Here is the inside scoop on ten soft outdoor adventures for outdoor enthusiasts with active lifestyles. The whole family will stay busy year-round visiting natural wonders, public art, art galleries, festivals, trails, gardens, and Indiana activities and stops. Adventurous treks are available in the northeastern part of the state, from Richmond to Lincoln City, Elkhart, Parke County, Anderson, Middlebury, Berne, Shipshewana, Cambridge City, and Portland.
Meltdown Winter Ice Festival
Winter offers unique beauty as snow falls and temperatures drop. Since 2014, Richmond, Indiana’s Wayne County, has been home to the Meltdown Winter Ice Festival. Professional ice carvers and artists ramp up the crowd, creating art from blocks of ice. In one January weekend, artists transform over 20,000 pounds of ice into frosty formations that capture the imagination.
Sculptors from all over the US share their chilly talents. While in Richmond, visit the Model T Museum and stop by the Wayne County Historical Museum. You’ll learn the rich history of the area. Downtown, dine at Firehouse BBQ & Blues and check out the eye-catching downtown murals.
Sculptors from all over the US share their chilly talents. While in Richmond, visit the Model T Museum and stop by the Wayne County Historical Museum. You will learn the rich history of the area. Downtown, dine at Firehouse BBQ & Blues and check out the eye-catching downtown murals.
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial
Abraham Lincoln’s Boyhood Home is in Lincoln City, Indiana, where he lived from age seven to 21. Marvel over the foundation and humble beginnings of our 16th President, then tour the replicated cabin and Visitor’s Center. Outside the Visitor’s Center, visitors will enjoy the amazing stone murals. Each mural defines important moments in Lincoln’s life.
Take a hike in the wooded surroundings, traveling the Trail of Twelve Stones. The trail starts at the Living Historical Farm and ends near the Pioneer Cemetery, which is the burial place of Lincoln’s mother, Nancy Lincoln. On-site, you will learn how his beloved mother died from milk sickness. On the hike, the two trails form a one-mile loop.
©Cindy Ladage
The Trail of Twelve Stones scenic trail offers a glimpse of Lincoln’s history. One stone is from Honest Abe’s birthplace in Hodgenville, Kentucky; another was from the Berry-Lincoln store at New Salem. Walk on to see a stone from the Anderson Cottage National Soldiers Home in Washington, DC, where President Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation. One of the most emotional stones represents the site where he delivered the Gettysburg address.
Wellfield Botanic Garden
Take a garden walk through Elkhart’s beautiful Wellfield Botanic Gardens. This garden is a true story of repurpose and an outpouring of community support. The name Wellfield reflects the history of this piece of land, which was once the site of 13 active wells that supplied city water. Dating back to the 1800s, this once-industrial area was remastered by the Elkhart Rotary Club into 36 acres of gardens.
There are 20 themed gardens to stroll through, including an English Cottage Garden, a Japanese Island Garden, and a Children’s Garden. Sculptures and art are interspersed, enhancing the experience’s artistic beauty. Open year-round, each season offers special beauty. Spring offers daffodils and tulips. In summer, beauty blooms are in full force. Fall unfolds its colors, and winter glows with the Winter Wonderland Holiday Lights show, with over a million holiday lights.
©Cindy Ladage
Parke County Covered Bridges
With 31 covered bridges, Parke County, Indiana, is the Covered Bridge Capital of the World. Great anytime of the year, this scenic beauty can be enjoyed by car or on foot, making this an accessible outdoor option. Each year, a couple of million visitors flock to Parke County for the Covered Bridge Festival. The festival lasts ten days, starting on the second Friday in October.
Start at Rockville, Indiana, a charming town, and dine at the fun Thirty-Six Saloon before moving on. One of the loveliest covered bridges is the Narrows Covered Bridge. Located close to Turkey Run State Park. Turkey Run offers miles of trails for all skill levels. The Bridgeton Covered Bridge, the newest, built in 2006, offers a waterfall. The covered bridges were built primarily around the turn of the century, with the Crooks Covered Bridge dating back to 1856 or 1860.
The Andersontown Powwow & Indian Market
Madison County, Indiana, has fun fall festivals like the Pendleton Fall Creek Heritage Fair and the Pendleton Fall Festival. Located on Falls Creek in Falls Park, this area was originally a milling center, and a stone quarry was converted to a park and outdoor area. Nearby, a stop at the Pendleton Historical Museum is in order with the area’s interesting history and fascinating agricultural items. One of the most unusual events taking place in Madison County is the cool Andersontown Powwow & Indian Market.
This two-day event highlights Native American Culture, bringing a gathering of dance, music, fun, and living history. This is an opportunity to witness Native American heritage and community, a one-of-a-kind outdoor opportunity. Native American dancers, like the 2025 featured dancer, Patrick Willie, perform warrior dances in full costume, offering spectacular entertainment and insight. Educational workshops and music add to the event.
Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Show
Advertised as the World’s Largest Gas Engine and Tractor Show, the Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Show celebrates its 61st show in August. Held at the 100-acre Jay County Fairgrounds, this event is a place for antique tractor collectors to find parts, see equipment, and everything under the sun. If looking for a chance to do something different and see a part of the agricultural past, this is the show to attend. Along with tractor displays, sawmilling, threshing, and antique construction equipment are in operation.
Part of the Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Show’s fascination is its sheer size. You’ll find antique vendors, farm toy vendors, food galore, and parts of every agricultural brand around. Often, you can see a biplane flying around Portland, offering vintage flights. At the Jay County Fairgrounds, the Floral Hall is worth a walk through. The Round House building is a two-and-a-half-story octagonal frame structure built in 1891. This is a fun stop on the National Register of Historic Places.
Krider’s World’s Fair Garden
In Middlebury, Indiana, just off the picturesque Pumpkinvine Nature Trail, bikers, walkers, and garden enthusiasts will enjoy the Krider World’s Fair Garden. This spot is a tribute to the Krider Nursery’s 1933-1934 Chicago World’s Fair display. The story begins when Vernon Krider started a nursery on land his father gave him. When the World’s Fair came to Chicago, Vernon Krider designed a display garden. When he returned home, he moved part of that exhibit to 2.4 acres across the street from the nursery headquarters, calling his display garden, “Krider World’s Fair Garden.”
Krider’s Nursery closed in 1990. They were famous for developing Thornless Roses. Today, the garden is a lovely chance to walk through history. The garden sports fun and unusual items like a welcoming Dutch windmill, a fun toadstool with seats, a pond with Hebe, the goddess of youth, and much more. This small garden features an easy-to-follow footpath and benches for relaxing. Open year-round, enjoy the beauty during different seasons.
Swiss Heritage Historical Village
This Swiss Heritage Historical Village in Berne offers an outdoor walk-through of local Swiss history. The Village, established in 1985, is home to northern Indiana’s largest outdoor museum. There are buildings of regional and national significance, like the 1839 Luginbill farmhouse and the 1856 Hauenstein Cider Press. William Hauenstein constructed the press during the Civil War.
There is a Swiss bank barn dating to 1900, a one-room Brick School, and a doctor’s office. Check out the 1841 pioneer log cabin, cheese house, and sawmill. Take time during your tour to enjoy the indoor museum and the restored Mennonite Baumgartner church. On twenty-six acres of land settled in the early 1800s, the Old Order Amish, Swiss Anabaptists came to the area to avoid religious persecution. They arrived in 1838. The order is still present in the region today. Before stopping, check the calendar for local events such as Berne Swiss Days, the Heritage Festival, Heritage Soup & Sandwich Supper, Holiday Bazaar, and Christmas Eve. For groups, reservations may be needed.
Fall in Shipshewana
Whether it’s fall or winter, in Shipshewana, they go all out. They decorate and celebrate. During the fall of 2025, outdoor fun included checking out the Straw Bale Trail. You could drive to see straw bales or get out and stroll in this charming Amish village. Bales were in the form of a steer, an Amish buggy, and characters. Scarecrows lined the streets in a variety of poses, and fall was in full force with a drive through the Amish countryside, an outdoor event. The Blue Gate, a restaurant, hotel, and entertainment venue, decorates extensively outside.
This was the first year of the LaGrange County barn tour. Put on by the Indiana Barn Heritage Foundation, it was fun to wind through the countryside, see the barns, and enjoy equipment, horses, and goods. LaGrange County Executive Director Sonya Harms Nash explained, “The objective is to share working farms and gain access to farms built in the 1920s that still exist today. In LaGrange, over 2100 farms, four million chickens, and pork producers supply five-star restaurants. They are a vital part of the livelihoods, sharing farming history and the way people live today.”
Harvest in LaGrange County is a different take on agriculture, with horse farming and a lack of large farm equipment. Shipshewana is lovely year-round, but fall is a magical time to get outside and witness a different culture that reflects a bit of our agricultural past.
Art and History in Cambridge City
Cambridge City, located on the National Road and White River, is an antique lover’s dream. Besides the great shopping options, the town is full of murals that combine outdoor art and history. Cambridge City began on October 23, 1836. Filled with historic buildings, they all have a story. Part of the history and outside fun in Cambridge City includes the Cambridge City Canal Mural. The mural depicting the Whitewater Canal is located on the south side of US 40 (National Road), where the canal crossed under Main Street. The mural brought travelers to the rear of Vinton House, which today is an antique store.
If you enjoy Presidential history, the mural sharing Lincoln’s Funeral Train in Indiana is interesting. Abraham Lincoln’s Funeral Train went through Cambridge City because of his relationship with his friend and resident, General Solomon Meredith. Another cool mural inside the Cambridge City post office depicts the Single G horse, one of the greatest racehorses of the 1900s. You do not have to go inside to see Single G; a mural of him is also on one of the outside buildings.
Inside the library is the Overbeck Pottery Museum. If you are looking for a fun place to stay and immerse yourself in Cambridge City, High Hats has an apartment above the store.
Plan these incredible outdoor adventures. Plan these outdoor experiences that are a little different, in some of the more rural areas outside Indianapolis. Get outdoors and enjoy yourself, because this is just the beginning of the endless opportunities for outdoor fun in beautiful Indiana.
Note: Thanks to Visit Richmond, Midwest Travel Network, Elkhart County CVB, Visit Madison County, and Visit Shipshewana for hosting me during these trips over the years to find these fun outdoor adventures.
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Read more from Cindy at Traveling Adventures of a Farm Girl.
