Indiana has many popular tourist attractions, from a world-renowned children's museum to incredible state parks. However, if you're looking for more of an off-the-beaten-path kind of experience, you can find that in Indiana, too. Like this abandoned theme park in Indiana: Rose Island. Here you'll find the overgrown remains of a time not so long ago, when families from all over Indiana and the midwest flocked to what was once a bustling amusement park. Today, this abandoned theme park in Indiana is a haunting homage to what was, and a true Indiana treasure that's full of history and intrigue.
Rose Island was a popular Indiana theme park in the early 1900s, located on a peninsula near Charlestown.
The park was destroyed in the flood of 1937, and pretty much immediately closed to the public. This once lively park has slowly decayed over time, but what you'll find there now is both haunting and breathtaking.
Before Indiana Beach and Holiday World, Hoosiers and people from all over the Midwest visited Rose Island.
In its prime, Rose Island contained a wooden roller coaster, a racing derby, a ferris wheel, an ice rink and dance hall, as well as unique animals like wolves, monkeys, and a black bear.
Today, you can visit Rose Island via a bridge which was set up in Charlestown State Park a few years ago.
Before that, it was pretty impossible to cross over onto this peninsula.
In the years since its closure, Rose Island has become somewhat overgrown, which only adds to its intrigue.
The handful of structures you'll still find more or less intact on Rose Island have been mostly reclaimed by nature. Just look at the ruins of this once grand fountain that nature has slowly begun to cover.
The magnificent Olympic-size swimming pool that once entertained the public is now overrun by leaves and debris.
The sight is hauntingly beautiful -- emphasis on the "haunting" -- up close.
Rose Island is a place most people don't know about anymore -- but they should.
Rose Island is a beautiful piece of Indiana history -- a living, breathing time capsule.
Rose Island is a bridge to the past worth exploring.
The next time you're near Charlestown, take a detour over the Portersville Bridge and venture into the incredible ruins at Rose Island.
You'll be blown away by the swift takeover of nature, and how hauntingly beautiful this abandoned amusement park still is.
Tell us: have you ever been to this abandoned theme park in Indiana? Are you brave enough to check it out? If you're into under-the-radar kind of spots, we've got 11 secret places in Indiana that are just waiting to be explored!
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