22,928,710 acres
Statehood 1816 (19th)
Capital: Indianapolis
Population: 6,785,528 (17th)
High Point: Hoosier Hill (1,257 feet)
Best time of year: Summer
Last year we published our guidebook 50 States of Great: Road Trip Guide to America, so we decided to start a new type of blog post where we create a travel itinerary for all 50 states, in addition to our usual National Forest and National Park entries. After starting by jumping around to Kansas, Georgia, Idaho, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Hawai’i, Arizona, Louisiana, and South Dakota, we headed to the Midwest for our tenth state. We start in the northwest corner of Indiana on the shores of Lake Michigan near Chicago, then all roads lead to Indianapolis, so we head south with plenty of options to extend the trip. See for yourself why Indiana made it on our Top 10 States for State Parks list.
Day 1
Indiana Dunes National Park (click here for our complete blog post)
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore was originally created in 1966 as a compromise between industrialists seeking to build more steel mills and conservationists wanting to preserve biodiversity. Though it is now one of the 63 National Parks, the quiet Dunewood Campground still provides hot showers in a wooded setting inland from the lakeshore.
Optional stop at Indiana Dunes State Park
Complete the 3 Dune Challenge by climbing the three tallest dunes in the State Park (separate entrance fee) to earn a prize at the visitor center shared with the National Park.
Day 2
This museum on the University of Notre Dame campus in South Bend offers free admission and highlights Christian art from Europe. Guided tours are offered of the famous football stadium year-round, and the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and adjacent Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes spiritual shrine are always open. On a college football gameday, do not miss the midnight drumming circle beneath the golden dome and other traditions throughout the day.
Optional stop at Studebaker National Museum
South Bend was once the headquarters for manufacturing Studebakers and the museum displays many made-in-Indiana automobiles.
Day 3
Elkhart is recognized as “the RV Capital of the World” since so many Recreational Vehicles are built in local factories. The Hall of Fame first opened in 1991 then moved to a larger building where it exhibits more than 50 historic vehicles dating back to the 1913 Earl Travel Trailer. You can also take a free plant tour of Jayco, Inc. to see RVs being manufactured in nearby Middlebury.
Optional stop at Hall of Heroes Superhero Museum
Six miles down the road in Elkhart, the Hall of Heroes Superhero Museum has more than 50,000 comic books and countless toys and movie props on display. All-you-can-play arcade games are included with your admission.
Optional stop at Turkey Run State Park
This popular state park is about an hour west of Indianapolis and offers camping, hiking, swimming, kayaking, and fishing.
Day 4
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The first auto race took place here in 1909 and the first Indy 500 was held two years later. The car that won that inaugural Indy 500 was the Marmon Wasp and it is held in the track’s Hall of Fame Museum, along with the Borg-Warner Trophy. This is considered the world’s largest stadium (with a capacity of 257,325). When cars are not running, you can take a bus tour around the oval (at significantly less than 200 miles-per-hour) and kiss the 36-inch strip of bricks at the finish line left unpaved.
Optional stop at James A. Allison Exhibition Center
Down the road from the racetrack, the free James A. Allison Exhibition Center tells the story of a local auto parts builder who expanded his company (founded in 1915) into engines for military airplanes.
Optional stop at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
Hands-on exhibits abound in this renowned museum southeast of downtown.
Day 5
Today you can still buy cornmeal ground by the historic gristmill that runs for ten minutes every hour, part of Pioneer Village where costumed reenactors demonstrate chair caning, broom making, and fiddle making. The park also contains trails, an elevated flume reconstructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Hamer Pioneer Gardens, guided boat trips that enter 500 feet into Twin Caves, and the Grissom Memorial Museum dedicated to the local hero who was the second American astronaut in space and died in a 1967 launchpad fire.
Optional stop at White River State Park
Located in downtown Indianapolis, this unique State Park surrounds the Indiana State Museum, Eiteljorg Museum of American Indian and Western Art, Indiana Zoo, and NCAA Hall of Champions featuring many interactive exhibits next door to the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) headquarters.
Day 6
Hoosier National Forest (click here for our complete blog post)
Created in 1935 from cutover and abandoned farmland, the National Forest’s best hike is Hemlock Cliffs Trail, a 1.2-mile loop through a canyon that passes two unique waterfalls. A 0.8-mile trail runs through the 88 acres of old-growth forest of Pioneer Mothers Memorial Forest. The tall trees here range in age from 150- to 600-years-old, and the black walnuts that grow in a moist cove known as Walnut Cathedral are considered the finest specimens in the country.
Optional stop at Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge
A visitor center and auto trail make this the most developed National Wildlife Refuge in Indiana for birding and fishing. The nearby Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge encompasses a former military property and requires special authorization to visit.
Day 7
Lanier Mansion State Historic Site
The beautiful Lanier Mansion was built for James Franklin Doughty Lanier, a prominent businessman in the state of Indiana around the mid-1800s. The Greek Revival-style house was completed in 1844 and is one of the finest buildings in Madison’s National Historic Landmark District on the Ohio River. Well-preserved Madison was an important waystation on the Underground Railroad.
This park protects a deep, boulder-strewn canyon with several waterfalls, including one with a 60-foot drop. It also has a campground and the blufftop Clifty Inn built in 1924 with views of the Ohio River.
Optional stop on the Indiana Cave Trail
A driving route connects several show caves in the southern part of the state where the brisk air is always a humid 57°F. Highlights include Indiana Caverns, Wyandotte Caves State Recreation Area, Squire Boone Caverns, Marengo Cave, and Bluespring Caverns that offers a one-hour boat ride through America’s longest navigable underground river.
Day 8+
George Rogers Clark National Historical Park (click here for our complete blog post)
A beautiful 80-foot-tall granite memorial was built on the site of Fort Sackville in the 1930s to commemorate the victory Clark led there on February 25, 1779. After watching the 20-minute film in the visitor center in Vincennes, go inside the circular memorial with 16 columns in classic Greek style to see a bronze statue surrounded by seven murals. You can then walk down the Wabash River to see the home of President William Henry Harrison and the old territorial capitol.
Holiday World
Located in the town of Santa Claus, this Christmas-themed amusement park has roller coasters, a water park, and many shops.
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial (click here for our complete blog post)
Take a walk past the pioneer cemetery to the Cabin Site Memorial where a bronze casting of sill logs and the fireplace hearthstones are at the site of Abraham Lincoln’s family cabin from 1829. The Living Historical Farm has costumed interpreters in the summer that depict homestead life at an authentic cabin and several outbuildings that were moved here from other parts of Indiana.
Angel Mounds State Historic Site
Near Evansville is a 430-acre site where there are 11 grass-covered Mississippian mounds built as early as 1,000 years ago, plus a replica village, simulated excavation site, and a visitor center full of artifacts.
Milan ’54 Museum
Commemorates the town’s 1954 high school boys’ basketball team that defeated the mighty Muncie Central for the state championship, as immortalized in the 1986 film Hoosiers.
Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame
In a state obsessed with basketball, this museum was moved from the capital city to New Castle in 1990 so it could have more room for expansion.
Learn more about Indiana’s Most Scenic Drive, Top Backpacking Destination, and other categories in our travel guidebook 50 States of Great: Road Trip Guide to America.
Raven About The Parks 