Fall is my favorite time of year. The bright sun, combined with cool days, makes for perfect weather to explore the outdoors. Aside from the standard apple picking and pumpkin fetching trips, I wanted to kick off fall with a treetop adventure. Hamilton County, Indiana, just north of Indianapolis, offers some fantastic family fun, including a new treehouse at Conner Prairie and treetop obstacles at Koteewi Aerial Adventures. No matter how daring your brood, there’s good times to be had only three hours away, sappy tree jokes aside.
Koteewi Range
Kid-friendly accommodations
The Hilton Garden Inn in Fishers is the No. 1 rated hotel on TripAdvisor in nearby Fishers, IN. It also received the TripAdvisor 2016 Certificate of Excellence. The staff is kind, and the chef-made-to-order breakfasts are pretty tasty. Our kids quickly found other children to play with in the cozy pool and hot tub area. This hotel is family-friendly all the way.
Treetop adventures
Conner Prairie is one of the country’s most visited outdoor museums. As Indiana celebrates its bicentennial, it’s a great time to learn about our neighboring state’s past, and even see firsthand what it was like to live there long ago. My kids were enamored of the cattle auction, and the fact that, as 5- and 7-year-olds, they could do jobs to earn money for the family. The four-story Treetop Outpost just opened and the helium-filled balloon voyage is not to be missed. Talk about some amazing autumn views! This highly-recommended interactive history park also features indoor exhibits, like a play area and craft corner.
Test your courage at Koteewi Aerial Adventure Park, with Gladiator-style obstacles and zip lines through the treetops. Those as young as seven (check for weight and reach requirements) can tackle the moderate course, and older kids can move up from there. If you’ve got a little one with a lot of bravado, they’ll definitely earn their swagger after this adventure.
More outdoor activities
Targeting some fun for the whole family? Set your sights on Koteewi Range, just down the road from Koteewi Aerial Adventure Park. You’ll get a brief demo, then a chance to shoot your rented bow and arrows on a number of ranges, including a Family Fun Zone with 3D animal figures. Shooting a bow and arrow in the fresh outdoors is super satisfying, especially if you can hit that bullseye.
Until the end of October, then again in the spring through fall, you can kayak, canoe or tube down the White River with White River Canoe Company. What a perfectly peaceful day you can have, floating your cares away (provided the kids calmly go along with your Zen flow).
