French Lick

The state’s most spectacular hotel sets the scene of So Cold the River, a horror film adapted from Bloomington author Michael Koryta’s novel.

Trade birdies for the breathtaking golf-course vistas two hours south of Indy.

The luxury hotel’s atrium spans 200 feet and was once called the “Eighth Wonder of the World.”

Forty years ago, Larry Bird passed on a chance at big-time basketball. The small-town star left Bob Knight’s IU team before a single game and returned home.

For Bird, the commitment to giving goes back to his upbringing in French Lick, “growing up in a small town” where he and his family “didn’t have a lot,” he says. “But we were greatly benefited by gifts.”

A glutton for punishment, I took the harder route. As my legs churned and my lungs screamed for more oxygen, I quickly realized this stretch has significantly more elevation gain than most Hoosier trails—including Brown County’s Hesitation Point.

Want a new way to take in fall foliage? Try one of the state’s 14 zipline courses.

What makes this Columbus institution really sweet is the counter-side charm of Wilma Hare and her fellow soda jerks, who will pull you an ice cream soda the way it was in 1900 and serve it with a side of sass: “When that ice cream hits the carbonation, it will explode like a volcano. And I will laugh at the look of panic on your face.”