Corydon Indiana is a Great Trip with Kids

Indiana is a very diverse state when it comes to things to do. Yes, there’s a lot of corn and soybeans but beyond that, you’ll find diversity from one mile to the next. This year we took our third trip to Corydon but it was the first trip where we were actually able to explore the area with our kids and participate in a few of the fun things to do.

What To Do

Harrison County is home to three caves that are open to the public for tours. The cool (literally) thing about visiting caves is that you can do it year round and the caves are the same temperature…a cool 54 degrees.

Squire Boone Caverns has a zip line course through the park. Older children, teens and adults will thoroughly enjoy the view and the zippy ride. My girls (ages two and four) were very excited about finding treasure at the gem mine. Purchase plastic bags of sand in the store and then make your way to the mine and sift through to find “pretties.

The cave tour took about 45 minutes. You’ll enter the cave by making your way down a narrow spiral staircase and then travel through the cave on bridges. On your way you’ll experience waterfalls and streams. The water and formations in the cave are lit in attractive fashion as well as in a way to let you see what has “grown” below the ground over time. Our kids were slow going up and down the stairs and needed help, our two year old needed to be carried most of the way on the stairs but after that they did very well.

Another cave tour that we really enjoyed was through Indiana Caverns. Indiana Caverns is the newest tour offered and some exciting finds have been discovered and are highlighted on the tour, including blind crayfish living in the water in the cave, the skeletons of prehistoric animals that used the cave. The tour time is about an hour and half and includes our favorite part, a boat ride! We also loved that there was a video before the tour that explained a bit about the history of the cave.

On our next trip, we’ll check out a third cave, Marengo Cave.

Deere Farms was a hit with our kids — while the area that we live has several farms that offer family fun every fall, Deere Farms had so much good stuff; pony rides, hay rides, a corn maze, a pumpkin patch, petting zoo, children’s play areas and other great attractions. Our family enjoyed something that we had never seen before — pig races. Really! Children were selected from the crowd and assigned a pig. Each child chased their pig around the track several times until finally the fastest pig (and child) was the winner. We laughed so hard and the girls loved cheering for the pigs.

After dinner one night we crossed the street from our hotel and spent some time at Golf Shores, an amusement center that had an indoor black light golf course and an outdoor miniature golf course with water features. Our girls loved purposely making their golf balls go into the water. Indoors they had a great time in the dark room that was painted with luminous/fluorescent paint to react to the blacklights. There is an arcade, coffee shop and snack bar. Check their website for a discount coupon.

Where To Eat

Point Blank Brewing Company is a microbrewery in downtown Corydon. We enjoyed a delicious lunch of woodfired pizza and there were even kids menu selections.

When you are ready for a treat, there are two choices that we enjoyed. Really, there are a lot of dessert choices in Corydon but we recommend Butt Drugs for their old fashioned soda fountain. You must try the Black Cow, a chocolate soda or any one of their old fashioned sodas. For another treat, there’s always Emery’s Ice Cream. With both of these locations, you’ll want to call ahead to be sure they’re planning on being open for your visit.

At home we eat a lot of Mexican food and we do the same when we travel. It’s generally inexpensive, the kids like it and most restaurants are very family friendly. In Corydon we found El Nopalito. There was one right by our hotel but there were others all over town. The kids LOVED it.

Where To Stay

O’Bannon Woods State Park (7234 Old Forest Road SW, Corydon) is a great place to camp. Watch out for raccoons and other wildlife that will get into your food (and even open your cooler). There are a lot of great trails and in the fall, the views are hard to beat. During the summer, enjoy the pool!

The Hampton Inn (2455 Landmark Avenue, Corydon) was a great place to stay with our family of small children, it had two amenities that are must-haves for our crew of small children; a pool and a complimentary breakfast. The Hampton was within walking distance of Golf Shores and a close drive to everywhere we wanted to go.

Corydon is only about two and a half hours south of Indianapolis which makes it a perfect destination for a weekend getaway or even a one night visit.

*Our accommodations and tickets to several attractions were provided for our family for the purpose of facilitating this article, however the majority of  expenses for this trip were paid for by our family. All information is true to the best of my knowledge and all opinions are my own.