Family Destinations
Albanese Confectionery, Hobart
A must-stop while visiting the South Shore! Take a tour and watch gummies, chocolates, and other confections made in front of your very eyes. Albanese is best known for their award-winning World's Best Gummies and is home to the world's tallest chocolate waterfall. Their retail store is full of thousands of candies to choose from including a large nostalgic candy section featuring favorites like Snaps, Black Jack gum and wax lips.
Deep River Waterpark, Hobart
Deep River Waterpark, is one of the hottest summer attractions in the South Shore. Soar down tube and body slides at speeds of 30 miles per hour. Families love the wacky courthouse, interactive river, and the world's first double dueling barrel bowl slides. Deep River Waterpark also has winter activity - ice-skating. Bring the family to ice skate under the clock tower in the front of the park.
Fair Oaks Farms, Fair Oaks
Fair Oaks Farms and Adventure Center is an interactive and informative working dairy farm. Bring the family and experience modern dairy farming and production. Visit the birthing center where calves are born every hour. Fair Oaks offers tours and a retail cheese and ice cream store. Sample blue ribbon cheeses and velvety ice cream.
County Line Orchard, Hobart
For fall family fun only an hour from Chicago, County Line Orchard is the ideal stop. The orchard is the closest U-pick apple orchard to downtown Chicago. Pick apples and pumpkins, enjoy a tractor-drawn wagon ride, or get lost in the corn maze. Open from September 1st through October 31st.
Hoosier Bat Company, Valparaiso
Out of a small Indiana town 50 miles east of Chicago, Hoosier Bat Company is quickly becoming the bat of choice for major and minor league players. If you want to be a Major Leaguer you have to use wood. Hoosier Bat Company makes an all ash bat, used by many major and minor league players, and a patented three-piece wood bat, the WOODFORCE 2000. With ash in the handle, hickory in the sweet spot, and maple on the barrel end, this bat provides a solid sweet spot that will not flake, while retaining the same look and feel as a traditional all ash bat. All of the bats are made from quality wood and crafted to exacting standards. If you want quality, you will get it at Hoosier Bat Company. They have a small shop in front of the factory and groups can request tours by calling with advance notice.
Lake County Parks
Buckley Homestead is a living history farm in Lowell, featuring 3 different historic areas. Deep River and Wood's Historic Grist Mill features an 1800's saw mill and is also home to the Deep River Grinders who play old time baseball under 1858 rules and attire. The county parks offer fishing, playgrounds, and a 27-hold disk golf course. Winter activities include cross-country skiing, ice fishing, and sledding.
Challenger Learning Center, Hammond
Experience the magic of space at the Challenger Learning Center. The center has mission control and space station simulators, a planetarium dome, a fiber optic starfield and more. Great opportunity for large groups.
South Shore RailCats, Gary
The SouthShore RailCats has been providing affordable family fun since 2002. The RailCats have everything one could possibly want at a baseball game for a fraction of the cost of attending a Major League game. At the U.S. Steelyard, attendees can park close to the stadium for no cost. Every seat in the stadium offers an excellent view of the game, and cost no more than $10.
While one may go for the baseball, it is undeniable that what makes RailCats baseball so special is all the extras. With weekly fireworks, in-between inning entertainment and events specifically for the kids, RailCats baseball is sure to bring traditional summer fun to the family for an affordable price.
Book Your Stay
Northwest Indiana’s very own candy factory boasts the world’s best gummies! Tour the factory and experience your favorites being made, see the world’s tallest chocolate waterfall and sample some of the best candies around!…more
What began as a local newspaper’s effort to tell the compelling stories of Northwest Indiana men and women who sacrificed during the Civil War has evolved into a large-scale historical preservation effort. The joint partnership of the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority and the Calumet Region Civil War Preservation Project seeks to carry forward on hundreds of hours of community service that already have taken place. …more
Conveniently located between Chicago and Indianapolis, Fair Oaks Farms offers a fun family playground that everyone will enjoy! From the Dairy Adventure and Birthday Barn, to the Cheese Factory and Mooville, Fair Oaks Farms will keep the family entertained, and well-fed, for a full day of education and fun!…more
When a guest visits a hotel, restaurant, bank, or gas station, they rarely meet the manager or owner of the establishment. It's up to the front-line employee to make the customer's visit enjoyable.The R.O.S.E. Awards were created to recognize these "directors of first impression" who consistently work hard to make our lives easier. Guests & managers are able to nominate an employee who consistently "goes the extra mile."…more
Heavy industry carried the South Shore economy for decades. Now, the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority tells a story about a community: it’s been built by steel but changing from tourism. Northwest Indiana’s appeal is its devotion to ensure new & already existing businesses succeed. Area leaders have teamed together to revitalize the mill towns and make Northwest Indiana the place people want to live & work. …more
Experience the journey of the Passion of Christ as never before in this interactive trail featuring 40 life-sized bronze statues. Experience the various Stations of the Cross with audio descriptions as you walk the winding pathway.…more
With five different casinos, Northwest Indiana offers much excitement and action along the beautiful shores of Lake Michigan! With decadent restaurants, world class entertainment and floors (and floors) of slots and table games, your night is just getting started when you test your luck at one of our casinos.…more
Pierogi Fest, the pride of Whiting, is an opportunity for the residents to celebrate their heritage while poking a little fun at themselves at the same time. The one of a kind parade and festival have received countrywide recognition having been featured on the Food Network and the Travel Channel.…more
This holiday season, The Indiana Welcome Center in Hammond will feature 6 animated displays featuring scenes from "A Christmas Story". The displays include: Higbee’s Department Store Window, Flick’s Tongue and the Triple Dog Dare, It’s a Major Award, Santa’s Mountain at Higbee’s, the Bumpus Hounds, and the Parker Living Room. The displays were first showcased in 2003 in the windows of the Herald Square Macy’s in New York City. …more
