We're lucky to have a huge variety of amazing lakes to visit in Indiana, making our summers much more enjoyable. However, some Hoosiers might be searching for a hidden gem of a lake, one with a ton to do and see, that isn't as well known. Luckily, we have our fair share of smaller lakes that pack a major punch. If you've been looking for a new, little known lake destination to increase your summer fun, read on!
In the small town of Berne is a stunning lake with a pretty common name: Pine Lake. Despite already being an impressive body of water that offers a great view for visitors, Pine Lake has something a little extra: a full blown water park built into it!
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Pine Lake offers all of the summer fun you’ll never need and is perfect for children and adults. With huge water slides, an amazing splash pad, a fun filled log walk, and kiddie slides, visitors of all ages will have the time of their lives at this lake.
In addition to traditional water park features, Pine Lake also has a crows nest to play on, a two person bobber, a tower to jump off of, and for the more daring, an awesome cable ride. Volleyball and other games are also great ways to spend time on the sandy beach.
Visitors looking to make a trip out of their Pine Lake visit can also stay comfortably at nearby state park campgrounds, such as Ouabache State Park. You can also rent paddleboats to enjoy the beauty of Pine Lake, while exploring the water.
Be sure to check out this little known lake before summer slips away! For even more fun, check out these amazing water parks in Indiana!
There's just something so fascinating about places that once were. There's something about wandering the halls of an abandoned place in Indiana and imagining the days in which the place was once alive that has strange but beautiful magic to it. The Hoosier State is no stranger to interesting abandoned places, and there's one town that gets a lot of flak it doesn't necessarily deserve. Gary, Indiana, is a mostly abandoned little place that tops almost anywhere else when it comes to urban exploration. Although Gary is still inhabited, it's home to so many abandoned structures that it still has an eerie ghost town feel about it. With more than 13,000 abandoned buildings and structures, Gary is among the most abandoned places in Indiana — if not the world. Let's take a closer look at abandoned Gary, Indiana.
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Once upon a time, Gary, Indiana, was a bustling town with a booming economy — but the good times didn't last.
Today, it's not quite "abandoned" — folks still call it home, and efforts have been underway to try and revamp the area — but one-third of the town is effectively deserted.
Most people speak of Gary as if it's something of a dirty secret. Hoosiers aren't proud of it, but perhaps they should be - albeit for totally different reasons than, say, an excellent tourist economy. But there's beauty and value to be had in an abandoned space and the way it develops into a new use.
For the artists, the photographers, and the wanderers, Gary is a kind of mecca; it's a sacred holy grail in the Midwest for urban explorers and those with roaming hearts.
Urban exploration is the art of combing through long-forgotten buildings and taking photos, taking videos, or simply taking it all in. It's an entire subculture of people who find beauty in urban decay — and trust us, there's most certainly an enchanting beauty to the decay of Gary, Indiana. Walking through these structures and seeing the vibrant graffiti and public art in them is like exploring a brand-new kind of urban museum.
You'd be amazed at the buildings you can find, and what some of them contain.
For example, there's the old abandoned Gary Elementary School with furniture and books and desks still scattered about. There's a stunning apartment complex (or two...or ten) whose walls once held families and lively residents but are now quietly decomposing, taken over once more by nature and the occasional graffiti artists. Much like the old Ambassador Apartment complex, which was built in the 1920s and abandoned entirely by the mid-1980s. It's easy to imagine what this living space was like in its heyday, packed with people and flourishing with the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
In many places, old furniture still sits - not untouched by any means, but certainly forgotten by those who once cared for it. And in some cases, it feels like time has stopped completely in these spaces, like the whole population just up and left one day and this is what remains.
We don't recommend entering any of the buildings; urban exploration can be risky, even dangerous, if you're new to it (or if you make a simple miscalculation in terms of, say, if a rotting floor can hold your weight).
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Luckily for those who prefer to admire from afar, there's plenty of that to be done in Gary, too. Every old building seems to ask you to come closer so it can whisper in your ear, and they're intriguing from the outside in. Luckily, we have all these stunning images from brave and well-trained urban explorers to give us a sense of what lies inside these buildings.
It's strange to think that every one of these places was once a living, breathing part of a town - a town that, slowly but steadily, is becoming more and more extinct year by year.
One thing is for sure, though: despite the poor reputation Gary has earned over the years for varied (and valid) reasons, those who appreciate the beautiful sense of longing that comes with exploring abandoned places in IN will find plenty to appreciate about it.
And hopefully, as the town begins to be revitalized, some of the beautiful elements of these buildings (like graffiti and public artwork) will be maintained.
What are your favorite abandoned places in Indiana? Do you know of any places that are haunted in Gary, Indiana? Tell us about them and you might see them featured someday! If you love taking photos and videos, make sure you bring a camera like the latest GoPro with you.
And remember: at Only In Your State, we encourage exploration, but we don't recommend entering old, dilapidated buildings where an injury is very possible should something go wrong (and it easily could — remember that many of these buildings haven't been kept up in decades), nor do we endorse trespassing of any kind.
Interested in a ghost town road trip to see more of abandoned Gary, Indiana? Take a look at our itinerary for just such a thing.
If there's any earth science that Indiana seems to excel at being amazing at, it's archaeology. Amazingly, there are several notable archaeological sites in Indiana, and as a result, there's quite a vibrant "scene" here, so to speak. That's where September comes in: here, we celebrate our archaeological wonders for the entire month, and it's a great time every time.
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So, what does this ultimately mean? It means that geeks like ourselves have the perfect reason(s) to hit as many museums, state parks, and archaeological sites as possible, and it's encouraged (you can even get a poster to commemorate your adventures; pick one up at the DNR Central Office lobby in the Indiana Government Center South complex in Indianapolis from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays).
So, where should we go? Here are some ideas:
Mounds State Park
Mounds State Park (pictured below) is an amazing place to visit for anyone interested in history - particularly Indiana's history. With ten incredible earthworks built by the Adena-Hopewell people around 160 B.C. (making them nearly 2,000 years old!), one could get completely lost in this beautiful place and learn all about the folks who once called it home. The Great Mound is one of the more notable of the group, measuring 390 feet across and consisting of a circular outer embankment nine feet high and 63 feet wide. To say it's impressive is to downplay it a bit. Archaeology lovers will be intrigued from start to finish, as these mounds were once used for religious ceremonies and for viewing the stars and astronomical alignments.
Falls of the Ohio State Park
Falls of the Ohio State Park is easily one of the most underrated state parks in Indiana, and the entire thing is an archaeologist's dream come true. Nestled, perhaps predictably, on the banks of the Ohio River, this amazing set of 390 million-year-old fossil beds is incredible enough to turn even the sourest of science-stuff haters into at least intrigued onlookers.
The fossil beds are among the oldest Devonian-era fossil beds in the world. While fossil-picking is not allowed in most of the park, you'll be pleased to learn there's a picking pile behind the interpretive center from which one can, well, pick out fossils and rocks. It's awesome, and it's all about Indiana archaeology.
Wyandotte Caves
The awesome Wyandotte Caves (pictured below) are a set of twin caves located also on the Ohio River and are the fifth-largest limestone caves of their kind in Indiana. Though they're considered "twin" caves thanks to their proximity to one another, both caves are quite different, though both were formed thanks to water moving through the limestone, dissolving it over time and carving out beautiful caverns worthy of exploration even when it isn't Indiana Archaeology Month.
These caves were utilized by Native American peoples approximately 4,000 years before European colonizers arrived. Some artifacts found in the cave are thought to be about 8,000 years old, which is extraordinary. Today, you can take tours that specifically showcase the Native American mining operations that went on here back then, and it makes for a fabulously fun and educational stop during this special month.
2024 marks the 100th year of the first published survey reports (which were for Washington and Lawrence Counties), which were a major stepping stone along the way to preserving important archaeological sites for generations to come. If you're planning to come out and discover all the most amazing archaeological sites in Indiana, wonderful! Check out all the coolest places to stay from our friends at VRBO.
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If you can't make it in person to the DNR Central Office lobby to grab a complimentary map, you can request up to five by emailing [email protected].
What Indiana archaeological sites amaze you the most? Tell me about them in the comments.