9 Offbeat Indiana Towns To Visit In 2025

Indiana is a middle-of-the-road state in population, area, and even geography, but not in quirkiness. From its main highways and cities, Indiana does not appear much different than other midwestern states. Yet, from its small, off-the-beaten-path settlements, the Hoosier State looks truly offbeat. Get a load of such towns while 2025 still runs, since the back half of the year is to shock with annual oddities. Attend everything from a Christmas in July celebration to a pierogi extravaganza in these offbeat Indiana communities.

Rockville

Rockville is the county seat of Parke County, which is called "The Covered Bridge Capital of the World" for its 31 historic covered bridges that are celebrated in October during the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival. Headquartered in Rockville, the 10-day fest takes guests all over the county, showing them stream-spanning oddities like the Bridgeton Covered Bridge in Bridgeton and the Mecca Covered Bridge in Mecca. Besides such bridges, the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival features unique vendors stationed on the lawn at Rockville's courthouse. The 2025 edition is scheduled for October 10 to 19. After the fest, visitors can enjoy a hearty meal at the town’s Thirty Six Saloon Grill, nestled along E Ohio Street.

Mitchell

You have probably heard of festivals for apples, peaches, strawberries, and/or blueberries. But what about persimmons? Since 1947, Mitchell, IN, has held the Mitchell Persimmon Festival, which honors a fruit widely eaten in Asia and widely grown in Indiana. Mitchellites found the fruit as delicious as their horses did, especially when picked from the ground (on-branch persimmon is often toxic), and made it into cookies, ice cream, and pudding. Sample such desserts at the 2025 festival, whose marquee events are a persimmon pudding contest and a persimmon novelty contest, both set for Saturday, September 27. Then, honor Mitchell's other claim to fame, Gus Grissom, an astronaut in the ill-fated Apollo 1 mission. Tours of the Gus Grissom Boyhood Home are part of the festival.

Auburn

Auburn is a small Indiana city known for a long-defunct car manufacturer. From 1900 to 1937, the Auburn Automobile Company produced Auburns, Cords, and Duesenbergs: brands that would be largely forgotten if not for the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum. It preserves more than 120 cars in the former company building and supports the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival, which is held each year on the week before Labor Day. But those are not the only epic automotive attractions in unassuming Auburn. The National Auto & Truck Museum stands right beside the Duesenberg Museum, while the Early Ford V8 Foundation Museum sits just outside town.

Delphi

Let Delphi save your bacon on Saturday, August 23, 2025. That is when the 12th annual Indiana Bacon Festival is set to sizzle with a bacon-based menu designed by a variety of vendors. Included on last year's menu were bacon gumbo from Big Country Barbecue; bacon pizza from Delphi Pizza King; maple bacon drizzled donuts from Brown’s Sugared Donuts; and bacon bloody marys from the Brick and Mortar Pub. The Indiana Bacon Festival also features brews and bands. Guests can expect to enjoy a beer garden from local brewers and vibe to music from Majesty: A Tribute to Queen and SOS - Direct From Sweden.

Fairmount

Two very famous but very different people grew up in Fairmount, both of whom you can celebrate in 2025. From September 26 to 28, the James Dean Festival​ is set to honor a Hollywood icon who died at age 24, not long after he graduated from Fairmount High School. Besides the festival, whose main events include a James Dean car show and James Dean look-alike contest, Fairmount hosts the James Dean Gravesite, James Dean Gallery, and James Dean Museum. Outside the museum stands a statue of Garfield, the cartoon cat created by another Fairmount High alum: Jim Davis. That statue is one of many stops on The Garfield Trail.

Porter

Porter is home to the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center, which supports the Indiana Dunes on the shores of Lake Michigan. As the state's top natural wonder, the dunes are preserved by not one but two parks: Indiana Dunes National Park and Indiana Dunes State Park. You can climb their 100-foot sand mounds year-round. You can also save them for special events like the Indiana Dunes Outdoor Adventure Festival, which runs in September and involves more than 100 activities. Do not be scared to try the Diana of the Dunes Dare. It is less a dare and more a hike inspired by a daring but now deceased Dunes denizen nicknamed Diana.

Santa Claus

As you can probably guess, Santa Claus, IN, rings with Christmas cheer—and yes, it does so all year long. Volunteer "elves" at the Santa Claus Museum & Village answer thousands of letters sent annually by hopeful children. This trend started with an early-20th-century postmaster in a town that, according to legend, was initially called "Sante Fee" but was forced to change its name for being too similar to Santa Fe, IN. Residents chose "Santa Claus" and, over 150 years later, tourists choose Santa Claus for the Christmas in July Craft Fair, Christmas in July Vendor Fair and Flea Market, and the climactic Santa Claus Christmas Celebration.

Whiting

Whiting is the appropriate host of a little white dumpling and a big festival for that dumpling. To honor its Eastern European culinary roots, this 4,500ish-person city debuted Pierogi Fest in 1993. That first edition saw the serving of roughly 1,200 pierogis, which could not begin to accommodate the 300,000-plus people that now attend Pierogi Fest. Along with countless pierogis, 2025's fest (scheduled for July 25 to 27) is expected to have a pierogi toss and pierogi eating contests. If tossing or eating pierogis is not your bag, choose from any non-pierogi Pierogi Fest events or catch a show at the historic Hoosier Theatre.

Peru

Peru, IN, is a circus—literally. Dubbed "Circus City" or the "Circus Capital of the World," this Miami County city was the winter headquarters for many traveling shows until, ironically, they moved to Florida. Desperate to revive its circus heritage, Peru launched the Circus City Festival and began filling it with teenage performers. That bloomed into the Peru Amateur Circus. Still going strong after 60-plus years, the circus and festival welcome hundreds of performers aged 7 to 21, some of whom descend from historic troupers. 2025's festival dates are July 14 to 19. Though animals were staples of past Peru circuses (Rasputin's daughter Maria was mauled by a bear in 1935), most modern acts are human-oriented. Learn more about Peru's high-flying history at the International Circus Hall of Fame.

Finishing Thoughts

Indiana may seem like a nondescript midwestern state, but the aforementioned towns prove otherwise. Boasting stationary oddities like the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum and the International Circus Hall of Fame, such towns are offbeat year-round, yet they are set to become even quirkier in the latter half of 2025. From July to December, check out their fairs, festivals, and other annual events for the best taste of offbeat Indiana.