Just south of downtown Elkhart and next to a railyard is a museum to the New York Central railroad, which used to travel through Indiana. This museum has 6 model railroads, lots of exhibits about railroad history, some hands-on activities, a ride-on Thomas model train inside. They also have hundreds of model train cars on display. Outside are old engines, cabooses, and train cars to be explored, in various conditions. The museum is slowly working on fixing them up. Be careful of the cars that have not been refurbished, you wouldn't want to let kids go in alone. You can go inside a diesel engine and sit where the train engineer sat and pull the cord to blow the whistle! If you get tired of what there is to see at the museum there is a lot of real train activity just on the other side of the fence due to the railyard. There are public restrooms. The last time we were there they gave out free popcorn!!

We went to wolf park with our 4 children ages 2-8 on a recent chilly weekend. The admission price includes a 30-45 minute tour. We were unsure that our kids would last 45 minutes but decided to give it a try. When we first walked in we observed some people entering the wolf enclosure. They were folks who had donated a certain amount of money so this was one of their perks. The wolves have been socialized so they are used to people, which was really interesting to see. We headed out on the walking tour after some safety info. No running allowed because it gets the wolves worked up and then they take it out on each other. Therefore, we would recommend that you not take a toddler that likes to strike out on his/her own. We decided to carry our two-year-old which worked for a while. The tour consists of walking on the outside of the wolf enclosures, but a lot of the wolves come right up to the fence. There are also two coyotes. When we put him down the coyotes were extremely interested in our youngest. They seemed to view him as potential prey. After all he is about the right height to look them in the eye. Some of the wolves had the same sort of view. This made mom feel a bit uncomfortable, especially when the path went between two enclosures and the wolves on both sides were looking at our little guy like he might be a tasty meal!

The tour was informative and interesting. The tour guide was an intern there so he was very knowledgeable about the animals. Wolf park also has bisons and they have a wolf/bison demonstration on Sundays. We didn't go to that but it might be worth the trip.

If it doesn't freak you out that your child might be seen as potential prey, it's pretty kid friendly. The tour guide had a good balance of walking and stopping long enough so you could really watch the wolves.

This park has lots of trails that are easy for even the youngest member of the family. (If a trail goes near the river then you will want to hold their hand.) There is a campground, canoeing, and several picnic areas. From mid-fall through mid-spring I would rate the park 5 stars. However, I rate the park 1 star during the warmer months when one really needs mosquito spray because there are lots of mosquitoes.

The last time I was at the park during mosquito season was several years ago. We knew something was wrong when the park employee at the entrance gate asked if we would be interested in purchasing a can of mosquito spray. We declined but should have said yes. We got to the location for the family picnic and got out of the car. By the time we got halfway to the picnic table we were engulfed in mosquitoes. We beat a hasty retreat back to the car but buckling crying kids into car seats and a grandfather with Parkinson's meant that the car doors were open long enough to let in lots of the critters. We spent the next 20-30 minutes killing all mosquitoes that were inside the car. I think the park employee at the entrance was having a good chuckle at our expense because we left the vacant park within 15 minutes.

At other times of the year, the cooler part of the year, have been the times the whole family has really enjoyed the trails and picnicking at this park.

So the lesson is drench yourself in deet or visit the park when it is cooler.

We have been to this park several times and really enjoy the trails. The park is bisected by Sugar Creek with a suspension foot bridge connecting the two parts. The lodge and camping are on one side while the majority of the trails are on the other side. Many of the trails follow small creeks through box canyons that have a ladder at the end of the canyon to continue the trail. The canyons are 10-30 feet deep and the amount of water in the small creeks depends on the amount of rain in the past few weeks. Our older two kids, ages 8 and 6, love the trails. The younger two kids, ages 4 and 1, want to follow their older siblings, but they would do better to stay on some of the less rugged trails. Unless, of course, the parents want to carry them up/down ladders and crossing wet/muddy (potentially slippery) places along the trail.

We have not stayed at the lodge - it has always been booked whenever we have tried to get a reservation. We have eaten at the restaurant. We have always taken the buffet option. There are bird feeders outside the restaurant windows so you can watch the birds eat while you are eating. The lodge also has bathroom facilities for non-guests and a small gift shop.

If you love steam engines and trains then you will love this place. I took my 6 year old son to this place and he loved it. We rode several trains ranging in size from a narrow gauge to an eighth scale. The trains covered about a mile and a half through the 155 acres that are part of this museum. We saw old tractors, saw mill, power plant, etc. There was plenty of food to purchase, a rest room and a gift shop. Or you can bring your own food. NB - if a child has sensitive ears to loud noises then this may not be the place for them. However, if you discover this after you are there then go to the gift shop to buy some ear plugs.