During Memorial Day weekend, honor fallen members of the U.S. military with ceremonies, parades, festivals, and activities throughout the state of Indiana. Whether you’re looking forward to watching races on the Indianapolis Speedway, attending one of many patriotic events, or riding ponies in the city of French Lick, there’s something for everyone in this Midwestern state. Book a stay at an Indiana vacation rental for your upcoming Memorial Day weekend trip. Get ready to shake off winter’s cabin fever with an early summer getaway in Indiana.
1. Clarksville
Stock car racing enthusiasts find the Sportsdrome Speedway in Clarksville just the ticket for a great Memorial Day weekend getaway. Visitors watch the fun, or drive stock cars in the Front Wheel Drive Fun Stock races. Treat the family to dinner and a play at Derby Dinner Playhouse with a professional production of a Broadway musical or comedy. Dinner features traditional American food and beverages.
Find vacation rentals near Clarksville
2. Indianapolis
From kids’ attractions to race parties to car racing, Indianapolis makes any getaway memorable. At the indoor Caribbean Cove Water Park, kids ride flume chutes and splash in the spray area. It’s attached to an arcade that features over 50 video games to keep the teens happy while the tots play. The Children’s Museum features kiddie boat races, a dinosaur dig, and a carousel. On Sunday, 33 drivers take off at noon for the running of the Indianapolis 500. While you’re waiting for the race, check out the race parties at the Indianapolis Speedway, including a rock and roll party and an electric dance music party. The day before the race, watch historic car laps, listen to country music concerts, and get some drivers’ autographs.
Find vacation rentals in Indianapolis
3. Elkhart
Superhero fans find great Marvel Comics memorabilia in the unique Hall of Heroes Super Hero Museum in Elkhart. This museum displays a sizable Batman collection and other hero movie characters. The National New York Central Railroad Museum includes different types and styles of historical train cars and engines, tools, and railroad artifacts. Outdoors, you can climb up into a real train engine to see how it works. Experience pure enchantment when you visit Wellfield Botanic Gardens in the spring. Find your personal zen as you stroll along the pathways through more than a dozen themed gardens, including the English Cottage Garden with its tulips, or the Waterfall Garden.
Find vacation rentals in Elkhart
Find the perfect Indiana vacation rental on Tripping.com. Tripping.com is the world's #1 vacation rental search engine with over 10 million properties!
4. Angola
When getting away from it all is your idea of a great Memorial Day weekend getaway, your Angola vacation rental puts you in a great place to commune with nature. Pokagon State Park’s heavily wooded, rolling hills features lots of hiking trails. There’s plenty of fresh air and a lovely beach on Lake James, smooth bike trails, horseback riding, and a nature center in the park. Just six miles from town, the 600-acre Wild Winds Buffalo Preserve accommodates a growing herd of more than 230 buffalo. After you hop into the back of a safari truck, your guide drives out to the fields, where the animals come up close and walk all around you. Spring is the ideal time to look for new babies.
Find vacation rentals near Angola
5. Michigan City
Dive into a gastronomic hullabaloo on Memorial Day weekend at the annual two-day Michigan City Food Truck Festival in Fedder’s Alley. Between visiting Washington Park Zoo and hanging out at Indiana Dunes State Park on Lake Michigan, go from truck-to-truck to taste different foods, play games, and listen to live music outdoors. The Indiana Dune Scavenger Hunt includes maps that guide you to nine spots on the lake shore where you search for answers to some questions. Returning your completed form to the Visitor Center earns a free park poster and possibly a prize.
Find vacation rentals near Michigan City
6. French Lick
Bountiful attractions make French Lick a vacation destination playground that you tailor just for two or a family. Take in the spas, wineries, casino, and art galleries; or zip into fun and fresh air on the zip lines, golf courses, and trails. The Stables at French Lick include pony rides for kids under age eight, and guided trail rides for everyone else. Toss the golf clubs in the car for a chance to play 18 holes on one of the classic courses designed for Donald Ross. Thirty-five bunkers remain from the original layout Ross designed in 1917. Big Splash Adventure indoor water park features a retractable roof for warm sunny days. Feel free to let loose with the kids on the water slides and other water features.
Find vacation rentals near French Lick
7. Madison
Madison launches Memorial Day weekend festivities on Friday night with Main Street’s Fourth Friday Downtown. Enjoy the party atmosphere and take advantage of the shops staying open late. Vintage car enthusiasts gravitate to the Riverfront Run Car Show’s Friday night Poker Run and free concerts at Bicentennial Park. On Saturday, look for the line of cars and motorcycles of all vintages and styles at the car show. From Friday through Sunday, get in on the Spring Old Court Days at the courthouse where local vendors offer arts and crafts, antiques, and more. Get a look at things from a different perspective on a Rockin’ Thunder jet boat on the Ohio River.
Find vacation rentals near Madison
8. Monticello
Treat your family to Lake Shafer’s classic Indiana Beach Boardwalk in Monticello. It opened in 1927 with just a wooden beach and a swimming hole. This old-fashioned traditional boardwalk midway features a chair lift, a walk-through haunted house, skee-ball, and over 40 old-time carnival rides, including six roller coasters. Be sure to stop by Monticello’s Whyte Horse Winery for wine tastings paired with chocolates or cheeses.
Find vacation rentals near Monticello
9. Bedford
Lace up your sneakers, grab some water bottles, and spend a couple of hours on the Milwaukee Trail. Built on an old railroad bed, this easy trail immerses you in sights and sounds of springtime awakening to life all around you. For a unique tour, head over to Bluespring Caverns to explore a river that flows 100 feet beneath the earth’s surface. A guide maneuvers your boat along the waterway for over a mile, pointing out rare albino fish and amphibians. Before heading back home, take in the Memorial Day Parade and a day full of family-friendly events.
Find vacation rentals near Bedford
Ready to go? Check out these amazing Indiana vacation rentals on Tripping.com.