Sometimes, we crave something that's a little off the beaten path - or maybe a lot off the beaten path. Luckily for us, Indiana is filled with all kinds of strange, offbeat, or otherwise interesting places - and it might be fun to hop in the car and check out a bunch of them! We've done roadside attraction road trips before, but they're super fun, so what's one more? Get in the car, we're gonna go look at some offbeat hidden gems in Indiana. Since it's about a 7-hour drive to visit all our stops, why not make the dive into a weekend trip? We already have your ultimate road trip packing list created and ready for you to use, which makes it easy to start your adventure!
Our first stop is in Metamora, and it's a doozy!
This adorable shop is the epitome of mom-and-pop, and it’s filled top to bottom with cookie jars! It has, in fact, set the record for the largest cookie jar collection (with 2,653 jars, the last time they were counted). Grannie herself’s favorite cookie jar out of the entire bunch is the Roy Rogers one. It’s adorable. Everything about this shop is adorable. Oh, and the ice cream is to die for. When you read more about Metamora, you'll learn all about Grannie's legendary collection!
Up next is a stop at one of Indiana's oldest stores.
Cataract General is one of the oldest general stores in the entire Hoosier State, having opened its doors in 1860. You can find lots of fun stuff you’ll have a hard time finding anywhere else, like old-school eight-ounce glass bottles of Coca-Cola – which Cataract General has been selling since forever. You’ll find all sorts of things here, from cookware to candy and everything in between. It's like stepping back in time when you visit Cataract General Store.
Science fiction fans are going to be stoked about this next stop: we're heading to Camby to check out WHO North America.
The largest Dr. Who museum and shop in the world is hiding in Camby, Indiana. WHOvians from all over the world flock to this little spot to support one of the longest-running television shows in history. It’s one of the only shows we can think of where there are easily multiple generations of fans and doesn’t appear to have any intentions of slowing down any time soon. So that you can appreciate this stop on our road trip even more, be sure to get the full scoop about WHO North America!
Okay, in continuing the sci-fi theme - not really intentionally, it just sorta worked out like that - we'll make a stop at a monument to a strong, intelligent woman whose presence on television inspired many young ladies for decades.
The devotion reads "In honor of Captain Janeway’s leadership, and the accomplishments of those inspired by her character." It’s a statue commemorating the iconic female character from Star Trek: Voyager, and it represents so much more than just a fictional female hero. She inspired a generation – and she’s rightfully honored for it. You can read more about the Janeway statue on its official website.
Finally, we make a stop at a historically notable grave; it's that of someone you've surely heard of.
John Chapman – known to most of us as "Johnny Appleseed", who was born in Massachusetts in 1774 – is buried here, at this little memorial park, in a very old grave protected by a wrought-iron fence. History buffs will appreciate this one; there’s something so intriguing about graves that are significantly older than even our grandparents. We can only hope to be remembered hundreds of years from now like Chapman has been. You can use the website Find-A-Grave for more information on Johnny Appleseed’s final resting place.
For the interactive Google Map of the trip above (which you can tweak any which way to suit your needs and interests), click here.
Which of these hidden gems in Indiana are your favorite? Have you been to any of these places? Tell us about them in the comments! We would love to hear about your experience or what you think of these hidden gems in Indiana.
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