Top 5 Things to Do in and near Rensselaer, IN

 I'm trying to catch up on some blog posts before we enter 2022.

Over Memorial Day weekend the kids and I traveled to Rensselaer, Indiana to celebrate family. This is not a place many people go to visit, so I wasn't sure what we'd do (besides visiting family) to keep us entertained. Turns out I was able to come up with a Top 5!

1. Fair Oaks Farms is only a 15-minute drive. Its main focus is on doing Agriculture education and outreach in a really fun way. It has a Dairy Adventure, Pig Barn, Crops Area, plus a great restaurant, cowfe, and store. 

Being located not far from Chicago, it's an interesting contrast from city life to agricultural live. 

I've been to the Dairy Adventure before, so wanted to concentrate on the pig barn, especially with Desert Girl taking a pig to the county fair. The building lets you touch-or ride-a fake pig, but to make sure that germs aren't introduced to the pigs, we saw the real ones from behind glass.

These baby pigs were adorable.

It was interesting to see how they raised pigs in a commercial operation. It was very different than our backyard pig operation.

The science was emphasized with lots of interactive exhibits, like giving a pig an ultrasound to see if she's pregnant.

We could look into several areas of the pig barn, which are different depending on the pigs' age.

One of the reasons pigs are popular to raise is that they gain weight so quickly.

We also really enjoyed the pig high ropes course (which has nothing to do with pigs, but was fun nonetheless). 

In fact, I'm not sure if the kids or I enjoyed it more! I met some friends at the delicious restaurant while the rest of the family went on to the Dairy Barn and had a great time.

2. Murals. Rensselaer has a wonderful variety of murals that I first learned about from this blog. I visited quite a few of them with some friends.

Murals you can pose by are a lot of fun!

You can find a map and more info about the artists on the RenArtWalk website.

3. Carpenter Creek Cellars Winery. This delightful winery is only about a 10-minute drive from Rensselaer. It opened in 2013 and offers a variety of wines. They also have some cheeses and crackers and a lovely outdoor spot that's perfect for visiting (during the warmer months). They also have an indoor area if the weather isn't conducive to chilling outside.

I didn't take many photos, I was just enjoying the experience so much!

4. Indiana Beach. This small amusement park has lots of fun activities. It's about a 35-minute drive from Rensselaer. The kids were so excited to go ride some rides.

I even made it on the roller coaster. Next to a nephew who kept saying, "I'm going to puke, I'm going to puke." Fortunately, he didn't, but it made the ride extra exciting wondering what would happen.

I made sure to stay off spinny rides. I used to be able to do those just fine!

It was a cool day, so we didn't go swimming. But we did observe the gross carp in the water. I have vivid memories of seeing them decades ago!

5. Rensselaer Parks. There are several nice parks in Rensselaer. We went to Brookside Park and enjoyed the playground, shelter, and disc golf course. Having nice parks adds so much to a community.

Well, there you have it. If you've ever been to Rensselaer, do you agree with my top 5 list? What would you add, delete, or change?