lots of laughs and giggles in the fountains, we headed to downtown Lafayette and visited our favorite brewery in Tippecanoe County, the Lafayette Brewing Company. I don’t remember, but my husband said we met here during a Gus Macker Tournament. The Lafayette Brewing Company has a very laid back environment, so it is important that you bring your patience and have a little bit of time to eat. But you won’t be disappointed. Whether you’re looking for homemade beer, fried food or a light sandwich, the Lafayette Brewing Company has something for everyone. After we graduated from Purdue in 2002, they also renovated the upstairs. We have not been in this part of the restaurant, but they have live music and events up there. 
If you visit, we suggest Scotch Eggs, Onion Rings and the California BLT.
If you are in Lafayette during the winter months, be sure to stop by McCords Candies in downtown Lafayette for homemade candy canes. The ice rink just outside of Purdue’s campus is also open throughout the winter.
Columbian Park Zoo and Park
The recent renovations (over the last decade) of Columbian Park have made this 40-acre park one of my favorite places to take the kids. Back in the day, Columbian Park had a playground, but it was mostly known as a place where you could hop on a carnival ride, watch Little League baseball in the Loeb Stadium or see a few lemurs hanging around. Loeb Stadium still stands, but Columbian Park now hosts an amazing children’s zoo and great playgrounds for babies to teenagers. Around the outskirts of the park are many multipurpose paths that are suitable for any age. And a small train runs throughout the park.
About a decade ago, the city installed Castaway Bay, a family-friendly pool with a beach-like entry, basketball, a lazy river and slides. They also renovated Columbian Park Zoo to a beautiful free zoo that features wallabies, a butterfly garden, a petting zoo, prairie dogs, monkeys and more. You could easily spend all day at Columbian Park with Frozen Custard and Arni’s Pizza right outside the park.
Happy Hollow Park
Another great spot to spend time with your family is Happy Hollow Park in West Lafayette. Known for its playground, family-sized picnic shelters and hiking, 81- acre Happy Hollow Park has a little bit of something for everyone. The multipurpose paved paths are easy to locate, but walking in the creek bed when it’s dry or finding some hidden trails located along the edge of the woods will provide for some unexpected finds.
Historical Sites in Tippecanoe County
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Bruno’s Pizza
After all the hiking and playing, you’re probably going to be hungry again. We suggest Bruno’s Swiss Inn located on the Levee in West Lafayette. Here you will find Bruno Dough, which is fried pizza dough rolled in butter and parmesan cheese. This has been a family favorite for many, many years. We also really enjoy Bruno’s pizza. Usually, we get one sausage and one pepperoni, but this time we tried Evelyn’s Margherita and Bruno’s Meat. Both were very good. As you can see from their menu, this restaurant has much more than pizza. It’s definitely a local favorite! *They do not open until 4 p.m., though.
Wolf Park
One of the best kept secrets in Tippecanoe County is Wolf Park, located just north of the city in Battle Ground, IN.
My husband visited wolf park as a kid, but I had not been there before Friday, although I knew it was there when I lived in Lafayette.
Wolf Park was formed almost 40 years ago when Dr. Klinghammer brought two wolves from the Brookfield Zoo to study their behaviors. The following year, grey wolves were placed under federal protections by the Endangered Species Act.
Now the park’s staff works to both study the ecological effects and social behaviors of the wolf population throughout the year. And from May to October, they open their doors to educate the public on how wolves relate to each other, to other animals and to humans through guided tours of the facility and howl nights on Friday and Saturday.
Not knowing much about wolf (except I should probably be scared of them), we went to the howl night, which was both enlightening and fun. We enjoyed listening to Monte talk about who wolves are and how the staff interacts with them during their time at wolf park.
It was also interesting to learn about their endangered status, how they were reintroduced to North America and how the government and society almost works against the wolf population.
But most of all, we really enjoyed seeing the wolf up close. Of course they were behind a fence, but the two brothers and sister played with each other and were happy to greet the staff as they came into the enclosure with them. The crowd was asked to howl, and in return two packs of wolves howled back at us.
The program lasted about an hour, but we stuck around for a little bit to see some rescued foxes and 17 bison, which are also on the property.
