Buffalo Trace Park

Today a friend and I packed our kids, some towels, shovels, and sunscreen into the car and headed up to Harrison County, Indiana. Neither of us had ever been to Buffalo Trace Park, but we'd heard it had a lake with a beach and was only about 30 minutes away. Wow! How'd I miss that all these years?!

We drove past the city and out into the countryside. Apart from my baby nearly throwing a floaty out the car's open window, the drive was pretty simple - the park is just off highway 150. We paid our $5 to park and headed toward the lake and the sand. Only to find out that we were about an hour too early. Gates open at 10 but the beach doesn't open until 12:00 (see, I'm making note of this so I'll remember next time...).

When we finally got to enjoy the beach, we found it was pretty well worth the wait. The lake is not big (only 30 acres) but it is clean and the water is warm. The sandy beach was lovely. Some beaches are kind of rocky, but this one has that fine sand that feels good under your toes. Our kids spent a lot of time building sand castles and moats. We splashed to our hearts content in the water and watched as other folks swam out to the dock and did dives and cannonballs off the diving board.

If you go:

• Park gates open at 10 but things like the beach and petting zoo don't open until noon.
• There is a $5 charge to park (unless you're local)
• It costs $3/person to swim (two and under are free)
• There are lifeguards on duty
• You can rent one of those nifty paddle boats for something like $6/hour (that's on my list for my next visit)
• You can camp or cabin at the park
• Web site is http://www.harrisoncoparks.com/BTP.html