Fort Wayne is a city that I’ve grown really fond of over the
years. While nowhere near as large as Indianapolis, Fort Wayne is the 2nd
largest city in Indiana and has a lot to offer. I’m constantly finding new
things to do there, and it’s nice because it’s only about an hour away from
where I live. This list does not contain restaurants, as I’ll be
covering plenty of those on other blog entries.
1. The Fort Wayne Zoo
Fort Wayne’s zoo has been highly
touted for years now, and for good reason. Located in Franke Park, this zoo
holds more than 1,000 animals and was ranked the 7th best zoo in the
U.S. in 2015 by TripAdvisor. I’ve heard from quite a few people that this zoo
is much better than the one in Indianapolis, though I personally have not been
to that zoo. What sticks out to me about this zoo is the cleanliness and way it
is presented. There are also a couple fun chances to interact with animals,
like the petting zoo area and the giraffe feeding area. While the zoo is
currently closed for the winter, it will open for the season on April 21st.
Admission is $14 for adults and $10 for children. Giraffe feeding will cost $1
and the Sky Tram will cost $2 (both worth it), while parking is free.
2. Debrand Chocolate Factory Tour
Debrand Chocolate is some
high-quality stuff. They have several locations throughout Fort Wayne and have
just opened their first Indianapolis location; their main location is on Auburn
Road. At all locations they serve up delicious chocolates, truffles, gelato,
hot chocolate, and many other great creations, but the Auburn location lets you
go behind the scenes on a short (30-45 min.) tour of their factory. While you
don’t get an up-close look at how their chocolate is made, you get a handful of
informational videos and a view through multiple windows into different parts
of the factory. After each segment of the tour, you get to sample one of their
products. Tours only cost $5, which is honestly less than what it would cost to
consume the amount of items you get to sample. Plus, you get a coupon for $5
off a $10 purchase at the end of the tour. The only downside is that tours are
given at 10am on Tuesdays and 1pm on Thursdays, which would be hard to make if
you’re working. However, during Three Rivers Festival and certain holidays,
they do tours every 30 minutes from 11am-6pm.
3. Parkview Field (Tincaps Game)
Fort Wayne is home to 3 minor
league sports teams, but the Tincaps baseball team (SD Padres affiliate) has a
stunning venue to go along with the entertainment. Parkview Field has the
ballpark, of course, but also contains multiple play areas for kids and has a
small amphitheater as well. This place is kept very clean and is full of
helpful staff. The park has just over 8,000 seats, but there are many places to
stand and watch the game, as well as a lawn section in the outfield areas where
fans can spread a blanket out and take the game in. Concession stands are
plentiful and offer a variety of foods, and there are several fun games played
in between innings by selected audience members. The park is right on the edge
of downtown Fort Wayne, opening doors to many dining options before or after
the game. Tickets for a game are fairly cheap as well, from $5 lawn seats to
$12.50 Legacy seats (padded, behind home plate, waiter service).
4. Foellinger-Freimann Conservatory
This place was also mentioned on
my list of things to do in Indiana and winter, but it shared a space with an Indy
location and needs its own space! This conservatory has 3 indoor sections along
with some outdoor ones as well, encompassing over 100,000 square feet total.
It’s a truly peaceful environment and worth a look each season, as one of the
indoor sections has its decorations changed a few times a year. The location
(downtown) also helps because it gives you a nice departure from the city.
Admission is just $5 for adults and $3 for children.
5. Lazer X
Lazer X is a laser tag arena with
some arcade games to go along with it. It’s located in the Glenbrook Mall area
and has been recently redone due to a fire that burned the other building down
in 2015. It boasts a 9,000+ square foot arena that has multiple levels, along
with special abilities that can be activated while playing. Games typically
last 15-16 minutes with a debrief period before each new group comes in. You do
get a detailed scorecard at the end of every round, which is nice. Their
pricing has a system based on tickets, with 1-4 tickets being $8 each, 5-19
tickets being $7 each, and anything beyond that being $6 each. One laser tag
game is priced at 1 ticket, so if 5 people want to play 2 games, they buy 10
tickets at the $7 per ticket price. As for the arcade games, you can get 4
tokens for $1, 22 tokens for $5, or 60 tokens for $10.
6. Disc Golf (3 locations)
Fort Wayne is home to 2 great disc
golf parks, and there is also one in nearby New Haven. The two in Ft. Wayne
itself are Swinney Park and Shoaff Park. Swinney Park is a bigger park that
houses an 18 hole disc golf course. This park is busier than Shoaff, but not
necessarily because of disc golfers. It gets a lot of foot traffic from a bike
trail that snakes its way through it, as well as from people going to the
playgrounds and other areas of the park. It’s a fun course to play with a
variety of holes, but it has one downside: it is prone to flooding from the
nearby river. The flooding can get so bad that most of the park goes
underwater, making the course unplayable. That’s why I prefer Shoaff Park!
Shoaff not only doesn’t have a nearby river to flood it, but it also has 24
holes. There are only a couple holes that you’ll need to be careful of
pedestrians on, and it has a good variance of elevation throughout the course.
7. Escape Rooms
Escape Rooms have become rather
popular over the last few years, and for good reason. They provide a way for
people of all ages to come together and problem solve their way out of some
very fun scenarios in 60 minutes. Fort Wayne has 3 different escape room venues,
the first of which is Fort Wayne Chamber Escape Rooms. This one offers 3
different scenarios at varying levels of difficulty for 2-10 people. Tickets
here are $30 per person. The next option
is the Fort Wayne Escape Room. This downtown location has 4 different scenarios
for 2-8 people and $25-30, depending on which scenario is chosen. The third
escape room is called Room to Escape and also boasts 4 scenarios to pick from. Each
room requires between 2-8 people and costs between $25-30, depending on the
scenario. One unique thing about this location is that they have a $10, 20-minute
scenario available as well, and they host Trivia Night once a month! For all locations/scenarios,
I recommend looking online for scenario descriptions and difficulty levels. All
three locations are highly reviewed on TripAdvisor, so feel free to try them
all!
8. Fort Wayne Curling Club
Curling became a massive hit this
February as the Men’s team won gold and shocked the world. People can’t get
enough of it, and the Fort Wayne Curling Club has found a way to help people
get introduced to the sport. A couple times a month, they hold Learn to Curl
sessions, which give the Average Joe/Jolene a chance to learn how to play and
try it out for themselves. These sessions cost $20 and last 2.5 hours, with the
beginning 30 minutes or so devoted to learning and practicing the game. Once practice time ends, your group either
faces off against each other or another group that is there, depending on how
many people you bring with you. Be sure to check their website often for
openings because the 30 spots for each session fill up quickly! They also have
league available for those more serious about showing up and competing. Those
new to the sport that want to join a league should look into the Rookie League.
9. Fair Play Volleyball
Beach volleyball is a fun way to
be active in the summer, and Fort Wayne has you covered with Fair Play
Volleyball. The location is just east of the downtown area by an old factory,
and even though it may seem like an odd place to be, the courts are
well-maintained and great to play on. The facility offers a small bar and
plenty of seating area, and the parking lot has plenty of space. Fair play
offers A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, and C- divisions, with A being very skilled and
C meaning little experience. Some league types available are Co-ed 4’s, Co-ed 6’s,
Men’s 4’s, and Women’s 4’s. Games are played for 10-14-week periods, and can be
any day except Saturday, depending on what league you want to sign up for. Prices
for a team range from $160-$240. Fair Play also has indoor leagues for
basketball and volleyball when it’s not summer.
10. Jefferson Pointe
It’s interesting how a mall would
make it onto this list, but Jefferson Pointe has a lot to offer. For one, it’s
an open-air mall, which makes it much more interesting (and aesthetically
pleasing) than the other large mall in Fort Wayne, Glenbrook Square. It houses over 50 stores and restaurants, and it
is a great place to come and just walk around in nice weather. The mall is home
to a movie theater that has an IMAX screen, which is a plus. I don’t
particularly like clothes shopping, but this mall still has a lot to offer
besides clothing stores. It has a Barnes and Noble, which is all I really need
to be happy, a paint-and-take art studio, which is a perfect date activity, and
a Bed Bath and Beyond, which I’ve come to really enjoy. After eating at one of
the many food options here (fast food or fancy), there are several great
dessert options as well, like Coldstone, Red Mango, Poptique (gourmet popcorn),
and Debrand Chocolate. One of my favorite parts of Jefferson Pointe is the
square in the middle, which houses a fountain in nice weather and a Christmas
tree in winter months. In the summer, there are weekly concerts held here that
always draw a decent crowd.
Honorable Mention: Hyde Brothers
Bookstore
This didn’t make the list simply
because I dedicated a full space to it in my previous entry. Go check it out!
