10 top-rated things to do in Lafayette, Indiana

Purdue University is the hottest thing for the Lafayette-West Lafayette, Indiana, metropolitan area. Purdue’s 35,000 undergraduate students help make it the region’s largest employer. However, the Boilermaker campus is not the only reason to visit Indiana’s 10th-largest city. Experience pivotal American history, art, and delicious cuisine in Lafayette and West Lafayette, Indiana. You’ll be happy you came and sorry to leave. I know because I was both. Let’s explore the Home of Purdue’s best places because you’ll want them on your to-do list.

Lafayette-West Lafayette sponsored my visit, but all opinions are mine. If you use our affiliate links, including Amazon Associates and Stay22, to make a purchase, we might earn a small commission for our time and website costs (at no additional cost to you). These links are always disclosed. 

Lafayette is 2 hours southeast of Chicago and an hour northwest of Indianapolis on Interstate 65. Purdue University Airport (LAF) provides daily round-trip flights to Chicago O’Hare Airport (ORD). 

Book your flight, lodging, and transportation now.

The college town offers a rich history, diverse cultures, and many entertainment options. The Wabash River separates Lafayette from West Lafayette, the home of Purdue. Wabash River pilot William Digby platted the City of Lafayette on May 25, 1825, nine years after Indiana became a state. The town had no streets, but the navigable Wabash provided transportation. Digby decided to name his city Lafayette after the general he admired. Revolutionary War hero Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette, had stopped in Jeffersonville, Indiana, 13 days earlier. 

Roxie’s reliable report: Thirty-six American cities bear Lafayette’s name.

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Table of contents

Tippecanoe Battlefield | Fort Ouitenon | Prophetstown State Park | Frank Lloyd Wright’s Samara | Haan Museum of Indiana Art | Purdue | Eat | Union Club Hotel | Book your trip |

1. Tippecanoe Battlefield Park, history made in the Greater Lafayette Area

The course of history changed at the Tippecanoe Battlefield Park and Museum in Battle Ground, Indiana. The battlefield seems small compared to its impact on American history. Shawnee prophet Tenskwatawa and his brother, the warrior Tecumseh, envisioned an Indigenous confederacy to stop White settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains. The vision faded when Indiana Territory Governor William Henry Harrison defeated Tenskwatawa in Tecumseh’s absence. Harrison’s land grabs infuriated Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa. They gathered allies at Prophetstown, near the confluence of the Tippecanoe and Wabash rivers.

Harrison camped near Prophetstown in November 1811. Early on November 7, 1811, Native warriors attacked the camp. Unfortunately for the Indigenous cause, Tecumseh was far away seeking Southern allies, and Tenskwatawa wasn’t a military leader. Harrison’s troops won the Battle of Tippecanoe and then destroyed Prophetstown. Tenskwatawa had promised the warriors that bullets would not hurt them. Proven wrong, his authority declined. 

The brothers allied with the British during the War of 1812. Tecumseh died fighting Harrison’s troops at Ontario’s Battle of the Thames two years after Tippecanoe. His dream of an Indigenous confederacy died with him. Harrison’s military fame propelled him into the Presidency 27 years after the Battle of the Thames.

What you’ll see at Tippecanoe

The Tippecanoe Battlefield Park and Museum includes the battle site and monument. The adjacent museum explains the battle’s significance to American history with a fiber-optic map,  a large diorama, and numerous artifacts. The site became a National Historic Landmark in 1966. Bring a picnic basket to enjoy the shaded picnic areas.

Related: Explore one of the nation’s pivotal battlefields at Tippecanoe Battlefield Park and Museum.

2. Fort Ouitenon, built before Lafayette, Indiana

Digby wasn’t the first to notice future Lafayette’s prime location. French traders and Indigenous peoples settled there before him.

From the battlefield, hike or bike the Wabash Heritage Trail from the battlefield park’s Wa-Ba-Shika Nature Center south to historic Fort Ouiatenon. The 18-mile scenic former railway meanders along Burnett Creek to the Wabash River. It runs through Lafayette and West Lafayette before ending at the fort. The French built the fort in 1717 to counter British expansion along the Ohio and Wabash rivers. The British obtained the fort after the French and Indian War. Indigenous people occupied it from 1763 until American troops burned it in 1791.

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Gather for the Feast of the Hunters’ Moon

The fort holds the annual Feast of the Hunters’ Moon in the fall. The event recreates the fort’s annual fall gathering in the mid-1700s, four miles south of West Lafayette. Five stages hold continuous events, such as fife and drum performances, dancing, demonstrations, and fashion shows. Eat authentic food.

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3-5. Prophetstown State Park, highlighting Lafayette, Indiana, history and recreation

Prophetstown State Park explains the story of the land from its Indigenous inhabitants and beyond. Indiana’s newest state park stands at the Wabash and Tippecanoe River confluence. The confederacy intended the Wabash as the international border between them and the United States. The Circle of Stones at Prophetstown State Park commemorates the Indigenous nations that gathered around Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa in 1808. The local Potawatomi and Kickapoo residents invited up to 14 nations to the Native American village. 

Roxie’s reliable report: Several hiking and biking trails, rated easy to moderate, wind through the park.

Related: Eventually, the federal government forced the Upper Midwest’s Indigenous peoples to move beyond the Permanent Indian Frontier, now the Kansas-Missouri border. Forts Scott and Leavenworth in present-day Kansas were tasked to separate the settlers from the Native Americans.

The Farm at Prophetstown State Park

The Farm at Prophetstown showcases farm life a century after the Native village’s demise. Learn about baking, blacksmithing, gardening, canning, animal care, and 1920s-era family entertainment and crafts. Reserve a farm-to-table multi-course dinner served on beautiful china dishes from the early 1900s. Practicing sustainable agriculture, the farm raises heritage-breed animals from the early 20th century, including horses, cows, sheep, pigs, donkeys, chickens, ducks, and turkeys. Kids will love petting the animals. A pair of farmhouses, including a Sears mail-order house, show how families lived in the 1920s. Heritage plants populate the farm’s vegetable and flower gardens. Outbuildings include a barn, a blacksmith shop, a corn crib, chicken coops, and more. 

Fill your fridge and support the farm with Prophetstown-raised meat, eggs, seasonal produce, and other items. Call ahead 765-567-4700 to purchase products for pickup.

Roxie’s reliable report: The farm offers free admission with an Indiana state park entry pass. Special programs and workshops cost extra. To avoid confusion en route, follow the park’s directions instead of GPS.

Prophetstown Aquatic Center

Beat summer’s heat at the park’s Aquatic Center (PDF).  Enjoy a 30-foot tube slide, body flume, lazy river float area, adventure channel, zero-entry pool with play features, and an aquatic activity area with basketball at the water park. Shower and change in the bathhouse and snack at the concession area. Admission is $5 plus a park gate fee. The center is open from Memorial Day to Labor Day; however, pool hours may change because of weather and staffing. Please check before you visit.

6. Samara: Frank Lloyd Wright in West Lafayette, Indiana

Samara, Dr. John and Catherine Christian’s Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Usonian house, is unique among the Wright homes I’ve visited. The property’s winged evergreen seeds gave the house its name. As our tour guide told us the home’s story, we sat on the Wright-designed chairs and sofas in the living room. The tour felt more like visiting a friend’s home than walking into a museum. The tours explore the living room, dining room, kitchen (Wright called it the workspace), master bedroom and bath, and guest bedroom and bath. Visitors may also walk the wooded lot to explore the property’s exterior. Wright even designed a custom letterhead for the house.

She prepared a 28-page booklet, “What We Need for How We Live.” The booklet painstakingly detailed the couple’s plans for each room, including family gatherings to hosting Purdue students and faculty. The couple worked with the architect from 1951 to 1956. They developed landscaping, exterior details and interiors, including china, bed linens, and toilet paper holders. The couple promised to fully implement his design, no matter how long it took. 

Every room displayed Wright’s signature attention to design detail, but his design did not seem as heavy-handed as it does in some I’ve visited. The paths around the house display the beauty of nature. Even though the busy Northwestern Avenue fronts the property, the traffic noise seems remote. 

Catherine Christian died in 1986. John Christian lived in the home until his death on his 98th birthday in 2015. At the time, he was one of 10 original Wright homeowners remaining. The house became a National Historic Landmark (PDF) earlier that year.

Ad: Add a Wright-themed chandelier to your home.

Tips for touring Samara

Reserve 90-minute tours at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Wednesday to Sunday from April to October. However, please check for schedule variations before booking.

Roxie’s reliable report: Visitors cannot access Samara from Northwestern Avenue despite some navigation systems’ advice. Instead, walk to the historical landmark from Woodland Avenue to the street’s dead end. A brick driveway leads to the house. Call in advance for assistance with mobility issues.

Related: Visit the only Wright-designed hotel in Mason City, Iowa, and a pair of Wright buildings in Wichita, his only designs in Kansas.

7. Haan Museum of Indiana Art in Lafayette

Take your time at the Haan Museum of Indiana Art. The furniture, paintings, sculptures, and ceramics collection deserves a long and careful examination. Even better, explore the lovely sculpture garden and nature trail behind the parking lot. I loved this museum.

The Haan Museum began as the Connecticut State Building at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. After the fair, William Potter moved it to Lafayette as his residence. Only 15 fair buildings survive. The mansion spans 16,000 square feet and has seven fireplaces, six bedrooms, and 5.5 bathrooms.

Bob and Ellie Haan bought Potter Mansion in 1984. Eight years later, they began restoring the building and collecting Indiana art. Soon the décor became a museum-quality art collection. Realizing this, they upgraded their furniture to showcase the best American furniture. Most of it originated from the Renaissance Revival period, 1860 to 1890. While still living upstairs, the Haans began conducting tours in 2013.

They started collecting Indiana artists’ ceramic sculptures the next year and assembled a significant collection by year’s end. In 2015, they moved into a new home after donating the building, grounds, and much of the artwork. 

Guests will enjoy a self-guided tour, but Ellie Haan led us through the museum. What a privilege!

Roxie’s reliable report: An elevator is available to whisk mobility-impaired guests to the upper floors.

8. Purdue University

Purdue is one of the nation’s most well-known educational institutions It ranks high in numerous rankings like best value, best recognized, most employable graduates, and more. In 1869, John Purdue donated $150,000 ($3.5 million in 2024) to the Indiana General Assembly to establish Indiana’s land-grant university. Tippecanoe County added $50,000, and local residents donated 100 acres of land. The legislature named the new university for Mr. Purdue.

Let’s tour the campus.

Show your Boilermaker pride with items from Amazon’s Boilermaker Fan Shop (ad).

Purdue: the Cradle of Quarterbacks

Purdue Athletics obtained their mascot, the Boilermakers, in 1891. At the time, opponents accused Purdue of recruiting players from Lafayette’s locomotive boiler-making shops. Ross-Ade Stadium opened for football in 1924. Purdue sent 15 quarterbacks to the NFL, earning it the “Cradle of Quarterbacks” title. Former Boilermakers started more games and completed more yards and touchdown passes than any other school’s products. Former Boilermaker quarterbacks Len Dawson and Bob Griese are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and Drew Brees will likely join them. Defensive back Rod Woodson and coach Hank Stram are also Hall of Fame inductees.

Roxie’s reliable recommendation: Pose with the 18-foot tall Boilermaker statue on North University Drive. 

Purdue: Where John Wooden gained his first national title

John Wooden won 10 national titles at UCLA, including seven straight from 1966 to 1973. Before he went to California, Wooden starred at Purdue. Wooden was a three-time All-American and the 1932 National Player of the Year. In his senior year, he led the Boilermakers to a 17-1 record and the Big Ten Championship. The Helms Athletic Foundation named Purdue the 1932 basketball national champion. Wooden’s 7-foot-tall statue stands in front of Mackey Arena with his Pyramid of Success behind him. Purdue’s student-athletes attend the John R. Wooden Leadership Institute.

To the skies from Purdue and West Lafayette, Indiana

Beyond the Boilermakers, Purdue is most famous as an engineering school and the Cradle of Astronauts. Purdue’s 27 astronauts make it the most prolific astronaut-producing university. No astronaut is more famous than Neil Armstrong, the First Man on the Moon. Armstrong’s 8-foot-tall bronze sculpture stands outside the Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering. The sculpture depicts him during his 1950s Purdue engineering student years. Look for the 20 footsteps of the famed astronaut beside the statue. I successfully navigated about five of the 20 steps, which are correct to the size and distance between each step. I can’t jump like a moonwalker, and Earth’s gravity bites.

Roxie’s reliable report: Purdue alumnus Gene Cernan was the last man to walk on the moon.

Spacecraft in the Armstrong Hall of Engineering

A full-size replica of the Apollo 1 command module hangs in Armstrong Hall’s 53-foot-high atrium. During a capsule test, Purdue alumni Virgil “Gus” Grissom and Roger Chaffee died beside fellow astronaut Ed White on January 27, 1967. The next year, Purdue named a pair of College of Engineering buildings, one for each fallen astronaut. Look at the moon rock in the atrium that Chaffee’s widow and Purdue alumna Martha Chaffee donated. The atrium also honors the Purdue engineers who built Hoover Dam and the Golden Gate Bridge. The college hosts special events on the terrace outside.

Before he became an astronaut, Armstrong was supposed to fly the Dyno-Soar X-20 for the Air Force. However, the program was canceled. Purdue installed an X-20 replica in the atrium in 2014.

Roxie’s reliable report: Armstrong (baritone) and popcorn king Orville Redenbacher (tuba) both played for Purdue’s All-American Band. Band seniors get to play the World’s Largest (Marching Band) Drum at the Senior Recognition Halftime Show. A four-person crew maneuvers the 315-pound drum on its 250-pound carriage. Purdue protects the drum’s precise dimensions as a trade secret. The drum is on display between home football games at Hagle Hall, home of Purdue’s bands and orchestras.

Amelia Earhart: The sky’s no limit for women at Purdue

After Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1937, she met Purdue President Edward Elliott. Purdue was one of the first universities to enroll women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. Unfortunately, these promising women often dropped out or later forsook their careers for home and family. Elliott invited Earhart to be the first female Consultant in the Department for the Study of Careers for Women and Technical Advisor in the Department of Aeronautics. The students loved her.

She also participated in Purdue’s aeronautical conferences and consulted with Purdue professors. The Purdue Research Foundation established the Amelia Earhart Fund for Aeronautical Research, helping her buy the Lockheed 10E airplane she used in her global circumnavigation flight. She called the innovative plane her “Flying Laboratory” and intended to return it to Purdue. She often flew out of Purdue’s airport, giving the university priceless publicity. During their around-the-world flight, Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan disappeared on July 2, 1937, near tiny Howland Island in the Pacific Ocean. Their fate is still unknown.

Her 8-foot-tall statue stands outside the Earhart Hall Dining Court.

Related: Earhart is one of our noteworthy Kansas women.

Dr. Janice Voss: Modeling STEM success and the Solar System

Dr. Janice Voss, Purdue’s first female astronaut, flew into space five times, traveling 18.8 million miles in 779 orbits over 49 days. She served in various roles on four Space Shuttles. After her 2012 death from breast cancer at age 55, her parents started the Janice E. Voss Scholarship for Women in Engineering at Purdue. Students designed the Visit Our Solar System (VOSS) Model next to the Discovery Learning Research Center. 

The spectacular scale-model sculpture is based on a Fibonacci Spiral. Every foot around the spiral equals about 5.4 million miles of space. The sun is 45 feet in diameter. The surrounding planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are set into curved, 6-foot-high walls. I could have spent hours wandering the planets.

Roxie’s reliable report: Purdue’s Archives and Special Collections preserve items from Boilermaker astronauts, Earhart, Redenbacher, and more, I so regret that we didn’t have the time to explore some of the collections.

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9. Eat in Lafayette and West Lafayette

As befitting a college town, Lafayette and West Lafayette has a vibrant cuisine scene. These are some we enjoyed.

Arni’s Restaurant

You can’t go wrong with Italian food at Arni’s Restaurant. In 1965, Arnold “Arni” Cohen opened Arni’s at Market Square in Lafayette. Now Arni’s has locations throughout Indiana. Start with the loaded cheese fries, then continue with a jerk chicken pizza. I’m rarely a fan of chicken pizza, but the jerk chicken flavors pop. Add a generous Mediterranean salad.

While you’re waiting for that savory, piping-hot pizza, stroll around the restaurant. Chicago Cubs fans will be thrilled with the memorabilia. And where else will you find a fire truck inside a restaurant?

East End Grill

I started my East End Grill meal with the best New York sour I’ve ever had. Combining saffron with leeks and mushrooms, two of my favorite vegetables, with ham and Parmesan: I’m sold! We split the Tres Leches for dessert. My teeth sank into this luscious sponge cake topped with Chantilly cream and garnished with strawberries. The dessert sat in raspberry drizzle sprinkled with cinnamon. The cake was a special, but all the other options looked equally enticing. You must go to the Main Street restaurant in Downtown Lafayette. A parking lot was across the street.

RedSeven Bar and Grill

We over-ordered at RedSeven, but who could resist?

The restaurant has an urban, minimalist feel. True to its college town location, much of the décor featured equations. Whether you like math or not, this is a perfect date night place. The bar features a range of cocktails and craft brews.

I love bourbon everything, so had to try the bacon-wrapped shrimp in spiced barbecue sauce. We split the brandy-marinated Peach and Bacon Salad with romaine lettuce, queso fresco, and barbecue ranch dressing on the side. The salad is an entrée, but splitting it left room for the actual entrée. I love bacon, too, and the roasted mahi mahi gave me my third batch of bacon. The pesto linguine was full of flavor. The accompanying chowder had an outstanding mouth feel and subtle flavors. Finally, we split the Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake.

RedSeven validates two hours of parking in the attached garage on Ferry Street. Bring your parking validation card to the host stand for validation.

Ritual

Make a ritual out of going to the Ritual around the corner from RedSeven. The bar serves small plate items like mango spring rolls and bacon cheddar tots. We enjoyed watching the bartenders craft drinks and the relaxing neighborhood bar vibe. During pleasant weather, sit in the Seatery outside.

Triple XXX Family Restaurant

Root beer for breakfast? Oh, yes, please — if it’s Triple XXX Root Beer, that is. Triple XXX is the nation’s second-oldest nationwide root beer brand, and it used to have over 100 franchises nationwide. The Lafayette Triple XXX, Indiana’s oldest drive-in, started in 1929 and it’s now the only Triple XXX Thirst Station remaining.

The restaurant hand cuts 100 percent sirloin burgers and seals in their flavor by dipping them in flour. I love breakfast at any time during the day, so Triple XXX is for me. The Albuquerque Omelet includes cheddar cheese, onion, and tomato. Many of the menu items reference Purdue athletes, like the Drew Brees chicken-fried steak and a pair of eggs.

Inside guests sit on bar stools at a continuous curved counter. Picnic tables are outside.

Taste of Tippecanoe

Lafayette foodies look forward to the Taste of Tippecanoe in Downtown Lafayette each June. The event features food vendors, food trucks, breweries and wineries.

10. Stay at the Union Club Hotel at Purdue University

The delightful Union Club Hotel is part of the Purdue Memorial Union. The hotel is the world’s only student-run Autograph Collection hotel. We loved talking to the students and encouraging them in their travel industry journey. Houndstooth patterns are everywhere, an homage to the stereotypical professor houndstooth jacket attire. The bathroom mirrors mimic the Purdue crest. The lobby was the most welcoming hotel space I’ve ever seen. Onsite restaurants include the 8Eleven Modern Bistro, Leaps Coffee Shop, and the Boiler Up Bar. We enjoyed them all.

Related: Learn more about the Union Club Hotel.

Book your hotel with this handy location guide.

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