There is definitely more to do in Indiana than the famous Indy 500 event over the Memorial Day weekend. Don’t get me wrong, The 500 is one of the most spectacular events you can visit in the States and it deserves every bit of hype it gets. The good news is that you don’t have to be a car enthusiast to enjoy a trip to Indiana since the state has much more to offer. Let’s get to them:
Spend a day in the dunes
One of the most popular things people do for fun on vacation in Indiana is experiencing the sand dunes. Indiana has a pristine sand dune area overlooking the beautiful waters of Lake Michigan called Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.
Indiana Dunes is located roughly between Gary and Michigan City and it’s a great place to spend a nice outing with friends and family all year-round. You can do fun things like hiking through the soft sand dunes, birding, snowshoeing, boating, swimming, fishing, and camping as well as ranger-led activities.
Explore the caves
If you love exploring caves, one of the things you can't miss doing while on vacation is visiting Indiana’s caverns. There are many caverns in Indiana you can visit, though a few that come to mind are Marengo Cave (this one is a national landmark), Squire Boone Caverns and Bluespring Caverns Park. These caverns are open for tours and are located within the Hoosier national forest area so they aren’t too far from one another.
Marengo Cave is one of the coolest caves since you can do normal walking tours as well as proper cave exploring tours where you get to crawl through seriously claustrophobic passages. Saying this, Squire Boone Caverns boasts beautiful rushing waterfalls, while Bluespring Caverns Park has a river system that allows you to explore the passages on a boat tour.
Ride a carriage
Carriage rides are without a doubt, one of the coolest things people do for fun on vacation in Indiana. One of the most popular places to enjoy a horse-drawn carriage ride tour (i.e. Yellow Rose Carriages) is in downtown Indianapolis, which is a cool way to explore the city’s attractions while riding in style!
Terre Haute and New Carlisle are two other places where you can enjoy fun horse-drawn carriage rides as well as wagon and sleigh rides during the winter. P & T carriage rides is a popular tour operator in Terre Haute, while in New Carlisle you have Dream Coach Carriages.
Fruit and veg picking
One of the most enjoyable things you can do on vacation in Indiana is visiting a farm and spending a day picking fruit and veg! Fruit and vegetable picking isn’t only cool but it’s also a great way to spend a day outdoors with the family without putting a hole in your pocket.
Apple and pumpkin picking are the most popular pickings, and you can do them during the fall harvest season. There are plenty of farms to choose from in northern and southern Indiana such as Tuttle Orchards (Greenfield), Anderson Orchard (Mooresville), and Stonycreek Farm Nursery (Noblesville).
Visit an Amish village
You can’t say you’ve been to Indiana if you haven’t visited one of the Amish communities such as the ones in Amish Country (Northern Indiana), and Daviess County in southern Indiana.
Daviess County is one of the largest Amish settlements in the United States and it’s a great place to visit during the spring, summer and autumn months because of the many events and festivals such as the Gasthof Fall Festival (Sep 15th), Old Settlers Festival (Aug 7th-11th), Daviess County Fair (June 22nd-30th), and Wool Fiber Arts Fair (May 19th).
Amish Country is also a great place to soak in Amish culture and traditions. One such community is the Amish community of Shipshewana which is a great place to enjoy fun countryside tours, farm and buggy lane tours with local operators like Buggy Line and Buggy Lane Tours who also include a complimentary Amish meal at the end of their tours. If you plan to visit Shipshewana, be sure to visit during the town’s flea market days on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the antique and livestock auctions.
Game of Basketball
Basketball is an intricate part of Indiana’s culture and if you’re a massive basketball fan, you’ll sure love visiting New Castle, which is the heart and soul of basketball in Indiana.
New Castle is home to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, which features some of the best all-time players that ever graced the basketball court. The great thing about the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame is that it’s also a high school so, you can catch a game during the regular season tournament.
By the way, even if you aren’t much into basketball, you sure won’t want to give this a miss since it’ll give you a fantastic opportunity to mingle with the locals.
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