The Oregon Trail Through Northern Indiana

So close and yet so far away from the excitement of Chicago, northern Indiana can’t help but seem a little bit boring. In the northwest, the state is bounded by Lake Michigan, where Rust Belt hulks of derelict heavy industry stand along the shore side by side with the pristine sands of beautiful Indiana Dunes National Park.

The northeastern corner, even in the estimation of the state tourist office, offers little more than a few lakes and the so-called “muck lands” around the Fighting Irish homeland of Notre Dame University at South Bend. In between stretch endless acres of rolling farmland, Amish homes, and other tourist-attractive agricultural communities, as well as some of the most important sites in early American automotive history: the homes of Studebaker, Cord, Duesenberg, and other now-defunct car companies.