‘Best of Indiana’ Award Winners
(image courtesy of VisitIndiana.com)
If you’re looking for the best breweries, hiking trails and main streets across the Hoosier State, the Indiana Office of Tourism Development may be able to help. IOTD has released the results of the 2019 Best of Indiana people’s choice campaign.
“It was another record-setting year. We had 45,768 votes in this year’s categories,” said Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch. "All the nominations were fantastic, and Hoosiers should get out to visit our wonderful hiking trails, breweries and main streets."
The winners are:
- Best Brewery: Bad Dad Brewing Co. – Fairmount, Grant County
- Best Hiking Trail: The Ladders Trail (Trail 3) at Turkey Run State Park – Parke County
- Best Main Street: Franklin – Johnson County
The tourism department says Bad Dad Brewing Co. was started by a dad and his sons in Fairmount. They offer unique beers with unique names like Socks & Sandals and Ask Your Mother.
To work off some of those brews, you can take a hike on the 3,600 miles of local, state, and federal trails in the state. What’s the best path? This year it’s The Ladders Trail, known as Trail 3, at Turkey Run State Park. The rugged 1.7-mile trail follows cliffs along Sugar Creek. Part of the trail includes a series of ladders.
If you need a less rugged walk, then head to the town of Franklin. Voters decided it has the best main street in 2019 to enjoy restaurants and shops. The tourism department says Franklin has made significant changes to its downtown over the past few years, which attracted new business.
“If you haven’t visited any of these local spots that made the list, I encourage everyone to explore a new one,” said Misty Weisensteiner, director of Indiana Tourism.
To read the complete list of other breweries, trails and main streets to visit, click here.