Acres of Parks, Golf Courses & More

LaPorte has six in-town lakes, more than 1,400 acres of parks, a nearly 27,000-square foot municipal auditorium, and two 18-hole golf courses.

Local city and county parks include Soldiers Memorial Park (the city’s largest recreation complex at 556 acres), Fox Memorial Park, Luhr County Park and Kesling Park. The LaPorte Park and Recreation department maintains all of the city’s parks, and plans a comprehensive year-round schedule of sports, recreation and activities for residents of all ages.

Beechwood Golf Course is an 18-hole course built in the early 1930s as a gift to the city from the Herbert W. Fox family. The Indianapolis Star newspaper rated Beechwood as the sixth best public course in the state, and several PGA tournaments have been played there. Briar Leaf Golf Course is just north of the city, and the Portofino Grill is located in the clubhouse.

LaPorte's Civic Auditorium has 26,790-square feet of space, and contains a full-size basketball court/gymnasium, a kitchen, banquet and meeting rooms, and a 1,382-seat auditorium that can accommodate 2,500 with use of the gym floor. Symphony concerts, ballets, a circus, proms and weddings are held in the Civic.

The LaPorte Family YMCA is located downtown. Amenities include an Olympic size indoor swimming pool, gymnasiums, racquetball courts, a weight room with Cybex workout equipment, a Jacuzzi and a sauna. The “Y” schedules sports and activities for all ages, and offers preschool, childcare and The Neutral Zone – a teen hangout for ages 10-18 years.