8 Best Indiana Towns For A Weekend Trip

Everyone wants something a little bit different when they go on a weekend trip. Odds are, no matter what you want to find on your weekend trip, you'll find it in Indiana. Porter combines Great Lakes beaches with soaring sand dunes and quirky historic buildings. New Albany offers a vacation spot just outside of Louisville, with calming river walks and mansion tours. Santa Claus has one of the top-rated amusement parks in the Midwest right next door to the boyhood home of Abraham Lincoln.

If you're in the mood for a weekend trip in Indiana, here are eight towns to consider.

New Albany

One of the best weekend destinations in Indiana is right across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky, the home of the Kentucky Derby. New Albany combines cultural experiences with riverside walks and a top-tier food scene. You can spend multiple days just on its Main Street alone, touring the Second Empire-style Culbertson Mansion State Historic Site, a 25-room three-story structure with marble fireplaces and frescoed ceilings, or hiking along the Ohio River Greenway. This paved trail follows the Ohio River for 7 miles, connecting with the Loop Island Wetlands Trail and the pedestrian Big Four Bridge in Jeffersonville. Foodies can sample charcuterie boards at Board and You Bistro, Italian at Bella Roma Italiana Cuisine, or have locally brewed beer and fresh pizza at the New Albanian Brewing Company. You can book your weekend stay at the mansion just down the block from the Culbertson at the Pepin Mansion Bed and Breakfast.

Rockville

Rockville is one of the most hospitable towns in Indiana, especially in the fall when it puts on a grand show with the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival. This October celebration honors its county's greatest architectural achievement, the 31 still-intact covered bridges maintained by the community. This is especially impressive, as covered bridges are often damaged by water. In Rockville, you can tour several of these bridges, such as the 1855 Crooks Covered Bridge across Little Raccoon Creek or the three covered bridges at Billie Creek Village. This village is a restored 19th-century pioneer town with a still-active General Store, Catholic church, and one-room schoolhouse. Rockville is close to one of Indiana's best state parks, Turkey Run State Park, with its many deep ravines making for challenging day hikes. Rockville has one of the quirkiest hotels in the state for your weekend getaway: the Old Jail Inn. This converted jail has several comfortable "cells" for you to spend your weekend. It also provides old cellmate uniforms if you really want to get into the role.

Shipshewana

Some of the best destinations aren't on busy streets but in quaint rural communities. Shipshewana is a perfect example of that principle with its Amish restaurants and barns amid large flea markets and rural trails. Shipshewana is proud of its large Amish community, and it teaches visitors about their lifestyle at the red barn museum called the Menno-Hof Interpretive Center, which contains a replica 17th-century boat, an Amish kitchen, and more. You can try out Amish meals at the Blue Gate Restaurant & Bakery or go digging for vintage treasures at the Shipshewana Flea Market, the largest flea market in the Midwest. To find the real treasure of Shipshewana, you have to do a little legwork by going out onto the paved 17-mile Pumpkinvine Nature Trail, connecting the community to several Amish barns and nearby Indiana towns. For accommodations, there's the Morton House Inn or the Van Buren Hotel.

Winona Lake

Winona Lake is one of the best lake towns in Indiana, taking full advantage of its lakefront and the surrounding creeks that feed into it. The self-named Winona Lake keeps the whole family entertained with the Limitless Park & Splash Pad. It has a beach, a splash pad, a basketball court, and a playground. It's an ideal vacation spot for swimming or kayaking on the lake and in the creeks. Winona Lake also maintains carefully crafted trails through the Winona Lake Trail through the backcountry and the Heritage Trail, a 2-mile paved trail decorated with sculptures symbolically representing Winona Lake's history and its religious heritage. This town was home to one of the most prolific travelling preachers of the 20th century: Billy Sunday. You can learn about his life's work at the Billy Sunday Home Museum. For shopping options, Winona Lake converted a historic neighborhood by the lake into the Village at Winona, a shopping center and eatery with shops like Pottery Bayou and Winona Mercantile. The Chestnut House Bed & Breakfast is just a short walk away from the Village in a charming 1906 Princess Anne-style home.

Santa Claus

It's immediately apparent from the name itself that Santa Claus is a great holiday destination. Statues of St. Nick dot the various government buildings and attractions of Santa Claus, including a large one at the Santa Claus Museum & Village. This charming historic village has the original 1856 post office, which has a box for children to drop off their letters for Santa Claus throughout the year. Santa Claus keeps its holiday spirit alive in the summer with Holiday World & Splashin' Safari, an amusement park with its fair share of roller coasters, water rides, and other thrilling rides. Santa Claus is a few minutes' drive away from Lincoln City, where you can see Abraham Lincoln's boyhood home at the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial (National Park Service), or see live pioneer reenactors at Lincoln State Park. For places to stay, you have several options, but Santa's Lodge is the best if you want to be close to Holiday World for your weekend stay.

Vincennes

If you're looking for a historic weekend getaway in Indiana, then Vincennes should be on your radar. The French settled here in 1732 as a fur trading outpost, making it the oldest founded town in Indiana. Due to the existing infrastructure, Vincennes was chosen as the capital of the Northwest Territory in the early days of the United States. Some of the oldest buildings in the Hoosier State are still here, such as the 1805 Original Territory Capitol Building with its striking red bricks or the 1809 French House, built by Michel Brouillet in the French Creole style with upright posts unto a sill beam, rather than the traditional American log cabin. Vincennes was also the home of one of the lesser-known presidents who served the shortest term: William Henry Harrison. You can visit his mansion, Grouseland, which contains many original portraits, military artifacts, and more. Vincennes also contains a more humorous historical destination at the Red Skelton Museum of American Comedy, honoring the 20th-century comic. For lodging options, there are several chain hotels in Vincennes, including Holiday Inn Express.

Porter

The northern Indiana town of Porter is the gateway to the towering sand dunes of the Indiana Dunes National Park. This land used to be a part of Lake Michigan until the waters receded in prehistoric times, leaving behind marshes, woodlands, and, of course, sand dunes. The tallest in the National Park is Mount Baldy, which formed 4,000 years ago and stands 120 feet tall. It's considered a living dune as it continues to move about on the surface. Further into the park stands a series of quirky buildings that were a part of the 1933 World's Fair Century of Progress Homes. Built to be futuristic, they include a pink Tropical House and the House of Tomorrow, which has a small aircraft hangar. Just outside of the park on the shores of Lake Michigan, you can have a beach day at Porter Beach. There are multiple hotels in the surrounding Lake Michigan area, but if you want to stay in Porter, try out the Spring House Inn.

Nashville

If you ask Hoosiers (a nickname for residents of Indiana) what the best small town is for a vacation, they will likely mention Nashville. This community is often compared with Gatlinburg, Tennessee, due to its rolling hills and arts scene. Nashville has two state parks: Brown County State Park and Yellowwood State Forest. Brown County State Park is the most visited attraction, with trails running up steep hills, lookouts, and fire towers for panoramic views of Brown County. Yellowwood State Forest is also worth visiting to see rare yellowwood trees or go fishing at Yellowwood Lake. In Nashville's downtown strip, one can discover art galleries and boutiques ranging from the Brown County Craft Gallery to the Wishful Thinking scrapbook store. Despite being a popular vacationing spot, Google reviewers note that many of these shops have fair, affordable prices. You can book your stay right in the middle of downtown Nashville at the Artists Colony Inn & Restaurant.

Holiday Destinations in Welcoming Towns

It'll be worth it to visit these less frequently traveled Indiana towns for their welcoming atmosphere, cultural landmarks, and state parks. Nature lovers can climb up the dunes of Porter or go hiking through Nashville's hills. Fans of the beach can choose between the vast shores of Lake Michigan or the smaller Winona Lake with its historic shopping district. These communities keep up the hospitality with their accommodations, like the mansion B&B in New Albany or the festive Santa's Lodge right outside of Holiday World. Whether you're traveling on a holiday weekend or just a regular weekend getaway, you'll have a good time in these welcoming towns.