By Jamie Ward
Indiana is a flourishing Midwest state that was founded in 1816. It is known to many as “The Hoosier State” and houses roughly 6.85 million people. There is a lot to discover in this beautiful state, which is recognized for its state parks, gigantic tenderloins, Hoosier hospitality, the Indy 500, a fantastic state fair, lakes, caverns, trails, and rich history.
I was born and raised in Indiana, the Hoosier state. I love everything here, from the cornfields to the State Capitol. Indiana is full of beauty, from our ample state parks, hiking, and nature, to our bustling college towns and inviting metropolitan areas.
Whether you are on the hunt for waterfalls, tenderloins, sugar cream pies, fossils, caves, or even murals, you can find them in Indiana. The highways and byways of this state lead to treasures and trails full of adventure and exploring—with plenty of good eats and local favorites along the way.
Ready to eat a tenderloin bigger than your face? How about stomping through some creeks to find fossils? Maybe tour a historical figure’s birthplace? Or explore caves and caverns? An Indiana road trip brings these adventures and much more. But perhaps the best incentive to take a road trip through Indiana is the “Hoosier hospitality” that local business owners display, which contributes to the state’s tourism brand: “Honest-to-Goodness Indiana.”
We’ll explore the Historic National Road, America’s first and most crucial highway. I’ll introduce you to small towns with significant experiences and friendly communities. In northern Indiana, we’ll dip our toes into Lake Michigan and explore Amish country. And, of course, no road trip in Indiana is complete without venturing through the historic south. I suggest checking the local counties and businesses for policies that may affect hours and access to all road trips.

Indiana Road Trips
- Historic National Road
- Lincoln Highway Byway
- Indiana Highway 7 & 46
- Ohio River Scenic Byway
Indiana Websites
Historic National Road
- Richmond, visitrichmond.org
- Natural Spring Resort, naturalspringsresort.com
- Historic District Depot, Richmonddepotdistrict.com
- Roscoe’s Coffee Bar and Tap Room, roscoescoffee.com
- Ullery’s Homemade Ice Cream, Ullerys.com
- King’s Café & Bakery, kingscafeandbakery.com
- No. 9 Grill, no9grill.com
- Lofts on Main, theloftsonmain.com
- Newhouse Family Inn, newhousefamilyinn.com
- Hoosier Gym, thehoosiergym.com
- Block & Brew, blockandbrew.com
- The Mug, themug.com
- Greenfield Chocolates, facebook.com/GreenfieldChocolates
- Hitherto Coffee and Gaming Parlour, hithertocoffee.com
- Greenfield, greenfieldin.org
- S&H Campground, Sandhcampground.com
- Irvington Historic District, irvingtondevelopment.org
- Wyliepalooza Irvington, wyliepalooza.com
- Steer-In Diner, steerin.net
- Jockamo Upper Crust Pizza, jockamopizza.com
- White River State Park, whiteriverstatepark.org
- Indiana State Museum, indianamuseum.org
- Eiteljorg Museum, eiteljorg.org
- Crowne Plaza Indianapolis, crowneplazaindydowntown.com
Indiana Lincoln Highway Byway
- Fort Wayne Parks, fortwayneparks.org
- Science Central, sciencecentral.org
- Fort Wayne Museum of Art, fwmoa.org
- Don Hall’s Old Gas House, donhalls.com
- Fort Wayne’s Famous Coney Island, fortwaynesfamousconeyisland.com
- Magic Wand Restaurant, Buscomagicwand.com
- Kimmell House Inn, kimmellhouseinn.com
- Ligonier, ligonier-in.org
- Grounded Coffee House, facebook.com/groundedcoffeehouse317
- Goshen, downtowngoshen.org
- El Camino Real, mycaminoreal.net
- Old Bag Factory, oldbagfactory.com
- The Electric Brew, theelectricbrew.com
- Ignition Music Garage, ignitionmusic.net
- Pizzeria Venturi, eatventuri.com
- Elkhart County, visitelkhartcounty.com
- Elkhart, elkhartindiana.org
- Yellow Cat Cafe, yellowcatcafe.com
- Woochi Japanese Fusion and Bar, notjustsushi.com
- Downtown South Bend, downtownsouthbend.com
- Studebaker National Museum, studebakermuseum.org
- Oliver Inn, Oliverinn.com
- New Age Baking Company, newagebakingcompany.com
- Michigan City, emichigancity.com
- Serenity Springs, serenity-springs.com
- Brewery Lodge, brewerylodge.com
- Bridge Inn, bridgeinnmc.com
- Bridges Waterside Grille, bridgeswatersidegrille.com
Indiana Highway 7 & 46
- Clifty Falls State Park, on.IN.gov/cliftyfallssp
- Crafted Coffee Co., craftedcoffeemadison.com
- Red Pepper Deli Cafe, theredpepperdeli.com
- Madison, visitmadison.org
- Big Oaks Wildlife Refuge, fws.gov/refuge/big_oaks
- Columbus, Columbus.in.us
- Zaharakos Ice Cream Parlor, zaharakos.com
- Lucabe Coffee Co., lucabecoffeeco.com
- ZwanzigZ Pizza and Brewing, zwanzigz.com
- 4th Street Bar & Grill, 4thstreetbar.com
- Inn at Irwin Gardens, irwingardens.com
- Brown County State Park, on.IN.gov/browncountysp
- Story Inn, storyinn.com
- Brown County Inn, browncountyinn.com
- The Cornerstone Inn, cornerstoneinn.com
- Hard Truth Hills, hardtruthhills.com
Ohio River Scenic Byway
- Town Clock Church, townclockchurch.org
- Culbertson Mansion State Historic Site, indianamuseum.org
- Corydon Capitol State Historic Site, indianamuseum.org
- 1816 Modern Kitchen & Drinks, facebook.com/1816Kitchen
- KentJava Bar, kentjavabar.com
- Butt Drugs, buttdrugs.com
- Kintner House Inn, kintnerhouse.com
- O’Bannon Woods State Park, on.IN.gov/obannonwoodssp
- Overlook, theoverlook.com
- Marengo Cave U.S. National Landmark, marengocave.com
- Lincoln Pines Lakefront Resort, staylincolnpines.com
- Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, nps.gov/libo
- The Tin Fish Restaurant, tinfishnewburgh.com
- Knob Hill Tavern, knobhilltavern.com
- LST-325 Memorial, lstmemorial.org
- Bosse Field, evansvilleotters.com
- Mesker Park Zoo and Botanic Garden, meskerparkzoo.com
- Parlor Doughnuts, parlordoughnuts.com
- Bru Burger Bar, bruburgerbar.com
- Cork ‘n Cleaver, evansvillecork.com