When you think of exciting RV camping locations, does Fort Wayne, Indiana come to mind? It should win a spot near the top of your list, because the things you’ll find to do with your family in Fort Wayne are the stuff of great vacation memories. To help you plan your trip, here are five ideas for creating a Fort Wayne adventure for the whole family:
Chain O’Lakes State Park, located just thirty miles north of Fort Wayne, features eight small fishing lakes and lots of outdoor adventure. You and the kids can hike the trails, canoe the waterways and fish the lakes for bass and bluegill. There’s also a nice campground that makes it easy for RV camping families to settle in for a comfortable stay.
Another delightful spot formed by rolling hills surrounding a tree-lined lake is Ouabache State Park, found about thirty miles south of Fort Wayne. Large and smallmouth bass, crappie and walleye are favorites with fishing fans on the park’s Kunkel Lake. Ride or hike the trails through the pines; this state park is scenic year-round. A large campground gives Fort Wayne area campers a reason to stretch out the vacation.
Like to combine family vacations with a little learning? The Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory, a lush spot in the heart of Fort Wayne, features both indoor and outdoor gardens for your RV camping crew to explore. The little ones will love the Discovery Gallery, where stories are read by volunteers and the trees can talk! Definitely a fun place to stop for nature-loving families.
And while you’re in Fort Wayne, look to the rivers for hiking and biking opportunities. The three rivers that flow through the city are lined by the Fort Wayne Rivergreenway. Twenty miles of joined trails run near historic sites like Johnny Appleseed’s gravesite and the historic Wells Street Bridge. Learn more and discover the trail right for you here.
One more place to take the kids for a day of history and fun is Historic Fort Wayne, located at the junction of the St. Marys, St. Joseph and Maumee Rivers. The original fort defended early settlers against tribes of Native Americans friendly to the British military. The replica fort now entertains and educates with re-enactments, special events and permanent exhibits on both early settlers and Native American tribes.
Doesn’t all this sound like the beginning of a memorable vacation? Plan to spend some time RV camping in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It’s an adventure the entire family will enjoy.
About the Author:
Joe Laing is the Marketing Director for El Monte RV Rentals. You can see more great RV vacation ideas in their Monty’s Musings RV Travel Blog and be sure to check out their RV Camping Pictures.
Kristen Guthrie is the Marketing Manager at Visit Fort Wayne, where she has the pleasure of sharing Fort Wayne with our potential visitors! She loves exploring downtown and taking her 5-year old son to the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo, where he knows more about the animals than she ever will!
I moved to town just over one year ago. A job that was too good to pass up lured me away from my hometown and Southern roots. Luckily, the job has exceeded my expectations and so has Fort Wayne. I am a Southern girl, happily transplanted to Northeast Indiana.
Weekends, when you are new in town, can be tough. The combination of not knowing anyone and lots of free time can result in misery. Luckily, it did not take me very long to discover that Fort Wayne has a lot of opportunities to do, learn, and have fun. In fact, a year later, I am still finding new and fun things in Fort Wayne. If you are new to Fort Wayne or if Fort Wayne is your hometown and you want a new perspective, here are two of this newbie’s favorite Fort Wayne things – parks and art.
One great benefit of miles and miles of flat land is that you can create parks. Everywhere. Fort Wayne has parks. Everywhere. Where I am from, the mountains of Southwest Virginia, parks are either located on narrow strips of land by the river or on the tops of mountains where mountain top strip mining has created flat usable land. The benefits of those types of parks is that you either have a nice cool shady place by the river or a beautiful view from the mountain top. But here, there is so much land that you can take an old farmstead and turn it into a working farm for a park or take a swath of land downtown and create a rose garden. Options abound. Fort Wayne’s many parks and recreation areas provide great choices for group or individual fun. If you are looking for a nice place to spend a Saturday morning or afternoon you will never have to look far for a park in Fort Wayne or Allen County.
Salomon Farm Park
Both Foster Park (on the city’s south side) and Salomon Farm Park (to the north) have fantastic walking trails that link to the Fort Wayne trail system and offer beautiful views. You may golf or walk by the river at Foster Park, while at Salomon Farm you can check out the summer farmer’s market or other farming activities that may be available throughout the year.
Lakeside Park and Rose Garden
All Fort Wayne parks are pretty, but none are quite as special as Lakeside Park. In the late spring and summer Lakeside Park’s rose garden comes alive with blooms and the sweet aromas. It is a nice little oasis in the midst of downtown. You can take a stroll through the flowers than sit by the lake and enjoy lunch or just take in the view. On occasion you might even get to witness a wedding in the rose garden!
Headwaters Park in the heart of downtown Fort Wayne is an essential spot for all newcomers. When you arrive in town, check out the Calendar of Events so that you can keep up with all the festivals and events at Headwaters Park. There are fun times to be had all summer long. You won’t want to miss GermanFest or Three Rivers Festival!
The best thing about Fort Wayne parks is that they are filled with Fort Wayne residents, whom you will find to be friendly and kind. This is a great way to get to know your community and have a big time.
It was a surprise to find that Fort Wayne has an active and interesting arts scene. No, it is not New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago, but interesting art is alive and well. Fort Wayne is home to many talented artists. If you are looking for handcrafted jewelry, sculpture, paintings, or mixed media, it is here. A good place to start is the Fort Wayne Museum of Art. It is lovely. The Museum hosts Thursday evening events in the gift shop and art openings regularly. Other galleries and festivals thrive in the area, including a monthly event called Last Saturday where local galleries and businesses downtown host art-related events. A must see gallery is The Orchard Gallery located in the Covington Plaza. You can find all kinds of treasures at The Orchard. It is worth a visit. Speaking of Covington, the Covington Art Fair in the Covington Plaza on Jefferson Boulevard is an eclectic collection of local, regional, and national artists. It is an awesome local art event. You can find everything from photography, paintings, and sculpture to jewelry made from recycled bowling balls. The arts scene in Fort Wayne is rich with talent, treasure, and interesting and kind people. To find out what is going on with local artists check out Artlink, Arts United, or the Downtown Improvement District calendars.
The best thing about being new in town is the excitement that comes with discovering all the new, fun things to do. In Fort Wayne there is enough to keep that excitement alive for a long time; in my case it is at a year and counting.
Whitney is a Southern girl. She is an attorney by trade and an administrator by birth who works at a local college. Whitney spends her free time adventuring with her border collie Scout and blogging at It is pretty - https://coalfieldstocornfields.wordpress.com.
The Salomon Farm Fiber Arts Celebration is one of the most unique family-friendly events in northeast Indiana. How often do you have a chance to step back in time to the simple farm life of the 1930’s and immerse yourself in the texture, colors and sounds of that era? The sweet aroma of flowers, hay, and freshly turned earth is like no other.
This two-day celebration, Friday May 18 and Saturday, May 19, is filled with entertainment and hands-on demonstrations designed to promote and preserve our heritage of natural fiber production and traditional textile art. Most of the activities are free. Others may require a small fee for materials. Here are a few of the highlights:
Shopping: yarn, looms, soaps, fleece teddy bears, hand-made products, fiber for spinners and felters, tanned lambshide throws and rugs, raw fleeces, blown goose eggs, decorated gourds, finger puppets, food and beverages, and much, much more.
Children love all of the live animals!
Live Animals: Huacaya alpacas, Lincoln Longwool and Suffolk sheep, Romney sheep ewe with her lambs, goats, donkeys, sheep and chickens!
Salomon Farm Park is located at 817 West Dupont Road. For more information about Salomon Farm and the Fiber Arts Celebration, visit www.fortwayneparks.org.
Natalie Eggeman is the Public Information Officer for the Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation Department. After working behind the scenes in TV news for 16 years, and spending six more years producing videos in the financial services industry, Natalie feels right at home around local media, or anyone carrying a video camera. She’s a perfect fit for Parks & Recreation because she loves staying active playing tennis and riding her bike on the Rivergreenway. For more information about Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation, visit www.fortwayneparks.org.
Are you looking for a fun night out on the town? Something you could do with the whole family or just the girls or that special someone? The movies are the perfect night out regardless of who you are going with, and Fort Wayne has six different movie theatres each with a little something different about them to meet your movie going needs!
The Regal Coldwater Crossing on Washington Center Road is a great place to get your favorite movie snack, bag of popcorn and kick back to catch the latest movie you have been wanting to see. Regal shows the most recent flicks and also shows 3D movies as well.
If you are looking to catch an independent film or something that might not come to larger theaters, be sure to check and see what is playing at Cinema Center. This theater is a not-for-profit film society that brings the best of independent, foreign, documentary, classic and specialty films that otherwise might not be shown in northeast Indiana. Looking for some thought provoking discussion on films? On the third Sunday of the month after the 2pm matinee, the Cinema Center Education Committee hosts an informal post movie conversation.
Three dollar movies can’t be beat at Starplex Cinemas Coventry 13! This theater does not feature the newest movies, but if you are willing to wait to see the popular flicks or want to watch your favorite again, you can catch them for more than half the price. Coventry 13 is a great place to take a large family or even take the kids and their friends for a movie birthday party.
One of the best parts of the experience of going to the movies is getting a big bag of popcorn to munch on throughout the showing. Typically, some extra buttery popcorn hits the spot, but if you are looking to expand your tastes in popcorn, go to Carmike Cinemas where they offer gourmet popcorn at the theater!
Dinner and a movie always make for a great date night so why not combine the two! Northwood Cinema Grill offers the latest movies with a great selection of food and a full wait staff to serve you while you enjoy the show.
Catch an IMAX movie at Rave!
There is nothing like seeing an action packed flick in the theaters, but have you ever felt like you are part of the movie? Rave Motion Pictures at Jefferson Pointe has an IMAX theater that does exactly that! IMAX is the ultimate movie experience. These theaters are specifically designed to deliver the world’s most immersive movie experience. IMAX theaters create the IMAX experience making audiences feel as if they are in the movie!
Rave Motion Pictures 4250 West Jefferson Boulevard
(260) 432-1732
Megan Adams is a senior at Huntington University and will be graduating with a degree in Public Relations in May. She is currently working as the Marketing Intern at Visit Fort Wayne and is enjoying getting to explore and learn more about the city. In her spare time, Megan loves working out, playing tennis, reading, shopping, and traveling.
Check out our amazing new video that showcases a great getaway in Fort Wayne, Indiana!
Spend a great day together in Fort Wayne, Indiana!
Kick off your day with a trip to Science Central, Indiana’s interactive science center. Have hands-on fun discovering the world around you!
After lunch, you’ll want to head to the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, where you can enjoy an African Safari (feed giraffes and get nose-to-nose with a lion!), take a trek through the Australian Outback and explore an Indonesian Rain Forest! In addition, you’ll enjoy rides in every part of the zoo!
And then its time to head downtown, to the Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory, where you can experience Tropical and Desert gardens in the heart of downtown Fort Wayne.
Of course, no matter when you come, there’s bound to be a special event or festival in store! Check out our Calendar of Events to see what’s going on when you’re in town!
And then finish your day at Parkview Field where you can enjoy watching the TinCaps play baseball at the “#1 Minor League Baseball Stadium in America!” With seats starting at just $5, it’s the perfect way to end a great day in Fort Wayne!
For more information, or to start planning your next getaway give us a call at 1-800-767-7752!
Kristen Guthrie is the Marketing Manager at Visit Fort Wayne, where she has the pleasure of sharing Fort Wayne with our potential visitors! She loves exploring downtown and taking her 5-year old son to the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo, where he knows more about the animals than she ever will!
