The longer you are in Amish country, the more you relax into its simple approach to life: the cadence of horse hooves stomping along the road, the green beauty of farmland teeming with life, the quiet of a world with limited technology. In contrast to the typical noise, it’s all quite appealing—so much so that playing pop music in your car while driving around might feel a little jarring.
That’s just what you’ll find in Northern Indiana in a town called Shipshewana. With around 28,000 Amish residents, the surrounding county of LaGrange is home to the third-largest Amish population in the country, after Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and Holmes County, Ohio, and the people and businesses there will be more than happy to welcome you with a distinct warmth of hospitality.
As you taste their home-cooked baked goods and shop their beautiful handmade quilts, furniture, and more, you’ll learn a lot about Amish culture: how most use a horse and buggy or bikes as their transportation and only use solar or generator power if they have power at all, how women wear simple solid-colored dresses with a bonnet, and men start growing a beard (with no mustache!) when they marry.
Here we share our top 11 things to do while exploring Shipshewana and the surrounding areas, but first a few logistical tips as you plan your trip…
How do you get there? Shipshewana is just under an hour’s drive from South Bend International Airport or around a three-hour drive from Chicago O’Hare International Airport. It’s also less than 200 miles away from Fort Wayne, Indiana; Indianapolis, Indiana; Detroit, Michigan; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Columbus, Ohio; and Cincinnati, Ohio.
Where should you stay? There are several hotels and Airbnbs in Shipshewana, but our top pick is the newly renovated Blue Gate Garden Inn. In a way it feels like a bed-and-breakfast, only larger with 155 guest rooms. There are several living spaces on the main floor with comfortable couches and wooden tables like you might find at a relative’s house, and you can eat to your heart’s content at their breakfast buffet included with your stay, with a made-to-order omelet station, plenty of home-style hearty dishes, and a fruit and granola bar if you want lighter fare. There’s even an arcade and ice cream shop off the lobby, and the hotel is located next door to the best concert venue in the area (more on that below).
Plan your trip around a concert.
Kenny Rogers, Loretta Lynn, Emmylou Harris—these are just a few of the artists who have played at Shipshewana’s 1,500-seat venue and whose memorabilia now line its walls. Start planning your visit to the area by perusing Blue Gate Performing Arts Center’s event lineup, which features around 200 nationally touring acts a year, and select the concert you most want to see and work around that date. From there you can find out for yourself why the venue has been nominated twice for Theater of the Year by the Academy of Country Music alongside Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium and Grand Ole Opry—who knew you could find a venue like that in the middle of rural Amish country?
Eat pie and more pie.
If you’re going to go to a show, you’re going to need dinner too. And the most quintessential meal in the area is an Amish one, of course. At Blue Gate Restaurant (sister business to the concert venue), the buffet—full of home-cooked favorites like mashed potatoes, fried chicken, and distinctly delicious Amish-made noodles—also comes with all-you-can-eat pie in more than 20 flavors. Didn’t get enough pie for dinner? You can stop by the Blue Gate Bakery as well as Country Lane Bakery and Rise’n Roll Bakery (which has tasty doughnuts too!) later and be sure to ask what their signature flavors are before you order.
Shop the weekly antiques auction (and flea market too).
Every week a large white barn at Shipshewana Trading Place is filled not with animals but 2,200 lots of antiques—that’s a whole lot of pieces! Each Wednesday morning at 9:00 a.m. with the ringing of a bell, seven auctioneers start rapid-fire auctioning off all of them. It’s pure cacophony, and each week there are new treasures to be found, attracting both local residents and pickers from all over the eastern United States. “I go to school every Wednesday,” auctioneer LaWayne Miller says of all the new items he learns about each week. By day’s end, the barn is empty, only to start filling up again for the next week.
From there, wander outside the antiques barn to explore the Midwest’s largest flea market, occupying the size of 30 football fields, and shop for practically any item imaginable as well as goods locally crafted by Amish businesses. The market is open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from May to September.
Meet the makers.
Speaking of locally crafted items, one of Shipshewana’s greatest jewels is its plethora of thoughtfully handcrafted goods you can find as you walk around downtown shops (including the Davis Mercantile, with 21 stores under one roof) as well as visit businesses located adjacent to homes a short drive away.
Inside the extra-quaint Teaberry shop on Morton Street, you can find unique wood baskets as well as wooden puzzles, trivets, and other beautifully crafted wood products, and you can try your own hand at the craft with one of their basket-making classes that will give you what might just become your favorite souvenir of the trip. Across the street at Riverwood Pottery, you can catch artisan Jesse Woodworth at work behind the pottery wheel as you peruse his nature-inspired mugs, bowls, and more.
A short drive from downtown, Silver Star Leather owner Loren Yoder makes belts, wallets, purses, and countless other products from both basic leathers and all kinds of exotic varieties: alligator, ostrich, rhino, python, stingray, snapping turtle, you name it. Also a quick drive away, Cross Timbers Woodworks builds tables, chairs, benches, beds, dressers, and more from reclaimed barn wood that adds character to every piece, and at Leanna’s Quilts you can flip through piles of intricate colorful quilts hand-sewn by women in the community from a retail space in the owner’s home.
Go for a horse-and-buggy ride.
If you’ve been in Shipshewana longer than five minutes, you’ve seen horse-drawn buggies all over town—so be sure to experience for yourself what it’s like to ride in one, with the cadence of horse hooves and open-air fresh air if the weather is nice. The driver is sure to give you a good tour of the town while also sharing his perspective as part of the Amish community. Find Shipshewana Buggy Rides at 140 Harrison Street.
Try a fresh-baked pretzel.
There are lots of tasty pretzels out there, but Ben’s Pretzels are uniquely soft—almost fluffy—in contrast to a firmer or chewy dough. Inside their large barn-style restaurant on Berkshire Drive, try one dipped in their house-made sweet mustard, or make a hearty meal of it with their take on a Hot Pocket with a selection of fillings including the popular chicken bacon ranch. Even more fascinating is learning the story of how the founders Ben and Elizabeth Miller grew a small farmers’ market pretzel stand in the Shipshewana area into a company and franchise with more than 200 locations in 28 states, many of them in football stadiums. For a more traditional pretzel, you can also try JoJo’s Pretzels inside Davis Mercantile.
Bike the scenic Pumpkin Vine Trail.
To best take in the lush scenery of the area, rent a bike (or an e-bike for extra ease and speed!) at Otto’s Bicycle Repair & Water Shop and set out on the Pumpkin Vine Trail starting at its downtown Shipshewana trailhead. Along the way, you’ll take in pretty farmland full of grazing horses, crops, and farmhouses as the trail meanders 25 miles from Shipshewana to the nearby towns of Middlebury and Goshen and beyond, and it’s all vibrant and green in the spring, summer, and fall. You’ll likely see others biking, walking, or running for exercise as well as the Amish using it for transportation.
In Middlebury, you can stop and explore the Krider Garden, modeled after an exhibit at the 1933–34 World’s Fair in Chicago, and after that you can take The Ridge Run Trail to Das Dutchman Essenhaus, a large complex that features a bakery, noodle factory, restaurant seating 1,000 with an Amish buffet, a hotel, and more.
Stock up on meats, cheeses, jams, and more.
There’s a reason people drive from miles away to stock up on meat for a month or two at a time at Yoder’s Meat and Cheese. Most all their beef and other products are from farms nearby and are processed on site, an art passed down through five generations of the Yoder family.
Downtown, you can also shop for all kinds of Amish-made foods including their famous noodles and their jarred goods that don’t require refrigeration. Among many other stops you can make, Scherger’s Kettle Jams & Jellies offers an assortment of jams, salsas, mustards, and more, and Aunt Millie’s Candy & Nut Shop is sure to satisfy your sweet tooth with chocolates and nuts.
Learn about Amish and Mennonite culture.
As you explore Amish country, you’ll likely be asking a lot of questions about the culture you are observing: Why horses and buggies and bonnets? Get all those questions and more answered at Menne-Hof, an immersive multimedia experience that will teach you all about the history, culture, and faith of the Amish and Mennonite peoples. Beyond that, perhaps the best way to learn more about the culture is simply to talk with the Amish people who you meet around town and in shops, and one great avenue to do that is by having a home-cooked meal at an Amish family’s home through A Taste of Shipshewana. Be sure to make reservations in advance!
See an Amish romance musical (yes, really).
The Blue Gate family of businesses not only has a restaurant and concert venue but also a theater, and not just any theater. Back in the 1990s, the owners read about the surge in popularity of Amish romance novels and decided to write a musical based on one. Thirtyish years later, they have written and produced 22 musicals based on Amish romance novels and now feature around 350 shows a year including them and revue shows. Make sure you check out whatever show is playing while you’re in town on the second floor of the Blue Gate Restaurant building.
Explore nearby towns and eateries.
While Shipshewana is in many ways the heart of Northern Indiana Amish country, there’s plenty more to see and do nearby at both Amish and non-Amish-owned businesses. In LaGrange 10 miles away, stop by Bloomfield Lavender Apothecary’s storefront in a restored 1887 building, complete with its original tin ceiling. Owner Marion Wiggins and her family harvest and dry lavender from around 7,400 plants and then make and sell more than 65 different products from bath salts to lip balms to sleep spray, as well as candles and teas made in collaboration with other local makers.
While you’re in town, grab lunch or dinner at Fireside Craft Burgers & Brew just down the street. Start with a local craft beer of your choosing and an order of Pickle Fries, and then if you are feeling adventurous try the Peanut Butter-Pocolypse burger or, for a crowd-pleaser, opt for the Cluck Norris chicken sandwich.
As good as an Amish meal is, it’s also nice to have some variety while you’re in the area with burgers and more both in nearby towns and in Shipshewana itself. Back in Shipshewana, eating at The Black Sheep From Scratch Kitchen feels like dining in the backyard of a neighbor who is a really good baker and cook—and who smokes brown sugar-molasses chicken wings better than you’ve ever had before. There’s good reason people from as far away as Chicago come on recommendation from friends for sandwiches, burgers, salads, and sides (make sure you try the Cucumber Dill Pasta Salad!). Plus, it’s the only place in town that serves beer and wine and is open on Sundays.
