The Ultimate Indiana Travel Guide
Indiana: Home to the racing capital of the world, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indiana has a lot to offer! Whether you’re looking for a beach getaway, a relaxed stroll through a zoo, or take a Speedway tour, Indiana has it for you! Here is my Indiana travel guide, outlining the major attractions in Indiana!
To make it easy for you to navigate the content, I have organized my Indiana travel guide into two sections. (1) A brief introduction to Indiana, a little history, some geography, commute, and weather. (2) Major Indiana attractions, if you wish, you can skip the introduction and move on to the next section, Indiana Attractions.
History: Indiana was admitted to the union as the 19th state on Dec. 11, 1816. The state’s name was coined by the US Congress when Indiana was created from the Northwest Territory in 1800, it means “Land of Indians.” The origin of the State’s nickname, the Hoosier State, is unknown but residents of Indiana embrace the nickname with pride. Due to its location, Indiana always has served as the crossroads of America, a corridor for movement from north to south and east to west.
Geography: Indiana is bordered by Lake Michigan and Michigan in the north and by Kentucky in the south. On the east it’s bordered by Ohio and on the west by Illinois. Indiana is the second smallest state west of the Appalachian Mountains, the smallest being Hawaii.
Getting There
Flight: Indianapolis International Airport (IND), Gary-Chicago International Airport (GYY) and Terre Haute – Hulman Field Intl. Airport (HUF) are the major airports in Indiana.
Drive: Indiana servers as the crossroads of US, so definitely you could reach there by road.
Train: Amtrak offers a rail service called Cardinal connecting – New York – Washington, DC – Charlottesville – Charleston – Cincinnati – Indianapolis and Chicago. There are several Amtrak rail services to and from Chicago, connecting all major states in the US, you could arrive at Chicago and then take the Amtrak Cardinal services to get to Indiana.
Climate: Summers are hot and humid, with high average high temperatures crossing 100°F. Winters are cold and bitter, with night temperatures below 15°F. Spring is when the weather changes from cold to hot, and Autumn is mostly sunny and pleasant.
Time zone: Eastern Daylight Time UTC-4, Central Daylight Time UTC-5
Getting around: Besides renting a car, which I highly recommend, Greyhound, Amtrak and Megabus are your other options to get around the state.
Best Places To Visit in Indiana
Indiana Dunes National Park
Nearly 25 miles long, running along the southern shore of Lake Michigan. In summer you can enjoy swimming, sunbathing, camping and hiking the dune trails and in winter you could go cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.
Address: 1215 N State Rd 49, Porter, IN 46304, Entrance Fee: $7 for in-state vehicles and $12 for out-of-state vehicles
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Racing Capital of the World, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing track located in Speedway, Indiana. Even if no races are going on, you could take one of the several tours offered by the speedway museum and get real up close to the racing track, most popular tours – Kiss the Bricks Tour, Golf Cart Tour, and The VIP Full Grounds Tour.
Address: 4790 W 16th St, Indianapolis, IN 46222, Entrance Fee: Several options, please check the website.
Indianapolis Zoo
The Indianapolis Zoo in Indianapolis, Indiana, is home to approximately 1,200 animals. Even though it’s not as big compared to other zoos in the US, like San Diego Zoo, it’s well planned and laid out.
Address: 1200 W Washington St, Indianapolis, IN 46222, Entrance Fee: $16.95 for adults and $11.95 for children, parking not included.
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I hope you enjoyed reading the post, The Ultimate Indiana Travel Guide, and I hope it will help you plan your trip to Indiana. I love Indiana Dunes National Park and enjoyed the Speedway tour; I keep going every summer as it’s quite close to Michigan, my hometown. I hope you will love it too!
Happy feeding your soul!