Soak up the sun with a road trip along the Indiana Dunes

Marquette Beach lies within a 241-acre park that offers 1.4 miles of Lake Michigan beaches, inland ponds, dunes, and more. The park’s two historic structures include the stately Recreation Pavilion, built in 1924, and the Gary Bathing Beach Pavilion Aquatorium, built as a bathhouse in 1922. The Aquatorium building honors aviation pioneer Octave Chanute and the Tuskegee Airmen.

Hugging 15 dune-studded miles of Lake Michigan, it’s no wonder that Indiana Dunes was designated as a national park in 2019. Indiana Dunes is more than just a beachfront; it includes forests and wetland as well as various beaches, the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Visitor Center and the Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education, several campgrounds, and more than 50 miles of trail for hiking. A can't-miss site is West Beach—take the Succession Trail to the top of the dunes to see all the way to Chicago.

Take a break from the beach and spend some time admiring the incredible architecture, history, and design of five houses from the 1933 “Century of Progress” World’s Fair. Moved to Indiana from Chicago, the five homes—the Cypress Log Cabin, House of Tomorrow, Florida Tropical, Armco Ferro, and Wieboldt-Rostone houses—featured innovative building materials, modern home appliances, and new construction techniques. While you can admire the houses from afar year round, the homes are open to the public once a year via a National Park Service tour in September; tickets go on sale in early August and sell out quickly.

The more than 100-acre International Friendship Botanic Gardens are filled with a diverse selection of nature trails and wildlife, including muskrats, geese, turtles, and deer. Gardens representing various nations (from Lithuania to Italy and beyond) bloom alongside a Chinese bridge, a butterfly garden, and rose and lily gardens. The Friendship Botanic Gardens is a volunteer-based nonprofit that is dedicated to sharing the beauty of nature and wildlife with all those who wish to stop by.

All aboard! Your next stop is the unique and engaging Hesston Steam Museum. Visitors can choose to ride one of three different steam railroads and experience the magic of the Industrial Age with hundreds of artifacts and old machinery on display. Each of the railroads has a unique story sure to keep you entertained. The museum is also home to the Houston Sawmill, the Steam Crane, and the popular Rustic Blacksmith Shop.

The 55,000-square-foot state-of-the-art Studebaker National Museum was built to honor the rich industrial heritage of the South Bend area, and all the men and women who played a key role in the industrial revolution. With permanent exhibits including displays on the military, the presidential carriage collection (including the carriage Abraham Lincoln used the night of his assassination), and more than 30 vehicles, there are plenty of reasons to spend an afternoon at this museum.