Family Reunion Rental Indiana: A Countdown Checklist

Key takeaways

Book hotel rooms six months ahead for everyone not sleeping at the house, and ask Visit Morgan County about a room block so the overflow stays in one place and cousins can share rides.
The lodge hosts party days of up to 300 guests, but you must bring the tent, tables, chairs, linens, setup, teardown, cleanup and staff through your own vendors.
Ask the owner early about a dog, since pets need the owner's approval and a fee, and get approval for any amplified outdoor music.
Fireworks are not allowed anywhere on the property, so leave them at home even for a Fourth of July reunion.
Give each household one dinner or breakfast to cook, and call the week before to book a table for any big meal out.
Plan one outing a day at most, and pack swimsuits for every age in any month since the indoor pool is open all year.

On this page

Forest Park Lodge is a family reunion rental in Indiana that sleeps 16 in 7 bedrooms, with 4.5 bathrooms, on 65 acres in Monrovia. Check-in is at 5:00 PM with check-out at 11:00 AM, or check-in at 4:00 PM with check-out at 10:00 AM, so a reunion here works best with the core of the family in the house, the rest in hotels a short drive away, and one shared kitchen at the center.

The countdown below runs from a year out to arrival day. To see the rooms and the grounds before you start, look through the house.

Countdown to the reunion

A year out

Send your dates and a rough head count to our team through the reunions and retreats page.
Pick one organizer per household to answer for its head count and its share of the money.
If the family wants one bigger party day with relatives who are not staying over, decide that now, since it shapes the rest of the plan.

Six months before

Draw up a sleeping list for the 7 bedrooms, with the pairs and the kids’ rooms settled ahead of time.
Book hotel rooms for everyone who will not sleep at the house.
For a party day, start lining up your own vendors for the tent, tables, chairs and the rest.
Ask the owner early if a dog is coming: pets are welcome with the owner’s approval and a fee.

Three months before

Send the county visitors bureau a group request if you want help with farm tours or group dining.
Book rental cars for relatives flying into Indianapolis International Airport.
Plan one outing a day at most, and leave the rest of each day for the house.
If the party day needs amplified music outdoors, ask the owner for approval.

A month out

Write the meal plan and give each household one dinner or one breakfast to cook.
Ask every household about allergies and food needs.
Call ahead and book a table for any big meal out.
Decide if the adults want the pool warmer, and plan to ask at least a day before you need it.

The week before

Send every driver the address and the arrival time: there is plenty of parking on the property, and no street parking.
Share the sleeping list and the meal plan with every household.
Tell the hotel households about quiet hours, 10 PM to 8 AM, so late visits wind down on time.

Arrival day

The first car does the big grocery run on the way in.
Arrive at check-in and get an easy dinner going.
Gather in the atrium once everyone is in: it is where the overnight party meets for welcome drinks and late nights.

Wood-paneled lounge with a brick fireplace, a slate floor and a gray sofa, with a bedroom beyond — The wood-paneled lounge opens toward a bedroom, which is worth knowing when you draw up the sleeping list.

Feeding a big group

Most reunions cook breakfast and lunch at the house and mix in a few meals out or brought in. One shared kitchen is the center of the weekend, so give each household a turn at the stove and a turn off.

Supermarkets are 5 to 15 minutes from the lodge. One car can do the big shop on arrival day and a smaller top-up halfway through the stay, which keeps the fridge from overflowing on the first night.

Restaurants are 10 to 20 minutes away. These suit a family group:

Monrovia Family Restaurant, 200 West Main Street in Monrovia, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner any time, with homemade comfort food and dishes with a flavor of Mexico. It is open 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Friday and 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday. Best for: a weekend breakfast out, since it closes before dinner on weekends.
Monrovia Family Restaurant takeout: the same kitchen takes orders online, and its customer favorites include the Loaded French toast and the Texas Fajitas with shrimp, steak and chicken. Best for: a weeknight when the cooks need a night off and the family stays home.
1915 Steakhouse and Bar, 290 East Morgan Street in Martinsville. Best for: an adults’ night out, or one reserved dinner for the whole family.
Visit Morgan County, the county visitors bureau, helps groups find group-friendly dining, including a nationally known restaurant that is group friendly. Best for: the one big meal out, planned well ahead.

For more on eating and shopping in town, see our guide to Monrovia, Indiana.

Plan ahead for any meal out with a large group. A table for a big family is much easier to get with a phone call the week before than by walking in.

White kitchen with a long island, bar stools and stainless steel appliances — The white kitchen has a long island with bar stools, where the household on duty cooks and everyone else gathers.

A party day for the wider family. The lodge hosts events of up to 300 guests, which suits a reunion that adds one big gathering for relatives who are not sleeping over. The Horse Barn is not set up for events, and there is no indoor ceremony or reception space, so plan that day outdoors. Event bookings do not include the tent, tables, chairs, linens, setup, teardown, cleanup or staff: you bring these in through your own vendors.

Things to do for every age

Plan one outing a day and let the rest of the day happen at the house. Getting a big family fed, dressed and into cars takes longer than anyone expects, and the house has plenty to keep everyone busy between outings.

At the house

The indoor pool is open all year and kept at 75°F. It has maintenance about once a week for about 30 minutes, and pets are not allowed in it. Best for: the kids, any afternoon, in any month.
The private pond allows fishing. Best for: the anglers in the family.

“The pool was a big hit with the kids. Adults only stuck their legs in due to the colder temp.” (a guest, July 2026)

If the adults want to swim too, guests can ask for the pool to be warmer, up to 85°F, for $125 per 5 degrees per day, with at least a day’s notice.

The pond edge under tall trees, with the house and its deck beyond the water — The pond edge sits under tall trees, with the house and its deck beyond the water.

Little kids

Rumpus Room Play Cafe, 410 North Monroe Street in Mooresville. Best for: toddlers and preschoolers who need a play break.
Mooresville Public Library, 220 West Harrison Street in Mooresville. Best for: a quiet hour indoors on a slow morning.
Morgan County Public Library, Main Branch, 110 South Jefferson Street in Martinsville. Best for: a calm stop on a day the family heads to Martinsville.

School-age kids and teens

SpeedZone, 160 North Marion Street in Martinsville. Best for: an outing for the older cousins.
Torchlight Cinema, 300 Southbridge Street in Mooresville. Best for: a rainy evening that sends everyone to the movies.
Link Observatory in Martinsville welcomes group visits. Best for: teens and adults on a group outing.

Adults and grandparents

Willowfield Lavender Farm is one of several county attractions that groups enjoy, and the county visitors bureau can help schedule a group tour. Best for: grandparents and a gentle afternoon out.
Martinsville Entertainment Theatre, 36 East Morgan Street in Martinsville. Best for: an adults’ night out while someone else takes a pool shift.

Visit Morgan County can help schedule group tours of area farms and other attractions. Send its group travel request with your dates and your group size, and ask about group-friendly dining at the same time.

For more on the two towns where most of these places are, see Mooresville and Martinsville.

A stylized map with a dotted route linking two small towns, each ringed by simple house shapes for visiting family.

Where extra family members stay

The house sleeps 16, so a bigger family needs beds nearby. Hotels are 5 to 15 minutes from the lodge, close enough for relatives to come over for breakfast and stay for dinner. Try to put the overflow in one place, so cousins can share rides.

Visit Morgan County can help with hotel room blocks and information about the area for your guests. Best for: a family big enough to need a block of rooms.
Hotels near Indianapolis International Airport: hotels within a five-mile radius of the airport offer courtesy vehicles for travelers. Best for: relatives with an early flight home on the last day.

The county visitors bureau also helps with hotel room blocks for reunions and special events, which is the easiest way to keep several households under one roof.

Relatives who fly in arrive at Indianapolis International Airport. Car rental counters are at the Ground Transportation Center on the first floor of the Terminal Garage, and Uber and Lyft pick up from the same center. The airport’s ground transportation and car rental options show every way out of the terminal.

A couple of rental cars usually serve a group better than many separate rides, since you will want cars for grocery runs and outings anyway. There is plenty of parking on the property for day visitors from the hotels, but car-pool from the hotel when you can.

When to come

The house works in every season, because the indoor pool is open all year. A January reunion can still be a swimming trip for the kids, with evenings by the stone fireplace in the living room.

Summer brings meals out on the deck, a morning of fishing in the private pond and the pool in the afternoon. A reunion over the Fourth of July works well, but leave the fireworks at home: they are not allowed anywhere on the property.

For a winter or rainy weekend, lean on the indoor outings: the cinema in Mooresville, the libraries and the play cafe. They keep the cousins busy on a day when nobody wants to be outside.

Living room with a stone fireplace, a beamed vaulted ceiling, a leather sectional and tall windows — The stone fireplace and the leather sectional make the living room the family's winter gathering spot.

A packing and prep checklist

The house has the kitchen and the beds. A reunion brings the extras.

What to pack:

Swimsuits for every age, in any month of the year.
Fishing gear for anyone who wants to fish in the private pond.
Games and cards for the evenings in the great room.
Name tags or a printed family tree for the first night, so the youngest cousins know who is who.
Labels for cups and water bottles, which go missing fast in a full house.
Car seats for young children if you are renting cars at the airport.
The dog’s bed, bowls and leash, only if the owner has approved the pet.

What to sort out before you leave home:

Confirm the final head count for the house and the hotel rooms.
Send the sleeping list, the meal plan and the outing plan to every household.
Confirm your vendors for a party day, if you are holding one.
Plan the last morning as breakfast and packing, with everyone out by 11:00 AM.

Anything not covered here, from the pond to the parking, may already be answered in our questions and answers. For more on how the house works for a family, read our family reunion house page.

Request to book

Questions

What are the quiet hours at the Indiana reunion house?

Quiet hours run from 10 PM to 8 AM. Let the relatives staying at hotels know ahead of time so evening visits wrap up on schedule.

Can the adults swim in the indoor pool too?

Yes. The indoor pool is kept at 75°F, and guests can ask for it to be warmer, up to 85°F, for $125 per 5 degrees per day, with at least a day's notice.

Is there anything to do at the reunion rental on a rainy day?

Beyond the indoor pool and games in the great room, nearby options include a movie theater and a play cafe in Mooresville and public libraries in Mooresville and Martinsville.

How do relatives flying in get from the airport to the house?

Rental car counters and Uber and Lyft pickup are at the Ground Transportation Center on the first floor of the Indianapolis International Airport Terminal Garage. A couple of rental cars usually work better than many separate rides, and bring car seats for young children.

Where can we eat breakfast out with the whole family on a weekend?

Monrovia Family Restaurant serves breakfast any time and opens at 7:00 AM on Saturday and Sunday, closing at 3:00 PM, so weekends suit breakfast rather than dinner there.

Can the Horse Barn be used for a reunion party day?

No, the Horse Barn is not set up for events, so a big gathering needs to be planned outdoors with your own tent and rentals.