Indiana summer road trip idea: Visit Amish country
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You can take a horse-drawn buggy tour during your visit. Photo: Courtesy of Shipshewana/LaGrange County CVB
If you're looking for a summer road trip, look no further than Shipshewana, Indiana — the Midwest Travel Network's destination of the year.
The big picture: Just three hours northeast of Indianapolis in LaGrange County, Shipshewana is the third-largest Amish community in the country.
- It's quaint and picturesque, and sharing back country roads with horse-drawn buggies feels like taking a step back in time.
- While the large Amish community surrounding the town — and the goods, crafts and food it produces — is the main draw for tourists, the area is also home to a popular summer flea market and extensive trail and park system.
Zoom in: The Midwest Travel Network, which held its annual conference there last month, commended the town for its "dedication to tourism."
- Miranda Beverly, spokesperson for Visit Shipshewana, said the community has been making a concerted effort to increase tourism over the last several years and it's working.
- While the town itself has an official population of just 850, the area is averaging around 2 million visitors annually.
What they're saying: "The town is very small, but we have a large Amish population that surrounds Shipshewana," Beverly said. "Many are involved in the local economy that benefit from that tourism — shop owners, woodworkers, artisans. They're people whose livelihood is built on [tourism] … and they're very integrated into all the decisions we make."
💭 Arika's thought bubble: I grew up not far from Shipshe, as us locals call it, and visited at least once a summer with my nana to go to the gigantic flea market.
- Some of our other favorite stops in town are the Davis Mercantile — home to a fully-restored 120-year-old carousel, plus dozens of shops and vendors — and the Blue Gate Restaurant and Bakery for Amish home-style cooking.
Go deeper: VisitShipshewana.org has more tips on where to stay and what to do, plus tips for immersing yourself in Amish culture.