{"id":94,"date":"2020-04-05T12:26:50","date_gmt":"2020-04-05T12:26:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/?p=94"},"modified":"2020-03-20T01:39:08","modified_gmt":"2020-03-20T01:39:08","slug":"the-best-picnic-spots-in-the-lafayette-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/the-best-picnic-spots-in-the-lafayette-area\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Picnic Spots in the Lafayette Area"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Greater<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Any of you have cabin\nfever? We\u2019ve actually had a fairly mild winter, but my family is certainly\nready to get out in the fresh air! This is even more true with the isolation\nwe\u2019re all doing right now and the extended break from school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s really hard to\nthink of things you can do with your kids while still being safe, but going on\na family picnic is one of the things you can do! (As long as you\u2019re not meeting\nup with other people.) Getting outside in the spring air is truly one of the\nbest things we can do for ourselves and for our kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s something\nsweet about packing a cooler full of your favorite finger foods and heading outdoors!\nWhat\u2019s the best place to enjoy a picnic in Tippecanoe County? Well,\nhere are a few of our family\u2019s favorites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fort Quiatenon in\nWest Lafayette<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to\nWikipedia, \u201cThe name ‘Ouiatenon<\/a>‘ is a French rendering of the name in the Wea<\/a> language, waayaahtanonki<\/em>, meaning ‘place of the\nwhirlpool’.” The landmark log blockhouse at the fort, which was built in\n1717, was used as a French trading post on the Wabash River. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nhouse is now an archaeological site on the National Register of Historical\nPlaces. This is a lovely place to watch the river flow by, throw a frisbee, or\nread some great local history! (Warning: Don\u2019t go for a\nquiet picnic during high water OR the Feast of the Hunters\u2019 Moon<\/a>. Also, don\u2019t miss The Feast of the Hunters\u2019\nMoon.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happy Hollow Hill<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you haven\u2019t been to\nthe crown jewel of the West Lafayette Parks & Recreation system, you\u2019re\nmissing out. This 81-acre park just got a massive facelift, including more\npaved walking paths and all-new playground equipment. The kids love going to\nplay here. I love all of the shade; it makes going outside bearable even during\nthe summer months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when it comes to\npicnicking, you have to drive past all of that and find the old tobogganing\nhill. Climb to the top and enjoy the view overlooking the old Happy Hollow\nSchool (and current city hall.) In the summer, you can watch all the fun being\nhad at the old Kingston Pool!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slayter Center<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Known for its musical\nevents and lawn movies, Slayter\nCenter<\/a> is an outdoor amphitheater on the campus of\nPurdue University. Up to 20,000 people can fit on the center\u2019s gently sloping\nhillside! When it\u2019s not in use for the Fourth of July Stars & Stripes\nConcert or another fresh-air event, Slayter is a great place to kick back,\nenjoy a sandwich, and maybe sneak in an afternoon nap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ross Hills Park<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This 169-acre\npark<\/a> is located about 10 miles out South River\nRoad from the State Street and River Road intersection in West Lafayette. Once\nthere, you\u2019ll find the restored David Ross House (David Ross was a prominent\nfigure in our area in the 1920s through the 1940s), a few picnic shelters\nwith adjoining volleyball courts, wooded picnic sites and hiking\ntrails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prophetstown State\nPark<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Indiana\u2019s newest state\npark sits where the Tippecanoe River meets the Wabash near the town of Battle\nGround. The open, prairie-like setting offers wide biking and jogging trails,\nseveral play structures, an awesome outdoor water park and many hiking trails.\nIt\u2019s easy to think about what life used to be like in this area when you\u2019re\nhanging out at Prophetstown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One downfall of this\npicnic spot is that unlike many other locations on our list, you have to pay to\nget in (it\u2019s $8 per vehicle, or you can buy a pass for $50). A few of the\ntrails can flood pretty badly, but The Farm at Prophetstown is a fun place to\nexplore! There are several covered, picnic areas, too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Riehle Plaza &\nJohn T. Myers Pedestrian Bridge<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Heading to downtown\nLafayette? Check out the happenings at Riehle Plaza and the John T. Myers\nPedestrian Bridge! Our kids love running up and down the stairs, and patiently\nwaiting to watch a train roll by! Picnic tables on the bridge allow\nfor unsheltered picnicking, too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cumberland Park<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Cumberland Park has\nalways been one of our favorite spots. It has some a lovely walking trail and\nriver, and it used to have a playground and picnic spots. However, that was\ntaken down to make way for the new West Lafayette Wellness and Aquatic Center,\nwhich is expected to be completed by next January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I suspect that once\nconstruction is completed, this area will once again be a lovely place to\npicnic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Celery Bog<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Nestled off of\nLindberg Road in West Lafayette is the Celery Bog Nature Area. Along with 4.3\nmiles of paved trails and 2.5 miles of natural paths, you can enjoy the Lilly\nNature Center<\/a>, where you\u2019ll find\nexhibits and educational activities, as well as nature-related programs (hours\nvary). It\u2019s a fun place to take the kids either before or after a small hike\nand picnic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bog is open from\ndawn to dusk with no admission charge. It can give you as many hours as you\nwant of exploring fun! I think my kids could stay here all day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Loeb Fountain<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On those especially\nwarm summer days, you\u2019ll find us at Loeb\nFountain<\/a> on the Purdue campus.\nIt\u2019s the centerpiece of the Founder\u2019s Park project and is activated from April\nto October. The tiered fountain spits out 2200 gallons of water per minute! If\nyou decide to stop and picnic here, don\u2019t forget your suit! (Also,\nyou might have to be OK with your food getting a tad wet.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who\u2019s ready to get\noutside? (Probably all of us.) Now, what to pack in that cooler\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here are the best picnic spots in greater Lafayette!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":95,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-local-trips","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/picnics-in-greater-lafayette.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94\/revisions\/97"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}