1. Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo
If you live in or near Fort Wayne, IN I highly recommend purchasing a Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo Member Zoo Pass. It will not disappoint. There’s a lot to do with the kids or just enjoy a place to spend the afternoon. With an Australian Outback, Indonesian Rainforest, Monkey Island, Family, African Journey, and much more there’s something everyone will enjoy. You can feed the giraffes for only $1 or ride a ride such as the Crocodile Creek Adventure Ride, train, carousel, ride ponies, feed stingrays and goats, or take a Sky Safari Ride.
Visit their website: kidszoo.org
2. Visit a Park:
Allen County, IN has a plethora of wonderful parks, splash pads, and trails. Check out Fort Wayne Parks for a full list of parks, programs, and up to date activities. Our favorite park is Kreager Park complete with multiple playgrounds, splash pad, courts/fields of all types, and pathways located near a river greenway. A new popular park is Promenade Park that has outdoor ping pong, foosball, a playground, corn hole, splash area, large bench swings, kayak/paddle board rentals, and stunning views of the river or city. You could easily spend a large portion of your day at either of these parks, but there are many more to explore.
3. ART:
Fort Wayne boasts an impressive community of artists. There’s numerous building, museums, sculptures, statues, and murals especially downtown dedicated to the arts. You could visit the impressive collections of the Fort Wayne Museum of Art or just take a walk downtown. Fort Wayne also has a large following for our Fort Wayne ROCKS! Facebook Page. You can find intricately painted rocks just about anywhere you go. Keep an eye out or join in on the fun.
Check Out Fort Wayne ROCKS Facebook Group Here: Fort Wayne Rocks
Artlink Gallery, Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Art this Way
4. Science Central
While the building itself boasts a long wonderful glimmer of Fort Wayne history, Science Central has been around for decades. There are still a lot of hands on activities for kids but I will admit it is due for an update. It would be great to see this place gleaming with a cosmetic upgrade, more modern science, and new exhibits. There’s a lot of potential in this space. Our kids still loved it. There were electrical play spaces, outer space exploration, anatomy stations, optical illusions, an animal center, water tables, tornado simulators among lots more. Not to mention the price was great. Certified teachers get in free and there’s a discount on the last Saturday of the month for all admissions.
Visit their website here to find out more: sciencecentral.org
5. Shopping
Top shopping highlights like Glenbrook Square Mall (indoor) and (outdoor) Jefferson Pointe are not the only place to spend lots of time shopping in Fort Wayne. There are numerous shopping centers, big box stores (Target, Walmart, Meijer, Kroger, Kohls just to name a few), thrift shops, antique stores, outlets, and local businesses who make it easy to want to support their unique finds and charm.
6. The Old Fort
If you love history be sure to visit The Old Fort. Check their website for scheduled events, re-enactments, tours, and more. We got to check this out on a local treasure hunt. There’s a pathway always open to look in on the exterior buildings. It’s close to downtown, near parks, as well as the river, has statues nearby, and is connected to trails of you want to plan a day outdoors. Bring your walking shoes.
Learn more about the Old Fort at their website: https://oldfortwayne.org
7. Festivals:
There are ample festivals in Fort Wayne year round. Highlights include The Three Rivers Festival and my personal favorite The Johnny Appleseed Festival. You expect to have a wide variety of foods like your classic caramel apples, anything deep fried, to ribs. There’s entertainment for adults and kids alike.
Check out other festivals here: Festivals | Current Fort Wayne (visitfortwayne.com)
8. Explore the Rivers:
There’s fishing, kayaking, paddle boarding, or just site seeing the rivers were meant to be explored. Local colleges, businesses, and parks have really embraced the riverfronts across the city. You’ll have no trouble finding a trail to walk or bike. Check out the paths along the river greenway in the Kreager Park area, around Promenade Park, near the Coliseum at Johnny Appleseed Park.
9. Tin Caps Baseball
Such a fantastic ball park! Catch a game, stop by for a walk, or checkout their event list. Parkview Field has so much to offer than just baseball. The tickets are priced great, the location is in the heart of the city, the entertainment delights, and how about those after game fireworks shows?
Check their website here to plan your next visit: www.parkviewfield.com
10. Try the Food
Fort Wayne has an abundance of food options. Whether you’re looking for a popular chain restaurant, fine dining, fast food, food trucks, or local favorite you’ll find almost too many things to choose from. We’ve been living in Fort Wayne for about a decade and have not come anywhere near trying all the places to eat in Fort Wayne. Not to mention, as a city we attract more and more new restaurants to try every year. If you enjoy going out to dinner or ordering in you’ve come to the right place.
Join the group of over 36,000 members FW2GO on Facebook to stay in the know about the best local cuisine and food services Fort Wayne, IN has to offer.
Tabitha Sprunger 