With beaches, boating, and salmon fishing in Michigan City and Gary bordering Lake Michigan, there is more to Indiana than might appear at first glance. The agricultural heartland even has cross country skiing and snowmobiling to go with the Cornball Express. Southwest Indiana near Evansville is renowned for the well-preserved Native American Angel Mounds State Historic Site. The largest city and state capital is famous worldwide for its Indianapolis 500 race. Even locals living in the suburbs often overlook the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Eiteljorg Museum, NCAA Hall of Champions, the old Union Station museum cluster, and downtown Canal Walk, to name but a few landmarks. South Bend is synonymous with the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.

Forested Nashville’s art colony fame dates to the early 1900s when Impressionist Theodore Clement Steele overwintered in The House of the Singing Winds. It is now the T.C. Steele State Historic Site. View paintings and sculpture at the I.M. Pei-designed Indiana University Museum of Art. Attend an IU sports event or an opera, ballet, concert, or theater performance. Treat the family to The Little Nashville Opry or The Bill Monroe Bluegrass Park. For healing mineral springs, head south to Orange County, Indiana’s spa resort center.

Enjoy golf, fishing, boating, cross country skiing, snowmobiling, and ice skating in the nation’s agricultural heartland. Monticello and Rensselaer are west of Logansport and north of Lafayette. Take the family on the Cornball Express and Hoosier Hurricane at the Indiana Beach Amusement Resort in Monticello. Play boardwalk carnival games, or let the kids loose on the go-carts. Pile the family into their vehicles for an old-fashioned movie experience at Monticello’s Lake Shore Drive-In. Indulge in a weekend dinner boat cruise to hot band sounds as the Madam Carroll plies Lake Freeman.

When you think “adventure travel” you probably think of far-flung places like Belize and Alaska—not Wisconsin. But if you’re an outdoor adventurer, you’ll find plenty of places to explore in Wisconsin. A vacation in Wisconsin can put you close to the Kettle Moraine State Forest, which has excellent biking trails. Or choose Wisconsin’s Apostle Islands—kayakers will love exploring Lake Superior’s many caves and shipwrecks.

Packers fans don’t wear those cheese-wedge hats for nothing! Foodies will love tasting as many of Wisconsin’s artisanal cheeses as possible. Either drive from cheesemaker to cheesemaker, or choose a Wisconsin vacation in a town with a good farmers’ market—then the cheesemakers bring their wares to you. And what goes better with artisanal cheese than craft beer? In Milwaukee, visit the Lakefront and Sprecher Breweries for tours and tastings.

Wisconsin Dells is a classic family vacation destination. A vacation in Wisconsin Dells will put you close to all the excitement—you’ll have to tear the kids away from the theme parks, wave pools and water parks in Wisconsin Dells!

Lake Geneva boasts clean beaches, golf, and a small-town feel that definitely appeals to city dwellers—it’s a popular getaway for residents of Chicago.