 |
Lake Michigan and the Indiana Dunes stretch across the top of Porter County, beckoning you for a day of lolling on the beach and diving into the waves. But you'll find a host of surprises as you travel south of the dunes. Art abounds in the communities of Valparaiso, Chesterton and Portage from a classy university museum that displays works of world-famous artists and small shops where you can watch a crafter throw pots, choose one-of-a-kind wearable art and even buy jewelry made from beach glass. Many are housed in historic buildings that reveal the region's past. Delicious food finds pop up at a trendy market, in cozy restaurants and at an inn where birds serenade you. Your journey starts at the… Indiana Dunes Tourism |
||||||||||||
1. Air One Photography
(219) 462-1182; aironephoto.com Open year-round, Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. You might feel as if you're flying yourself when you see the amazing aerial photography that this shop offers, as well as panoramic photography. The subjects include Northern Indiana lighthouses and landscapes, as well as Chicago skylines plus architecture from both areas. When you visit this spacious downtown Valparaiso gallery, you can watch hundreds of prints being produced on large format printers and then choose your own favorite, often in sizes not normally found in the market. |
|||||||||||||
 |
2. Artists’ Den
(219) 462-3883 Open year-round; Tuesday-Friday 9:30am to 5:30pm, Saturday 9:30am to 4pm. Shopping for fine art is all the sweeter when it's displayed in a historic turn-of-the-century home. This is one of the longest operating family-owned galleries in Northwest Indiana and offers an array of styles ranging from sophisticated to whimsical fine art, glass, pottery, jewelry and sculpture. The art exhibits change frequently. You can also shop for creative custom-made picture frames. |
||||||||||||
 |
3. Beverly Shores Museum & Art Gallery
(219) 872-1060; Open April-November Friday-Sunday 11:30am to 3:30pm. The Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad played a critical role in creating the Lake Shore and Beverly Shores developments. You can trace that history today in the museum and learn about how futuristic houses from the 1933 World's Fair were moved here. The art gallery has established itself as a premier venue for the exhibition of Fine Art. Housed in the former station master's residence of the Beverly Shores Depot, the gallery features monthly exhibits of regional artists working in a variety of media. |
||||||||||||
|
4. Brauer Museum of Art – Valparaiso University
1709 Chapel Dr., Valparaiso, IN 46383 (219) 464-5365; valpo.edu/artmuseum. Schedule a free docent-led tour: (219) 465-7926 Open year-round, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 10am to 5pm, Wednesday 10am to 8:30pm, Saturday and Sunday noon to 5pm; For academic recess hours, summer hours, and closures, please check web site. View a nationally recognized collection of 19th and 20th century American art, including works by Frederic Edwin Church, Asher B. Durand, Childe Hassam, Georgia O'Keeffe and Ed Paschke. The museum also houses the largest known collection of works by Junius R. Sloan, a Hudson River School painter from the 1800s who lived and worked in the Midwest. You can also see world religious art and Midwest regional art as you visit on your own or as a docent guides you on a scheduled tour. |
||||||||||||
|
5. Broken Wagon Bison
(219) 759-3523; brokenwagonbison.com Open year-round, Monday-Saturday 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday 2-6 p.m. Learn all about the beast that is an American icon when you arrive here and view a video on the history of bison and buffalo. You'll be introduced to the importance of bison in Native American life and how bison are used today. If your group calls ahead, you can head for the pasture and get a look at the animals. The facility's shop features bison hides and skulls, as well as handmade purses, leather jewelry and the works of local artists. You also can buy frozen and canned bison meat and jerky to take home and try yourself. |
||||||||||||
 |
6. Chesterton Art Center
(219) 926-4711; ChestertonArt.com Open daily, year-round, Monday-Friday 11am to 4pm; Saturday and Sunday 1pm to 4pm. See all the creativity that flows in Northern Indiana at this unique gallery, located in an old machine shop. Exhibits change each month and you'll always find fine art and original crafts created by more than 100 regional artists. On select Saturdays, the center offers "Brown Bag Art" where you can create your own painting, ceramic work or stained glass, with different artists hosting and lunch provided by local restaurants. |
||||||||||||
|
7. Chestnut Creek Pottery
(219) 331-5411 Open year-round; Monday-Friday 4pm to 8pm, Saturday and Sunday 11am to 6pm, on weekends call ahead. Chris Harnung loves to take time to show visitors how pottery is made. Watch him at his wheel as he throws pots and describes the process. Then shop for these functional creations in earthen colors such as browns, greens and blues. You'll find mugs, plates, vases, flower pots and more. It's all safe for the microwave and dishwasher. You'll come away realizing all that goes into this time-consuming but rewarding venture. |
||||||||||||
 |
8. Chesterton’s European Market
(219) 926-5513; ChestertonsEuropeanMarket.com Open first Saturday in May through last Saturday in October, 8am to 2pm. It's the trendiest of markets and people from as far away as Chicago are discovering the lure of artisan cheeses, breads and pastries, plus ethnic food, fresh produce, locally produced honey, nuts and dried fruit. More than 100 vendors offer these goodies, along with fine art, flowers, rare books, jewelry, clothing and prepared food. Enjoy live entertainment from 10am to 1pm and relax for lunch at a picnic table in the adjoining park. |
||||||||||||
|
9. Chicago Street Theatre
54 W. Chicago St., Valparaiso, IN 46383 |
||||||||||||
 |
10. Duneland Pizza & Dunes Photography
(219) 926-1163; DunesPhotos.com Open year-round, Tuesday-Sunday 4:00-8:30 p.m. What more can you ask for than delicious pizza and amazing Lake Michigan photography all in one place? This pizzeria is a 39-year tradition in Chesterton and offers five styles of crusts with a choice of 25 different toppings, and specialties such as taco pizza and barbequed chicken pizza. In the dining room, you're surrounded with framed photographs of the Indiana Dunes, Lake Michigan, driftwood, and stones that were collected along the beach and endless Lake Michigan shoreline. |
||||||||||||
 |
11. DunesWalk Inn at the Furness Mansion
(219) 728-6393; DunesWalkInn.com Open year-round (tours available by appointment) The Furness Mansion, built in 1881 by one of Porter County's earliest settlers, had fallen on hard times until it was rescued, refurbished and turned into a beautiful boutique hotel. Today DunesWalk Inn welcomes guests to a serene haven, where you can choose from two luxurious suites or three guest rooms. It's set amid four acres of woodland forest landscape abutting the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. During the renovation, fine details of the old mansion were retained, including the woodwork and vertical mullion windows. |
||||||||||||
|
12.Figure Eight Brewing
(219) 477-2000; FigureEightBrewing.com Open year-round, Thursday and Friday 5-8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 1-5 p.m. Hand-crafted beer is brewed right on the premises at this new micro brewery. The tasting room gives you a chance to sit with your friends, sample some of the brews and even play some pinball. Carryout also is available. Some of the intriguing names, such as First Ascent, Ro Shampo, Where Lizards Dare, Snake pro and Crash Test Blonde, will have you pondering which one to try first. |
||||||||||||
|
13. Gray Goose Inn
(219) 926-5781 or (800) 521-5127; GrayGooseInn.com Open year-round, daily 9 a.m.-9 p.m. You may feel as if you're in jolly old England when you settle into this English country house amid a stand of towering oaks, overlooking a private lake and tucked into 100 wooded acres. Choose from five spacious rooms or three suites. All of these guest accommodations are luxuriously decorated. You can walk trails on the grounds to work up an appetite for a scrumptious gourmet breakfast. Later, relax in the large screened Gazebo overlooking Lake Palomara. The inn is just three miles from Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and Dunes State Park. |
||||||||||||
 |
14. Holly Jackson Art Studio and Gallery
(219) 926-8290; HollyJacksonArt.com Friday 10am to 5pm, Saturday 10am to 4pm, Sunday-Thursday by appointment, so call ahead. Visitors find an energizing environment and leave with a good taste of local color when they visit Holly Jackson's gallery. You often find artists working at their easels. Shop for fine art, including acrylic and oil paintings, photographs, glassware, glass jewelry and cards. Some of the paintings portray the area landscape, so you can take home a reminder of your vacation in Northern Indiana. |
||||||||||||
 |
15. Molly Bea’s INGREDIENTS
(219) 983-9401; MollyBeas.com Open daily year-round, Monday-Thursday 10am to 7pm; Friday-Saturday 10am to 5pm; Sundays 10am to 3pm. Whether you love to cook, bake or just eat, you're in for some fun at this shop. It may be small, but you'll find more than 1,000 food items displayed in bulk bins, including many hard-to-find ingredients. Looking for unique spices, seeds, nuts, teas or chocolates? They're all here, along with everything from granola to gummies and pasta to power bars. You can even grind your own peanut butter. |
||||||||||||
 |
16. Opportunity Enterprises, Inc./Simply Amazing Market
(219) 464-9621 x289; SimplyAmazingTreats.com or Oppent.org Open year-round, Monday-Friday 9am to 5pm. Yum! Treat yourself and take some goodies home for your loved ones. You'll be ready to taste and take along gourmet fudge and gourmet flavored popcorn from this market where adults with disabilities show you how they produce and package their treats. You can also choose from artworks they create. The best news is that proceeds support various services for both children and adults with disabilities. |
||||||||||||
 |
17. rTrail Collective Edge
219.299.2226; rtrailcollectiveedge.com Monday -Thursday 10am-6pm, Friday and Saturday 10am-8pm, Open by appointment only on Sunday There's so much to choose from when you roam this gallery filled with the works of Indiana and other Midwest artisans. You'll find watercolor and acrylic paintings, wood-cut prints, wood craft and carvings, ceramics, textiles, photography, glassware, glass jewelry, quilts, scarves and even hand-made chocolates. They also offer classes, where you can complete your own project to take home. On the main gallery wall, the work of a featured artisan is exhibited. |
||||||||||||
 |
18. Schoolhouse Shop
(219) 926-1551; SchoolhouseShop.com Open year-round, Monday, Wednesday-Saturday 10am to 5pm; Sunday 11am to 5pm. The students who learned their lessons in this 1886 schoolhouse would have a lot more fun today shopping for gourmet foods, gifts, flowers, fancy clothes from a trendy boutique, picking out ever-so-fresh produce at the weekend farmers market and having lunch on the patio. It's an intriguing stop in the Indiana Dunes region that features Northern Indiana's bounty, including fresh and frozen fruit pies. |
||||||||||||
 |
19. Songbird Prairie Bed and Breakfast
(219) 759-4274; SongbirdPrairie.com Open year-round. The bluebirds and their other feathered friends just outside entertain and serenade you with song as you enjoy a three-course breakfast that features freshly baked breads, fruits, a special entrée and even a decadent dessert at this romantic retreat. Even the luxurious rooms with warming fireplaces and spa tubs boast songbird themes. You'll want to roam the six acres of deep-shaded paths that wind through sheaves of prairie grass and wild rose before you indulge in a traditional afternoon tea. |
||||||||||||
|
20. Stephanie Swanson Jewelry Design
(219) 926-2444; stephanieswanson.biz Open year-round, Tuesday-Friday 9:30am to 5pm; Saturday 9:30am to 2pm. You can't help but think of the Lake Michigan beach, so close to this Northern Indiana community, when you peruse this artist's hand-crafted jewelry in the blues and greens that reflect the lake and sky. She even creates originals from beach glass, as well as sterling, gold, gemstones, fossils and Roman coins. Visitors get a first-hand look at how she makes her jewelry and can bring in their own stones and beach glass and have them transformed into a wearable piece of art. Also a full service jewelry and watch repair shop. |
||||||||||||
 |
21.The Regal Rabbit
(219) 395-8814; regalrabbit.net Open year-round, Monday-Wednesday 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Thursday and Friday 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-4 p.m. The aroma of artisan spices greets you at this trendy store, which also sells popcorn poppers, cookware and bakeware, kitchen tools and gourmet foods, all produced in the U.S. The shop also offers cooking classes and demonstrations by professional chefs from local restaurants. In the classes, you might learn secrets of making great cookies, preparing fish from scallops and salmon to soup, how to make delicious pasta from scratch, as well as a host of other delicious foods. |
||||||||||||
 |
22. Third Coast Spice Cafe
(219) 926-5858; ThirdCoastSpice.com Open daily year-round 6am to 3pm. It's amazing what delicious creations this restaurant whips up, using cage-free Indiana eggs. You might opt for one of the gourmet omelets, perhaps a Garden that includes caramelized onions, roasted red bell peppers, artichoke hearts and Swiss cheese. There's plenty to accompany these main dishes including pastries and smoothies. Scrumptious soups and sandwiches, both cold and griddle versions, round out the lunch menu. Everything is made from scratch with no preservatives. |
||||||||||||
 |
23. Westchester Township History Museum
(219) 983-9715; wpl.lib.in.us/museum Open year-round, Wednesday-Sunday 1pm to 5pm. Victorian era gardens welcome visitors to the elegant 1885 Brown Mansion, which houses the works of Northern Porter County artists and exhibits that detail the history of the area and saving the Indiana Dunes. Tour the Queen Anne style home and view changing exhibits. You can shop for books about area history and culture, artworks, beach glass jewelry, mugs, Christmas ornaments and more in the museum store. |
||||||||||||
 |
24. WRF Nursery and Garden Center
(219) 548-7229; WRFNursery.com Open March 1 to December 24, Monday-Saturday 9am to 6pm; Sunday 10am to 4pm. There's something going on spring through Christmas Eve at this unique nursery in a peaceful, rural setting. If you want to make your own yard a haven, you'll get lots of advice as you stroll through the gardens. Then stock up on annuals, perennials and all kinds of gardening supplies. In the fall, the family will have a great time taking a hayride to the pumpkin patch to pick their own and navigating through the corn maze. When winter rolls around, you can cut your own Christmas tree. |
||||||||||||
