Traveling within Indiana

[Gary Galvin]

When my wife and I heard that we were in for another cold and snowy weekend we quickly tried to think of something we could do that would get us out of the house and "off the beaten path". With spring just around the corner and summer just behind that I was curious where in Indiana do you like to get away for day-trips or long weekends? What are those "best kept secrets" you may want to share with others? Are there local events you want to share with others?

[Jon D. Speer]

Indiana has some great state parks. Some of my favorites are Spring Mill (Mitchell), Turkey Run (near Rockville), McCormick's Creek (Spencer), and Clifty Falls (near Madison).

[Bonnie Benshoof]

There are alot of things to do, we like going to the caves southern Indiana, Marango is our favorite, or northern Indiana is Amish Country, you can hop on Megabus.com, go to cincinnati, or Chicago for a day, there is the Newport Aquarium in Cincinnati and great restaurants and hotels, it is an adventure. Hope that helps.

[Jon D. Speer]

Bonnie - The aquarium in Newport is great. Good idea!
j

[Nicki Laycoax]

I took a day trip with the kids last summer up to the Indiana Dunes. It takes 3-4 hours to get there from Indy, and it's a great day at the beach with fishing, swimming, sunbathing, hiking, and picnicking all in Northern Indiana!

I have enjoyed all that Jon has listed as well. Turkey Run is awesome! Canoing... Hiking.. I haven't been to Clifty Falls though.

[Gary Galvin]

Nicki,
You are right....the trip to Lake Michigan is quick and a great day-trip. We go up to SW Michigan often in the summer time. We would spend the day at the beach and then grab dinner and leave. We would leave in the morning around 6:30am and get back around 10pm.

Gary

[Brian Huff]

I'm from Northern Indiana and we would go to the dunes all the time! It's great in the spring!

If you like antiquing and the such, take a day trip to Shipshewana on Wednesday. It boasts one of the largest flea markets in the country and there's an auction in a pole barn that takes all day. There can be as many as 8 auctioneers at one time.

[Jon D. Speer]

Nashville is another quaint place in to visit in Brown County. Very eclectic mix of shops. Also, Brown County State Park is there.

[Bonnie Benshoof]

another place is kind of a Hidden treasure, is Metamora ,IN< simular to brown county, we stay at the
Thorpe House, bed and breakfast, they have a train that goes through the town and a canal , horse and buggy rides,also a great German restaurant called Sherman House that is in Batesville,IN a cute little german town, but it is goregeous in the fall and during holidays they have a christmas walk where the village is lit, that is pretty cool. Also, in Metamora there is the Old fashioned soda shop, very cool, set at the bar and get a Float, shake, or malt, we find it fun. Another thing that is fun is zionsville, it is real close just go to one of the cool restaurants they have shops there also and it is almost like going somewhere far away only it is very close. Indy has more than we realize just research it's out there. Good luck.

[Erik Deckers]

Actually, skip Shipshe on Wednesdays. ;-) My wife made the mistake of driving through there on the way back from Michigan one Wednesday, and was stuck for 90 minutes. I like Shipshewana on the weekends though, although admittedly it doesn't have as much going on.

[Meredith Garber]

we like to take the train to chicago for a weekend. you save on gas and parking and there's no traffic to deal with. it can be slow moving in snowy weather but with spring around the corner it's a great way to travel. it also heads north to milwaukee for summerfest.
staying local and driving, patoka lake and hoosier national forest are great getaways. you can rent a houseboat on patoka pretty reasonably, and there are cabins to rent in nearby eckerly.

[Gary Galvin]

Meredith,
I haven't done this since college and I forgot about that. I'll have to remember that for this summer. With gas prices so high the train could be cheaper. Do you go out of Indy or somewhere else?

[Meredith Garber]

i go out of the bus/train station downtown on illinois. it leaves very early (6 a.m. maybe) so you arrive for a full day in chicago. the only problem are returns on sunday. sometimes there isn't a train and a bus is the only option which i find to not be as relaxing. on our way up we take coffee and muffins, on our way home we sometimes have wine and snacks from whole foods or a nice deli by the grand central station. it's much cheaper than gas/parking/tolls and headaches :)