Fun fact: I spent my first year of college in Indiana. So when my oldest son wanted to visit Purdue to see if it had potential for him, I was happy to go to Indiana with the mindset of a soon-to-be college freshman again. Memories.
Of course, when I was in college, I had no car and didn’t see much of anything outside of the campus in Indianapolis. But on this family trip to see Purdue, we got to spend time in West Lafayette and Lafayette, Indiana – places I had never been before!
West Lafayette and Lafayette are considered sister cities. They sit directly across the Wabash River from each other, and it is very easy to pop back and forth. Purdue University anchors West Lafayette, making for a walkable, enjoyable college town vibe. Downtown Lafayette also enchanted us, with a main street complete with an old theater marquee and local bars.
According to the 2020 census, Lafayette is bigger, but West Lafayette is more densely populated. Together, these sister cities, situated about 113 miles from Chicago and 65 miles from Indianapolis, are home to around 230,000 people.
How to Spend the Day in West Lafayette and Lafayette, Indiana
Fuel Up at Triple XXX (say Triple X in your head to make it easier) Family Restaurant.
I know – wild name for a family restaurant, but there is a history here that makes it make sense. Triple XXX is the root beer brand that has been made here since 1895. The X’s pertain to the labeling system used way back when for grading a product’s quality and excellence. Three Xs was the best!
This was originally a drive-in, and today it is a classic diner, complete with paper hats and a counter with swivel stools.
Get the burgers (their most famous has peanut butter on it)! Drink a root beer! And prepare for a wait.
Fieri made this place nationally renowned after he featured it on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.
This spot is located in walking distance to Purdue’s campus, though, and surrounded by a lot of wonderful boutique shopping, bookstores, and other great restaurants.
The restaurant can be found online at www.triplexxxfamilyrestaurant.com, and its address is 2 N Salisbury. (As of this post, they are closed on Tuesdays.)
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We were in town primarily to visit Purdue University (college visits are also what took us to Pittsburgh).
While I know not everyone is going to be excited about visiting a college campus, I will say that Purdue had some surprising attractions worth noting.
What to see on Purdue’s campus:
- The Degas collection. Yes- Purdue is home to 74 bronze statues cast by Degas. See more on the Degas pieces online. The gallery is on the second floor of the Purdue Memorial Union.
- See the Neil Armstrong statue. Armstrong was a graduate of Purdue, and this statue of him as a student in the 1950s is worth a stop. It is located outside the Hall of Engineering.
- Visit the other art galleries. Besides the Degas collection, there are two other art galleries owned by Purdue: the Ringel Gallery in Stewart Center and the Ruff Gallery in Pao Hall.
- Explore outdoor spaces – start at the Purdue Arboretum explorer to map your path. There is a 24-acre horticultural park to walk, with over 300 different types of trees and plants.
If art really excites you, take time to explore the Haan Museum of Indiana Art.
Located on State Street in Lafayette, this museum is not only full of beautiful pieces, including ceramics and furniture, but is housed inside a historic mansion. It’s five acres include a sculpture garden. Find the Haan online at thehaan.org.
Even if you skip the Haan, you have to explore the cute downtown area of Lafayette nearby and visit McCord Candies.
This store was established in 1912 and is a lot of fun! This is an old-fashioned soda fountain – pick your flavor(s). You can see the menu here. (I highly recommend the Napoleon Dynamite.)
McCord is located on the corners of 6th and Main Street in Lafayette. You can find them online at www.mccordcandies.com.
If you are in town with kids, check out the Columbian Park Zoo! Although closed in the winter, during spring, summer, and fall, visitors can walk through and visit over 200 animals and 90 different species.
Find them online at columbianparkzoo.org.
For an even more unique animal experience, consider Wolf Park. This park was founded in 1972 by a professor who brought in a pair of wolves, put them on the land to roam free, and started to study them (given how elusive they are, they can be hard to track in the wild, and he thought this was a solution for science). Today, it is a 100-acre rewilded farmland that is a reserve for wolves (those rescued and those born on the land) and bison. They offer guided tours to see the animals.
Find Wolf Park online at visitwolfpark.org.
A separate note on Tippacanoe…
This is the area of the Tippacanoe battle, the one we chanted nursery rhymes about when I was a kid. The battlefield is a national historic landmark, and is easy to visit from West Lafayette. I couldn’t get excited about going, given what happened here and some other thoughts I have about how we have created stories about certain battles, races, and tribes through the centuries. But if you are interested (I understand they do celebrate Native American settlement life here and share insights into how the tribes lived), you can see more on the Tippacanoe Battlefield website. There are picnic tables, a chapel, a visitors center, and more hiking trails throughout the 96 acres.
The Wabash Heritage Trail has a trailhead in Tippacanoe Park. The trail is 13 miles and mostly follows the Wabash River.
Of course, it was impossible for me to really see any of this through the eyes of a high schooler looking to make a big next step. As a mom, I was looking at safety, resources, walkability, access… all the “mom” stuff.
I have zero idea where we’ll end up sending him in a year and a half, what he’ll choose, and what will choose him. After all, I transferred out of my Indiana college after my first year. The future is always unknowable.
But I will say that I thought Lafayette and West Lafayette were just delightful! It certainly passed all the “mom” stuff.
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