Javascript is not enabled.

Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again.

Skip to content
Content starts here
CLOSE ×
Search
Leaving AARP.org Website

You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.

Explore Northwest Indiana’s Amish Heritage Trail

Plan a trip to see small towns, serene country views — and slow down for the carriages

spinner image Indiana, Shipshewana, Amish buggy and horse sign, along with road trip route highlighted on a map
Alamy Stock Photo/Getty Images

Taking a leisurely road trip through small towns along the Amish Country Heritage Trail in Northwest Indiana feels a bit like time travel. Horse-drawn carriages move slowly along country roads, and what those roads lack in conveniences like gas stations or fast food they more than provide in serene views.

There are many Amish communities in the U.S., but the state boasts the third-largest population, about 60,000 residents. Their way of life is traditional: Amish families don’t use electricity, phones, cars and other such modern amenities; their livelihood is based on farming and sale of home grown food, baked goods, and handcrafted artistry such as rugs, quilts and woodworks.

You may meet Amish families, taste Midwestern wine, bike a nature trail and eat made-from-scratch pies on this four-day road trip. Although the mileage is minimal, temptations to stop are many as you make your way through towns where American flags wave on the front porches of Victorian homes.

Prime time to make the drive is during the free Quilt Gardens event, held annually in Elkhart County from late May through mid-September to honor Amish quilt-making traditions. More than 15 giant gardens with over 1 million blooms planted by more than 200 volunteers replicate classic and modern quilt patterns.

spinner image The Japanese garden and bridge at Wellfield Botanic Gardens in Elkhart, Indiana, USA.
Wellfield Botanic Gardens
Everyday Artistry Photography / Alamy Stock Photo

Day 1:  Elkhart to Middlebury (17 miles)

Start your day 111 miles east of Chicago in Elkhart, the region’s largest city (population: 54,000), at the confluence of the St. Joseph and Elkhart Rivers. For your first taste of the culture, eat breakfast at Baker’s Nook Cafe downtown where you’ll find bacon biscuits, fluffy pancakes and apple-bread French toast.  

​Energized for the day, you can drive a mile north to the city’s Garden District for docent-led tours of two historic home museums on Beardsley Avenue. First visit the 1848 Italianate home of Havilah Beardsley, Elkhart’s founding father who built the area’s first flour and sawmills and brought the Michigan Southern Railway to town. Then wander through the 1910 Beaux Arts mansion of Havilah’s nephew, Albert Beardsley, who helped establish Elkhart’s Miles Laboratories (which invented Alka-Seltzer). See the family’s extensive Tiffany glass lamp, art and antique car collections. 

​On Main Street, less than a half-mile north of the two homes, explore Wellfield Botanic Gardens, an active well site providing Elkhart’s water transformed into a lush sanctuary. Paved promenades wind through sculpture-studded flower gardens, a Japanese garden and a children’s garden. While resting on pathside benches, listen to birdsong and the sound of flowing water in fountains. Check the schedule for guided bird walks.

​Break for lunch downtown at the Vine bistro-wine bar (artisan pizzas, entrée salads) or Electric Brew coffee shop (paninis, wraps and homemade soups). 

​Now make your way to Middlebury, driving east on Indiana State Road 120. But about nine miles down the road in Bristol, take a slight detour for a quick stop at Fruit Hills Winery and Orchard, two miles south on Indiana State Road 15. The tasting room pours wines made from the 170-year-old family farm’s homegrown regional grapes and fruits. Pick up a bottle for sipping at sunset when rural skyscapes transition from robin egg blue to hydrangea pink and golden honey hues. 

​It’s about six more miles to Middlebury. There, cap your day with a scenic bicycle ride on part of the paved Pumpkinvine Nature Trail, a rail-trail linking multiple small towns. Pick up the trail on North Main Street across from Pumpkinvine Cyclery, where you can rent your bike. Cycling through fertile farmland, you’ll pass white Amish homesteads where laundry on clotheslines flaps in the breeze. 

​For dinner, fill up on a hearty homestyle meal at Middlebury’s Village Inn Restaurant on South Main Street. Leave room for the giant slices of fresh-baked pies. 

Where to stay: The Essenhaus Inn & Conference Center is a sprawling, moderately priced resort with a quilt shop, garden-decor store, bake shop and family-style restaurant known for its broasted chicken platters and more than 30 kinds of fresh-baked pies. The property has accessible rooms.   

spinner image Woman shopping in Shipshewana Indiana,Davis Mercantile building, Village Boutique
Shipshewana, Indiana
Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg 11+ / Alamy Stock Photo

Day 2:  Middlebury to Goshen (31 miles)

Wake up early to shop and learn more about Amish culture and craftsmanship. A drive about eight miles east on County Road 16 brings you to Shipshewana, with horse-drawn buggy traffic building at the intersection of Indiana State Road 5 (aka Van Buren Street, the town’s main drag).

spinner image The Menno Hoff farm is a popular tourist attraction depicting Amish and Mennonite Life in and around Shipshewana Indiana
The Menno Hoff farm is a popular tourist attraction depicting Amish and Mennonite Life in and around Shipshewana, Indiana
Ilene MacDonald / Alamy Stock Photo

The Heritage Trail Audio Tour provides detailed driving directions and recommends stops along the way. Stream it from the Elkhart County Visitors Center’s website or pick up a free CD at area attractions. 

​When driving in Amish Country, slow down upon cresting hills and passing Amish carriages, bicyclists and farm equipment. Drive with caution at night; no lights illuminate country roads outside of towns. Also, know that Amish people prefer not to have their pictures taken.

Spend the early morning on South Van Buren Street shopping at the region’s Shipshewana Trading Place Auction & Flea Market, if you’re in town on a Tuesday or Wednesday. Inside the auction hall each Wednesday year-round, Amish auctioneers stand on step ladders above bidders vying for antique brass-bed headboards, vintage toys, carpentry tools, paintings and architectural remnants. The loud, monotone drone of the auctioneer chorus sounds like a gigantic buzzing beehive. The 75-year-old outdoor flea market, held May through September, covers 40 acres (scooter rentals available) and features nearly 700 vendors (some Amish). Browse booths selling everything from tooled-leather horse saddles to bags and belts and flowering plants. 

Nearby, Amish-owned specialty stores are open year-round including Brandenberry Furniture, Countryroad Fabrics & Gifts, E & S Sales (bulk foods grocery store), and Eash Sales (outdoor decor and patio furniture). 

Before leaving Shipshewana, learn about local history and culture during a guided tour of Menno-Hof, an Anabaptist interpretive center located across from the flea market. Exhibits explain Amish, Mennonite and Hutterite history, faith and lifestyle. 

 From the interpretive center it’s a 21-mile scenic drive west on County Road 34 (aka 400 South St. in Shipshewana) and Indiana State Roads 13 and 4 to Goshen. You’ll pass towering cornfields, verdant horse pastures and farms with shops selling seasonal vegetables, honey and fresh-baked goods. In Goshen, go for lunch downtown at throwback confectionary-diner Olympia Candy Kitchen, which has been making classic BLT sandwiches, ice cream sundaes and caramel-chocolate turtle candies since 1912.

​Stroll historic Main Street, a section of U.S. Highway 33 that was the original Lincoln Highway route through Indiana. Restored late-18th-and 19th-century storefronts house independent, eclectic shops like Soapy Gnome, known for handcrafted buttermilk soaps and sugar scrubs; and Found, selling mid-century-modern and international furniture, art, jewelry and artifacts.

​Come evening, go for dinner and live music at family-friendly Goshen Brewing Company, which pairs small-batch beers with seasonal cuisine and Southern-style smoked foods. Its outdoor patio overlooks leafy Millrace Canal, paralleling the Elkhart River. 

Where to stay: Just outside of Goshen, in eight acres of woods with walking trails, Amish Country Log Cabin Hideaway is a cozy cabin with three bedrooms (one on the ground floor). The front porch entrance has five steps (no ramp). In Goshen, you’ll find several budget-friendly national brand hotels with ADA-accessible rooms, and the Elkhart County 4-H Fairgrounds RV Park is two miles from downtown.

spinner image Apples for sale at Amish Acres in Nappanee Indiana
Amish Acres in Nappanee, Indiana
Don Smetzer / Alamy Stock Photo

Day 3:  Goshen to Nappanee (15 miles)

Pastoral vistas (think endless green fields) and the scents of tilled earth and lilac abound on the drive southwest to Nappanee via Indiana State Road 119 and County Road 7. 

​Spend your morning at the Barns at Nappanee, a historic farm-entertainment complex near downtown. Learn about Amish home life on the guided walking tour through houses once occupied by three Amish families from 1874-1968. The tour includes the outdoor drying and smoke houses. A 25-minute, tractor-pulled wagon tour stops at the German School to explain Amish formal education through the eighth grade. And take a short ride on a horse-drawn buggy driven by an Amish man in traditional dress.

​For lunch, head about a mile east back through town to Culinary Mill Market & Deli for a homemade chicken salad croissant sandwich and scratch-made pie. It’s located in Coppes Common, where there’s plenty to do the rest of the afternoon. A former kitchen cabinet factory dating to 1876, it has been turned into an inviting attraction filled with restaurants and specialty shops selling locally made, handcrafted products — furniture, home decor accessories, quilts, toys and rugs — and fresh-baked goods. Spend some time browsing through the shops, then visit its museum displaying Hoosier Cabinets handcrafted here in this factory in the early 20th century, recalling a bygone era of American home life.

Where to stay: A romantic space, Coppes House Bed & Breakfast is the elegant 1887 Queen Anne home of the Coppes family of Hoosier Cabinet fame. The six guest rooms are reached via a grand, 25-step curved staircase. The five-room Farmhouse Inn, a renovated 1840s farmhouse, is more accessible with two rooms on its main floor, though you must walk up seven steps (no ramp) to enter the property. 

spinner image quilt garden at Amish country Nappanee
Amish Country Nappanee
Sunisa / Alamy Stock Photo

Day 4: Nappanee to Elkhart (20 miles)

Return to Elkhart via Indiana State Road 19, making a slight detour to Wakarusa about eight miles north out of Nappanee. There, pick up delicious pastries, pies and breads at Grandma’s Pantry, a bulk food store, deli and bakery. In Elkhart, make one final stop at the stunning Southgate Crossing barn, just south of downtown. Built by Amish craftsmen in 2006, the 51,000-square-foot barn is a beautiful example of woodworking craftsmanship. If you’re still in a buying mood, the barn is a combination antiques-artisan shopping complex where you can purchase home-decor pieces, quilts and foods (including noodles, peanut butter and fruit jams).

Unlock Access to AARP Members Edition

Join AARP to Continue

Already a Member?

AARP Travel Center

Or Call: 1-800-675-4318

Enter a valid departing date

Enter a valid returning date

Age of children:

Child under 2 must either sit in laps or in seats:

Enter a valid departing date

Age of children:

Child under 2 must either sit in laps or in seats:

Enter a valid departing date

Age of children:

Child under 2 must either sit in laps or in seats:

Flight 2

Enter a valid departing date

Flight 3

Enter a valid departing date

Flight 4

Enter a valid departing date

Flight 5

Enter a valid departing date

+ Add Another Flight

Enter a valid checking in date

Enter a valid checking out date


Occupants of Room 1:



Occupants of Room 2:



Occupants of Room 3:



Occupants of Room 4:



Occupants of Room 5:



Occupants of Room 6:



Occupants of Room 7:



Occupants of Room 8:


Enter a valid departing date

Enter a valid returning date

Age of children:

Occupants of Room 1:

Age of children:


Occupants of Room 2:

Age of children:


Occupants of Room 3:

Age of children:


Occupants of Room 4:

Age of children:


Occupants of Room 5:

Age of children:

Age of children:

Child under 2 must either sit in laps or in seats:

Enter a valid start date

Please select a Pick Up Time from the list

Enter a valid drop off date

Please select Drop Off Time from the list

Select a valid to location

Select a month

Enter a valid from date

Enter a valid to date