Some Indiana destinations are perfectly good day trips. These eight are worth packing actual luggage.
This list is ranked by how convincingly each place changes the scenery and how easily it can fill two or three summer days. A single attraction and a hotel pool aren’t enough. Beaches, large lakes, cave tours, water parks, river views and places where kids can wake up close to the fun all score well.
Related Article: Find more slides, wave pools and lazy rivers in our guide to the best water parks in Indiana.
Editor’s note: Water conditions, ride calendars, trail closures and seasonal hours can change quickly. Check official park and attraction pages before leaving, especially when swimming, paddling or planning around a particular ride or tour.
Jump to:
- Indiana Dunes
- Santa Claus and Holiday World
- French Lick, West Baden and Patoka Lake
- Pokagon State Park and Lake James
- Indiana Beach and Lake Shafer
- Turkey Run and Sugar Creek
- Southern Indiana Cave Country
- Madison and Clifty Falls
8 Indiana places that feel like a real vacation
1. Indiana Dunes National Park and Indiana Dunes State Park
Lake Michigan does most of the work here. When the view is sand, water and a horizon with no opposite shore in sight, Indiana Dunes National Park feels considerably farther from Indianapolis than it is.
The national park protects 15 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and has more than 50 miles of trails. Next door, Indiana Dunes State Park has more than three miles of beach, dunes that rise nearly 200 feet and the restored Dunes Pavilion near the water. Families can build one day around the beach and another around a shorter hike, the Three Dune Challenge or stops in nearby Chesterton and Porter.
The national and state parks are separate properties with separate admission systems. A pass for one doesn’t cover the other, an easy detail to miss when both places have nearly identical names. Indiana Dunes State Park also operates on Central Time.
Staying nearby turns the visit from a long beach day into a much easier trip. Families can camp inside the state park or use a hotel or vacation rental near Chesterton, Porter or Michigan City. Two nights leave enough room for a full beach day without forcing every hike and dune climb into the same afternoon.
2. Santa Claus and Holiday World
Santa Claus is not subtle, which helps when a family wants a trip to feel different from an ordinary weekend. Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari combine roller coasters, family rides, children’s rides, water coasters, pools and slides in one destination. Parking, soft drinks and sunscreen are included with admission.
The better vacation plan is to stay nearby instead of driving home after the park closes. Sun Outdoors Lake Rudolph has RV and tent sites, more than 200 cabins and cottages, pools, mini golf, fishing, paddleboats, trails and a seasonal water park. A complimentary shuttle connects the campground with Holiday World, although some resort activities carry an additional fee.
Two nights work well here. Families can use the arrival evening for campground activities, devote the middle day to Holiday World and avoid loading tired children directly into the car after the last ride. Holiday World and Lake Rudolph operate on Central Time, another detail worth remembering when coming from Indianapolis.
3. French Lick, West Baden and Patoka Lake
French Lick is the rare Indiana getaway where one adult can want a historic hotel, another can want a lake and the kids can demand a pool and an arcade, and nobody has to lose.
French Lick Resort spans more than 3,200 acres and includes three hotels. The West Baden Springs Hotel’s enormous domed atrium gives the trip the kind of grand arrival that doesn’t happen at a roadside chain hotel, and a rail trolley runs free rides between the two historic hotels, so exploring both is part of the fun.
The resort itself can fill most of a family’s itinerary. Indoor and outdoor pools, bowling, horse and pony rides, archery, pickleball, sporting clays and more than 12 miles of trails are all on the property. The Sand Creek Course, a nine-hole short course with holes between 40 and 90 yards, is friendly enough for kids and beginners, and clubs and balls are provided.
Each hotel handles kids a little differently. French Lick Springs Hotel has an arcade, deep-dish pizza and an Activities Center with games, crafts and scavenger hunts. West Baden runs quieter, with Saturday afternoon tea and horse-drawn carriage rides, and the spas at both hotels offer Petite Polish services for ages 5 to 11. For a closer look at the resort’s summer lineup, see our French Lick Resort getaway spotlight.
Patoka Lake sits south of French Lick and West Baden. The 8,800-acre lake has a beach, boat ramps, marinas, boat rentals and hundreds of campsites. Families can spend one day at the lake, one at the resort pools and still have time to explore both historic hotels.
One familiar attraction requires a current-season caveat. French Lick Scenic Railway’s regular scenic excursions are paused until October. Heritage Rail Bikes are scheduled to operate during the summer, but families should check the railway calendar rather than assuming a train ride is available.
4. Pokagon State Park and Lake James
Pokagon State Park is the closest Indiana gets to an up-north lake lodge trip without crossing the state line. The park sits along Lake James and Snow Lake, with beaches, boating, fishing, hiking, paddleboat and pontoon rentals, saddle rides and plenty of places to spend an afternoon near the water.
The real vacation piece is Potawatomi Inn. The lakeside inn has 126 guest rooms, 12 cabins, two restaurants, an indoor pool, hot tub, sauna and game room. Families can step outside and already be inside the state park rather than commuting back and forth from a hotel along the interstate.
Pokagon works particularly well for a two- or three-night trip. One day can revolve around the lake, another around trails, boats or horseback riding, and the indoor pool gives families somewhere to go when a summer storm interrupts the plan.
5. Indiana Beach and Lake Shafer
Indiana Beach doesn’t feel like a theme park dropped into a parking lot. It sits on Lake Shafer, and the combination of boardwalk rides, lake views, water slides, pools, arcade games and midway food gives the park an old-fashioned summer resort quality.
The park lists more than 45 rides and attractions, including roller coasters, family rides and children’s rides. The water park overlooks the lake, so families can move between amusement rides and swimming without treating them as two separate outings.
On-site lodging includes the Beach Club, lakeside cottages, larger Hoosier Pointe accommodations, cabins, an inn and a campground. Staying one or two nights makes it possible to slow down, return to favorite rides and spend an evening near the lake instead of trying to beat traffic out of the parking lot at closing.
Indiana Beach uses a seasonal operating calendar, and the water park may have different hours than the amusement rides. Check both schedules before reserving lodging around a particular date.
6. Turkey Run State Park and Sugar Creek
The vacation trick is to stop treating Turkey Run State Park as a hike-and-drive-home trip. Its sandstone ravines, forested trails and Sugar Creek setting feel different from most Central Indiana parks, but the experience is a lot better when families don’t have to rush through it.
Turkey Run Inn sits inside the park near the trails and suspension bridge. The park also has cabins, an outdoor swimming pool, playgrounds, saddle rides and more than 200 electric campsites.
A second day leaves room for paddling Sugar Creek. Sugar Valley Canoes has routes ranging from three to 15 miles. Its three-mile trip passes beneath two covered bridges and the park’s suspension bridge, making it a manageable add-on for many families rather than an all-day expedition.
Age and water rules matter here. Sugar Valley requires children to be able to walk and run independently at normal creek levels, and children younger than 6 require one participating adult per child. Trips can close with little notice when the creek rises. Inside the park, several ravine trails use ladders or follow streambeds that become slick or impassable after rain, so families with younger children may need an alternate route.
7. Southern Indiana Cave Country
In July, southern Indiana’s most reliable air conditioning is geological. A cave-country trip combines underground tours with enough aboveground activities to fill an overnight or long weekend.
Marengo Cave has two walking tours through a cave that remains about 52 degrees year-round. The property also has gemstone mining, a maze, a cave simulator, cabins, a bunkhouse and a creekside campground. Marengo describes the tours as relatively easy walks, but neither route is accessible for wheelchairs or strollers.
Squire Boone Caverns adds a different mix. Along with the cavern tour, families can see a working water-powered grist mill, mine for gemstones, visit the barnyard, watch candle-making demonstrations or add a zip-line course.
Staying near Corydon creates an easy second-day plan. The Corydon Capitol State Historic Site tells the story of Indiana’s first state capital, which remained in Corydon until the government moved to Indianapolis in 1825. Tours require registration, so reserve a spot rather than assuming the site accepts walk-ins.
8. Madison and Clifty Falls State Park
Madison can do waterfalls before lunch and the Ohio River after dinner. Clifty Falls State Park has waterfall views, rugged canyon trails, a seasonal swimming pool with a waterslide and both electric and non-electric camping.
Clifty Inn overlooks the Ohio River and keeps families close to both the park and historic downtown Madison. Staying inside the park makes it possible to hike during the cooler part of the morning, take a pool break and head into town later without turning the entire day into one long trail outing.
In Madison, the Lanier Mansion State Historic Site adds a guided tour of one of the city’s best-known historic homes. Tours require registration and run at set times.
One trail closure belongs in the plan. Brough’s Tunnel at Clifty Falls is closed indefinitely because of a rockslide. Trail 5 remains open, but visitors should avoid the tunnel entrances and check the park’s current trail notices before hiking.
How long should families stay?
Indiana Dunes, Santa Claus, French Lick and Pokagon can each carry two or three nights without much effort. Indiana Beach is a strong one- or two-night trip. Turkey Run, Cave Country and Madison work best as overnights, with the second day reserved for the part families usually skip when trying to squeeze everything into a day trip.
The best choice depends on what makes a trip feel like a vacation to the family taking it. Indiana Dunes wins for a beach, Santa Claus for rides, French Lick for mixed interests and Pokagon for the traditional lake-lodge experience. Turkey Run and Cave Country take a little more planning, but both feel noticeably different from a typical weekend around Indianapolis.
For more ideas closer to home, browse our guides to summer activities around Indianapolis, hiking with kids in Indianapolis, caves in Indiana worth exploring and more Indiana day trips.
