prophetstown state park

A visit to a working farm, bike trails in open prairie land and an abundance of birds. Also a very nice campground and pool.

This is a great place to stay. The campground is very roomy and easy to get around. The splash park is a hit with the kids. This is a must stay if you are in the area. Great campground.

We made a special trip to Prophetstown after seeing the working farm, Indian village and restored prairie advertised by the Indiana Natural Resources Department on line and in various tourist publications. Unfortunately, the farm was closed due to financial problems. We wandered through the house and took a look at the empty barn and pastures. It is unprofessional and unfair of the Indiana NRD not to alert visitors to the closure of the farm. The Indian village had a few interpretive signs and was unimpressive. The restored prairie had no interpretation what so ever. There is a greenhouse behind the visitor center but no tours. Very disappointing.

We made the trip to Prophetstown specifically to see the working farm. We paid our $8 entry and drove into the park only to find that the working farm is apparently bankrupt and no longer open. There was no mention of this on their website or when we paid to enter. The attendant was very nice and did give us our money back, but we never would have wasted our time if it had shown on the website that this feature was closed.

We hadn't been to see this park since it opened the camping area years ago. They have expanded it to include a working farm, Indian village, and lovely aquatics center. We only drove around, but there are nice asphalt walking/biking trails and roads to the different areas. The camping area was originally designed for camper parking/use only. We couldn't get to that to see if it had changed or not. They do have facilities to fill your water supply and dispose of your waste water.

1. Water park was closed two days after we got there (except for weekends). We arrived on Saturday and left Thursday. So we spent one rainy afternoon there. 2. The "working" farm wasn't working. No one there to even talk to and ask. Kids were so disappointed. Inside of the house was gross with moldy coffee grounds and filth on table. Finally found someone on the day before we were leaving in a barn and they couldn't be bothered with us. We did get to pet the barn cat. Lame. 3. There is not much exciting to do in central Indiana unless you want to drive a couple of hours. We found the Columbian Park Zoo in Lafayette which is nice but then went to downtown Lafayette and found next to nothing to do. A lot of it is closed down. Went to Wolf Park and it is overpriced. Went to Delphi hoping for a canal boat ride but they only run on weekends.

We are BIG fans of this state park. It has never been busy when we visit. We try to go on a weekday. We take a picnic and there are fantastic shelters or tables right in the middle of the play areas. We take 5 kids ranging from 2-8. Once we finish our picnic we can just let them play. I am a big fan of finding places where we do not have to constantly tell them "NO!" Next, we go to the aquatic park to cool down and have fun. We really enjoy ourselves. If you are looking for a swimming pool this is not the place for you. But they have a great area for small children, a lazy river, slides and water basketball. Lots of seating and umbrellas. Once again we purposely go on a weekday so it is not crowded. We usually visit the concession during the mandatory get out of the water time...but just for an ice cream or Italian Ice. So I have no review on food because we are not there to eat. They do have lifejackets and very spacious and clean restrooms/changing areas. We have visited the little working farm. It is nice but not someplace you will spend a lot of time. Our small kids enjoy it but farm life is nothing new to them! The trails are very nice. We can even take my wheelchair bound father and strollers on them. If you are interested in spending time and having a relaxing "no" free space are to be with family. I recommend! If you require a lot of thrills and need to purchase food/entertainment it may not be for you.

Took 3 teens, 1st grader, grama, 30 year old and 44 year old and all had a great afternoon here. Price is great. Pool area cl e's an and so well landscaped. Of course big coolers not allowed so bring your own easy snacks and when kids start whining tell them it's time to leave! No need for concession stand hassels. Lazy river was fun for all. Slides good and staff super positive and helpful. Fun activities for all. We would recommend and go back.

We felt sorely let down by Historic Prophetstown Regional Park. The horse power farm was deserted. No one was around, not even in the gift shop that had a sign that read Open Closed. We saw 6 lovely draft horses but there was no information about them or the other livestock. The house was not open. The Native American village was even more disappointing as it consisted of two bare bent willow structures with no information and several modern buildings. Again no one was around and there was nothing to help us make sense of the structures. Were they summer dwellings and hence no coverings or just being built? We paid $8.00 for admission and received a rudimentary map but didn't know enough to ask detailed questions of the gate keeper. The water park looked ok but we didn't get out of the car to investigate as we'd gone for the history.

We visited this park during a 4 day 3 night camping trip during our first ever visit here. I was pleasantly surprised and extremely pleased with this park. It is small compared to other parks, however we were busy the entire trip. Let me break down various aspects: Aquatic Center - 5*** - Fun, Fun, Fun! $3.00 per person or you can use your pool passes ( we buy passes as its $50 x 25 entries & never expire. You Can use at any IN state park pool. Tip - wait and go after 3:00 as crowds will thin out and if you stay till 5:00 or later will have pool practically to yourself. Pool open until 7:00.Paved bike/walk trail - WOW AWESOME! 5**** attraction in park! The park is mostly flat, trail is wide and great for good family bike rides! Campgrounds - 5**** - we stayed at full hookup site, so nice! We had large site,165, it was full Sun, but had huge grass area to play in, so nice trade off. Park is full of Birds...they are EVERYWHERE, so if you are a birder, this is a park to visit. Electric sites are out in open and full Sun and are not as nice as the full hookup sites. Nice shower house, clean, very hot water. Huge playground for kids.Hiking -2** - this park does not have great hiking, only 4 trails and only 1 really that hikes through woods. Although we love to hike we enjoyed other aspects of the park this trip and didn't let it dampen our experience.Playgrounds - this park has several nice BIG playground areas /picnic areas for family enjoyment. Even if you don't camp, pack a picnic, find a playground that has picnic tables, enjoy lunch while kids play, then take in the Aquatic Center.

Prophetstown State Park is located near Lafayette, Indiana. It is the location of the Indian village of the same name that was connected to the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. (The battle field is located close by.) It is one of Indiana's newest state parks. Its newness is apparent. Facilities and infrastructure have a fresh look. The aquatic center is only about a year old. It has a pool and water slides. It also encompasses Historic Prophetstown, a functioning small-scale, horse-powered, sustainable farm. The park's property is still being developed; the plan is to transform 2/3 of the park into tall grass prairie with other native plants. Picnic areas are very pleasing. The park has a nice campground: 110 sites, half are fully electric. A comfort station is available. The park has five trails (including one through Historic Prophetstown museum) and a bike/hiking trail. Most of the trails follow open rolling grasslands but a couple trails take the visitor along the Wabash and Tippecanoe Rivers. We enjoyed our visit very much. The facilities were excellent. The only drawback is the lack of a camp store. This state park would be a very good place to visit and explore for a day trip or for a few days while camping. Also located nearby are Purdue University, the Tippecanoe Battle Field and Museum, and Lafayette Courthouse, Tippecanoe County Historical Association, a restored section of the Wabash and Erie Canal in Delphi, and Fort Ouiatenon.

We are locals and purchased a 50 visit pass. What a mistake. I have 10 visits left, and I don't cars to return. First, you cannot take coolers into the water park. I can understand a rule about glass containers, but to completely ban coolers is ludicrous. Next, we were forced to purchase meals from the concession stand. OMG we waited in a short line for over 45 minutes. The staff is completely incompetent. I had to repeat my order over and over. When our food was ready it was I edible. The hot dogs and hamburgers were ice cold. They didn't eve try heating them in the microwave. We watched them pour nacho cheese from a large can into a bowl, then scoop the cold cheese onto cold chips. They overcharged us as we'll. upon complaining to management we were told that the state outsources the concessions to a private firm. Whoever hired this company should be fired. We will never return. I'll eat the unused tickets.

Visited park this weekend with my grandson's and must say even the 2 & 4 year olds got bored fast. In the farm area we found a barn, a house and a couple of sheds. Animals consisted of a few horses a couple of cows and chickens. Also a few barn cats. The two workers we did see there were eating and never spoke to us. We were just left to walk around and try to figure out was going on and what we were suppose to look at. Drove down the road through a grassy prairie to the visitors center. The only thing at visitors center was a few turtles a snake and a handful of stuffed animals. When we asked how to get to the Native American village we were to we had to WALK across a busy highway to a grass path. Not interested with a 2 & 4 yr. old. After driving further through the prairie we found shelters and a playground. Then we were at the end of the road. DONE!! They do have an aquatic center and lots of paths to bicycle. Basically we spent $5.00 to drive through grass. Kind of pretty but that's it.

Love this place large sites with full hook up. Sites are private level and continues to be top on our list

We visited Prophetstown State Park in 2011 and really enjoyed it. When we returned this year, we were really impressed with the improvements that have been made. This park has nice bicycle trails that go nearly everywhere that you want to go. The only complaint there is that the trail stops just short of the drive to the historical farm, requiring you to ride on the road for the last quarter mile or so. From what we experienced though, everyone seemed to be driving reasonably. The relatively flat terrain makes bicycle riding more enjoyable too!The historical farm is great. You can help with the farm chores by milking a cow, gathering eggs or feeding the horses at set times each day. The staff there is extremely patient in allowing this and take time to answer questions for all of us and explain why they do what they do. There's also an Indian village there that there are sometimes programs at which explain the cultural history of this area.The nature center appears to be growing, but the interpretive staff was second to none. Naturalist Angie did an excellent job helping the kids work the nature circle puzzle towards a Discover Patch and explained the different things within the puzzle, quizzing the kids along the way. A new aquatic center was added in 2013, but it was closed when we just visited in mid-October.Camping - The campground is nice. The sites are all fairly level, outlined in timbers with a nice chat surface. A fire ring with a concrete bottom was found clean. The full hookup (100 series )sites with water, electric, and sewer are the nicer sites. They have trees which provide some shade and more privacy, however the shower house is a further walk. The 200 series sites are electric only. The shower house is located in the middle of the electric only sites and there is a water spigot every few sites on the inside of the loop, near the road to top off with. The drawback to the 200-series sites is that there's little privacy and no windbreak. The sites can be a little tricky to back into since they're outlined in timbers and have stones on each side to keep you off the grass. There are some pull-through sites available in the full hookup area if that's usually a problem for you.We're very pleased and really enjoyed this park again and intend to return again fairly soon, even though it's a four hour drive for us. I hope that Indiana DNR uses this park's family friendly bicycle trail system as a model for the rest of Indiana's State Parks.