National Parks and Monuments
Porter: ☆ Indiana Dunes National Park – 15 miles of the southern shore of Lake Michigan
Vincennes: George Rogers Clark National Historical Park – The interior of the Clark Memorial features a bronze statue of George Rogers Clark and seven murals that depict the story of the capture of Fort Sackville on Feb. 25, 1779, that assured United States claims to the frontier, an area nearly as large as the original 13 states. Also has a visitor center.
★ Lincoln City: Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial – Abraham Lincoln grew from youth to manhood on this southern Indiana soil.
- Bronzed Foundation of Lincoln’s Cabin [RA] – All that was left of Abe’s boyhood cabin was its foundation, so historians bronzed it. Left unbronzed was the gravestone of Lincoln’s mom, who’s buried only a few feet away.
Natural Attractions
The Indiana Cave Trail covers four unique and separate cave systems; Bluespring Caverns, Indiana Caverns, Marengo Cave, and Squire Boone Caverns. All are entirely natural and feature distinct formations and history. Visiting all four caves scores patrons a free t-shirt. Just pick up a passport at any of the caves and get it stamped at each location!
Chesterton: ★ Indiana Dunes State and National Park – Sand dunes.
Clarksville: ★ Falls of the Ohio State Park – Across River from Louisville. Fossil beds. Guests can stop by a state park interpretive center to learn more about the region’s topography and a treasure trove of findings through interactive displays and exhibits before walking out into and onto the bed itself at the edge of the river.
Cloverdale: ★ Cataract Falls – In Lieber State Recreation Area – Cataract Falls is the largest waterfall by volume in the state. The Upper and Lower Falls have heights around 45 and 30 feet.
Covington: ★ Portland Arch Nature Preserve – dramatic sandstone gorge and the meandering creek that follows the well-worn path of the preserve. The preserve’s calling card is an incredible natural archway, located on the North Trail.
English: Hemlock Cliffs is a box canyon showcasing unique beauty in southern Indiana. A cool climate, sandstone rock formations, and seasonal waterfalls.
Madison: ★ Clifty Falls State Park – offers some of the state’s best waterfalls.
Marshall: ★ Turkey Run State Park – Deep mossy sandstone ravines, waterfalls, monstrous cliffs, ladders, and streams will amaze even the most well-traveled visitors.
Mississinewa: Seven Pillars – The magnificent Seven Pillars sit along the Mississinewa River about four miles south of Peru. Its “pillars” were formed over hundreds of years as water and wind eroded the limestone. Round buttresses and alcoves were thus carved into the rock, making them what they are today. The Frances Slocum Trail runs along the top of the formation.
Mitchell: ★ Spring Mill State Park –
- Pioneer Village, founded in 1814, is full of 20 historic buildings to explore.
- Trail 3 winds past Donaldson Cave overlook, then Bronson Cave, and lastly on to Twin Caves.
- Twin Caves Boat Tour
Morocco: Kankakee Sands – 23 wild bison. The Bison Viewing Area is the best spot at Kankakee Sands to learn more about and see the Kankakee Sands bison herd.
Richmond: ★ Thistlethwaite Falls – man-made waterfall, very accessible off of I-70 in a park.
Shoals: ★ Jug Rock – the largest tea-table rock formation east of the Mississippi River.
Spencer: ★ McCormick’s Creek Canyon and Wolf Cave/Twin Bridges at McCormick’s Creek State Park – Indiana’s first state park, McCormick’s Creek State Park, has amazed visitors with its natural features since opening in 1916. From unbelievable canyons and a picturesque waterfall to a cave that will freak out the claustrophobic and natural bridges that will take your breath away.
Waveland: ★ Shades State Park – Steep ravines, cliffs, and sandstone bluffs feature a diverse forest.
- Devil’s Backbone. After passing through ‘the slide’, hikers will be entranced by the steep-sided wall that sits about 6 feet wide and towers almost 100 feet wide.
- Honeycomb Rock is arguably the second most breathtaking feature, which gets its name from small pockets n the sandstone cliff.
Williamsport: ★ Williamsport Falls – Williamsport Falls is the second tallest waterfall in Indiana (90 ft).
Offbeat Attractions and Oddities
Alexandria: World’s Largest Ball of Paint: [RA] – call ahead for an appointment, you are invited to paint the ball
Auburn: National Automotive and Truck Museum: [RA] – The buildings belonged to the Auburn Automobile Company in the 1920s. Now they’re packed with museum vehicles that range in age from an Autowagon (1908) to the 10 millionth GMC pickup truck (2009)
Battle Ground: Prophet’s Rock [RA] – Prophet, a leader of the Shawnee, sat on a big rock and sang a magic song to defeat the army of William Henry Harrison. It didn’t work. Today the rock has its own little park and monument.
Bedford: ★ Foote’s Tomb Junk Art [RA] – An unusual display of oddities and collections seemingly represent a long-forgotten past. There’s so much to look at and see, your eyes don’t know where to go first. I’d recommend parking in the adjacent Marathon gas station lot and walking next door.
Bloomington:
- Big Brain with Smart Lighting [RA] – Outdoor brain carved from limestone, weighs six tons. Claimed to be the “World’s Largest Anatomically Accurate Sculpture of a Human Brain.” Interactive lighting added April 2015.
- ★ Future Birthplace of Captain Janeway [RA] – Unveiled in October 2020, a bronze bust of the Star Trek character Kathryn Janeway marks the spot where the starship commander will be born on May 20, 2336. Sculpted by Aaron Eby, the upper half of Janeway folds her arms atop a futuristic pedestal shaped like a Starfleet insignia. The concrete slab on which it stands is marked with a Vulcan handprint.
Brazil: Champ: 24-Foot-Tall Great Dane [RA]
Bruceville: ★ Home of the Big Peach [RA] – A scaled-down, but still towering, Washington Monument next to a 20-foot-tall peach. Built by Wilbur and Doris Yates in 1954 as a tribute to the Trylon and Perisphere of the 1939 New York World’s Fair.
Clarksville: ★ Concrete Statue Factory [RA] – Over 4,000 statues and ornaments for sale. Many outdoor photo opportunities.
Columbus: Limestone Pillars – Veterans Memorial [RA] – 40-foot-tall columns of limestone, tightly grouped to explore and read snippets of commendations and personal notes. Dramatic yet intimate memorial to the county’s war dead.
Corydon:
- Constitution Elm – Historic Stump [RA] – forty-three delegates met in 1816 to draft Indiana’s first constitution.
- ★ Indiana Caverns [RA] – The longest cave in Indiana (over 40 miles) contains Ice Age animal bones. Opened as a public show cave in June 2013 with views of many formations, and a waterfall. Metal walkways, stairs, and a boat ride.
Crawfordsville: Rotary Jail That Still Rotates [RA] – The first rotary jail built in the U.S., a practical-if-crazy innovation in which there was only one door, and the cells spun around to let inmates in and out. Closed in 1973; opened as an attraction in 1975. The only one of three surviving rotary jails that still rotate.
Dupont: Micrometer Grave Marker [RA] – Dupont Cemetery, It’s a big stone version of a small metal instrument used by Mr. Hughes in his tool and die business.
Elkhart:
Evansville:
- Giant Santa [RA] – 35-foot-tall Santa Claus.,
- ★ World War II Navy LST [RA] – Tour the only still operational LST, a World War 2 US Navy specialty vessel, short for Landing Ship, Tank.
Fair Oaks:
- ★ Dairy Adventure at Fair Oaks Farms [RA]
- 6,000 cows pumping out 280,000 gallons of milk every single day.
- Dairy Adventure Center visitor complex
Fort Wayne: ★ Hanson Quarry Observation Deck [RA] – a viewing deck that overlooks a 1,000-foot-deep hole in the ground. Dubbed “Indiana’s Grand Canyon,” the limestone quarry began in 1942, and it gets deeper every day.
Fortville: ★ Martini-Drinking Pink Elephant [RA] – A huge pachyderm wearing glasses and drinking a martini stands outside Elite Beverages on US 36 in Fortville
Franklin: ★ Big John: Former World’s Largest Rocking Chair [RA]
Fremont: Stand on Three States: Indiana, Michigan, Ohio [RA]
French Lick:
- French Lick West Baden Museum
- ★ Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus Diorama [RA] – Sprawling 1,000-square-foot miniature replica of the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus. Has nearly 6,000 itty-bitty people and animals. It took 40 years to build.
Greencastle: WWII V-1 German Buzz Bomb [RA] – Courthouse plaza, The Nazi rocket trophy is mounted outdoors on v-shaped concrete pillars, poised as if gliding into downtown.
Hammond: ★ Pole Licker Statue: A Christmas Story [RA] – A bronze statue of a boy with his tongue stuck to a real flagpole pays tribute to one of the most famous scenes in the film, “A Christmas Story.” Signs warn visitors to keep their tongues off.
Huntington: Dan Quayle Vice Presidential Museum: [RA]
Indianapolis:
- Indiana Medical History Museum: Brains in Jars[RA] – Th-Sa. One-hour tours by appt.
- Muffler Man – Mr. Bendo [RA] – Big fiberglass man with an unusual arm and hand configuration
- Elvis Last Concert Plaque [RA] – Placed outside the Market Square Arena when The King performed for the last time on June 26, 1977. The Arena was blown up in 2001, but the plaque remains.
- Coach of the Leg Lamps[RA] – John Wooden statue
Jasper: ★ Geode Grotto of Father Sztuczko [RA]
Jeffersonville: ★ 20-Foot-Tall Metal Woman: “I Am Your Mother” [RA] – Built from metal scraps by Carl Elwanger in the mid-1980s. Designed by the daughter of a worker at the scrap metal yard that formerly occupied the site.
Kokomo:
- Highland Park, glass-enclosed pavilion
- Willie the Whale [RA] – 16 feet tall
- ★ KokoMantis, 17-Foot-Tall Bug [RA]
LaPorte:
- La Porte County Historical Society Museum
- Belle “Black Widow” Gunness Exhibit [RA] – Infamous local lady who was known — too late — for murdering her husbands (and dozens of other people, too). The exhibit includes the wheelbarrow she used to haul their bodies to her pig pen.
Lincoln City: Bronzed Foundation of Lincoln’s Cabin [RA] – All that was left of Abe’s boyhood cabin was its foundation, so historians bronzed it. Left unbronzed was the gravestone of Lincoln’s mom, who’s buried only a few feet away.
Logansport: ★ Longcliff Museum, Insane Asylum Museum [RA] – Visit Indiana’s oldest operating mental hospital. Displays at the Longcliff Museum offer a glimpse into patient life and treatment from 1888 to today. Tours are available by appointment only.
Loogootee: ★ Birdhouse Paradise of Bill Larkin, [RA] 1000s of birdhouses
Marengo: Marengo Cave [RA]
Mauckport: Squire Boone Caverns and Bones [RA] – Daniel Boone’s baby brother discovered this cave, and when he died in 1815 he willed that his casket be left inside. Now he has a tombstone, too.
Milltown: Shoe Tree [RA] – The original tree was struck by lightning but the shoes have been spread to surrounding trees. Note though that this is off a paved road and is ~20 min on gravel to get there and back.
Mitchell:
- ★ Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom Memorial Museum [RA]– “Gus” Grissom, America’s hard luck astronaut hero.
- Gus Grissom Rocket Monument [RA] – a scaled-down limestone carving of the Gemini spacecraft in which astronaut Gus flew into space in 1965.
Montpelier: ★ Muffler Man Indian [RA] – An elaborate “chief” model with a feathered headdress and buckskin fringes. It’s now accepted as a representation of a local chief, but it was originally built for a Pontiac dealership. Seen in the opening credits of “Parks & Recreation.”
Muncie:
- ★ Muffler Man [RA] – Big fiberglass fellow keeps company with the scissor-lifts on a heavy equipment rental lot.
- ★ 25-Foot-Tall Paul Bunyan [RA] – A towering Bunyan with blobby hands is now the mascot of a bar named Timber’s. He had stood outside a local lumber company since the early 1970s.
Munster:
- Holy Mother Grotto, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Monastery [RA] – only open Sundays,
- Man Sits on Giant Typewriter[RA] – 18-foot-tall, eight-ton sculpture of a man sitting on a giant typewriter.suggesting the importance of news reporting.
New Castle: ★ Corey the Ice House Giant [RA] – Corey the Ice House Giant was one of several identical gas station goliaths that stood outside Marathon Oil service stations in the 1960s.
Oolitic: Joe Palooka Statue: [RA] – Joe Palooka was the most successful sports comic strip ever, its title character a dumb but good-hearted boxer.
Otisco: ★ 15 Acres of Concrete Statuary [RA] – The manufacturing headquarters, storage lot, and wholesale distribution point of Concrete Lady, which makes statues of everything from Jesus to Bigfoot. Much outdoor photo-op potential.
Pendleton: Three White Men Hanged For Killing Indians [RA] – There’s nothing else around it, just the marker and history surrounding it.
Peru:
- Miami County Museum, Big Charley the Elephant [RA] – The Miami County Museum honors Big Charley by displaying his tusks, along with the skull of another elephant that has a bullet hole in it.
- Grissom Air Museum [RA] – Outdoor display of warbirds. Has a rocket sled that used live bears to test supersonic ejection systems. Nuclear bomb on display as well.
Richmond:
- Double Decker Bus Inside Restaurant, Clara’s Pizza King [RA] – The restaurant was built around a vintage London double decker bus. Customers can dine within.
- Save the Cat! Fire Mural [RA] – A lifelike mural of a building in flames; an old lady leans out an upper window, dropping her tabby cat into the net of firemen waiting below.
Roselawn: Giant Lady’s Leg Sundial, Sun Aura Nudist Resort [RA]
Santa Claus:
- ★ Santa’s Candy Castle – [RA] – Christmas themed candy store.
- ★ America’s First Santa Statue [RA] – 22 foot concrete statue, unveiled in 1935.
- ★ Santa Claus Museum [RA] – The history of Santa Claus — the town, not the man — is told at the Santa Claus Museum, with a section devoted to the town’s premiere attraction, Santa Claus Land (now named Holiday World) whose owner is the founder and president of the museum.
Smithville: Baker’s Junction Railroad Museum [RA] – 30+ year project of Johnny F. Baker who’s been in a pitched battle with the local zoning and space planning board. Aside from the two train stations, rail cars and cabooses, the property features a “Time Castle” (containing a time capsule), a haunted house/haunted train, and hand-lettered signs spelling out the crimes of the “Commey Planing Zoin.”
South Bend: Studebaker Museum: Lincoln Carriage of Doom [RA] – Studebaker built vehicles for over 100 years. Trace its history from its quirky cars of the 1960s and ’50s back to the carriage that carried Lincoln to his Ford Theatre assassination in 1865
St Joe: Famous Indiana Wooden People [RA] – Carved wooden statues of famous Hoosiers: sports stars, astronauts, Abe Lincoln, Col. Sanders. Honorees are selected by the local elementary school.
St. John: ★ Shrine of Christ’s Passion and Millennium Mary: [RA] – Roman Catholic shrine with statues for each of the stations of the cross.
Toto: ★ Muffler Man – Indian [RA] – Giant fiberglass Indian brave extends his right arm in peaceful greeting. Depending on the weathering of his skin paint, he may be bright red, or faded tan.
Valparaiso:
- Orville Redenbacher, King of Popcorn [RA] – The statue was placed at the entrance to the city’s downtown park, and sits on its own bronze bench to encourage visitors to pose for photos.
- Porter County Museum
- Daisy the Stuffed Dog[RA]
Vincennes:
- Uncle Sam Statue [RA] – large statue painted in patriotic colors, hangs out at a car wash.
- ★ Indiana Military Museum [RA] – Tanks, bombs, planes, plus fragments from a WWI Zeppelin and from atom-blasted Hiroshima, and the cap worn by the nurse kissed in Times Square on VJ Day. Unique parking lot bunker photo-op.
Wabash: ★ Star Wars Walkers [RA] – Well-made, large sculptures of an Imperial Walker and Scout Walker from Star Wars, outside a metal recycling business.
West Lafayette: Russian Bomber Watchtower and Monument [RA] – watchtower is rotted but the monument still exists.
Whiteland: Garden of Gas Station Signs [RA] – 36 free-standing signs set on 18-foot-tall poles, collected by Alan Ray Whitaker, who’s only been at it since 2013. Signs range in age from 1934 to 1961. Bonus: Roto-sphere!
Whiting: ★ Mascot Hall of Fame [RA] –