It’s time for an inexpensive family vacation – and we have options for you!
Knightstown, New Castle, Henry County, and surrounding East Central Indiana provide plenty of affordable options that will get the whole family engaged and having a great time. We’ve outlined a few themes below to inspire you to start your planning. We’ll warn you: we’re just scratching the surface here for options, so be sure to do some extra reading for a deeper dive into your area of interest. Once you have your theme and general area you want to visit, follow the links for additional information, places to stay, and restaurants to visit.
Arts & History
Is your family into history and the arts? Henry County and our surrounding area (East Central Indiana) has a myriad of options for you.
- Antique Alley: Plan a weekend (or more) to visit every single shop along Antique Alley – two trails featuring dozens of options for shopping and exploring our past. Knightstown is proud to be featured several times in Trail #1, so you know our preference, but we believe either option will give you a wonderful experience!
- Historical Architecture Tour: We love old houses, beautiful banks, and turn of the century buildings.
Along the way, you’ll see lots of little shopping opportunities to browse arts, crafts, and Hoosier-made products available for purchase. You can also plan your family vacation to include any or all the arts districts in our nine county region.
Adventure
Biking, hiking, kayaking, camping, and more awaits your family in Knightstown and our surrounding area. If you’re looking for something that’s a little higher-octane that museums – or something to get your blood pumping after the museums, plan an inexpensive family vacation in the great outdoors!
We have easy access to the Big Blue River for kayaking and canoeing. You’ll find two great campgrounds available in Knightstown with a host of fun outdoor activities there, too. For the bikers and hikers, we’re proud to present multiple trail options that will connect you to the rest of East Central Indiana. Some of the longer trails offer easy on and off areas that will allow you to turn your excursion into a vacation where you can stop for a meal or stay overnight before continuing on the next day.
If you’re family is a fan of disc golf, you may want to check out our courses and plan a family vacation to play your way through East Central Indiana. We also have some incredible ball diamonds, tennis courts, parks, and golf courses for you to enjoy the great outdoors.
Festivals
If you’re the kind of family that loves a theme or can’t wait to grab a lemon shake-up, consider diving into the festivals within easy driving distance of Knightstown and East Central Indiana. If you can’t make it to our Fall Festivals this year, broaden your search to include our neighboring counties. Pick an event theme – like historical re-enactments or music – and check out what’s available for fun, family-friendly, inexpensive things to do. Two great resources include the Forge Your Path website (a nine county coalition in East Central Indiana) and the Indiana Festivals Guide (a state-wide listing of car shows, carnivals, festivals, and fairs).
For added local flavor, we suggest getting local lodgings, like a Vrbo or AirBnb, and planning to enjoy breakfast the next day at a mom-and-pop style restaurant before exploring the downtown area.
Kid-Friendly Destinations
East Central Indiana plays host to a number of wonderful kid-friendly destinations. Checking them off your list one by one would make a wonderful family vacation plan. This includes historic sites, zoos, railroad adventures, a children’s museum, interactive educational sites, and the Charles W. Brown Planetarium, which hosts regular free showings and films on celestial bodies and events.
You can view a sharable copy of this .pdf file here. Set your GPS, check these off as you go, and plan to stay in Knightstown as your basecamp or one of our neighboring counties. There are plenty of options for a fun affordable family vacation in East Central Indiana!
Sports Vacations
It wouldn’t be an article about Knightstown, Indiana, without mentioning sports! In addition to the athletic adventures your family can pursue that we mentioned above, we have a pretty significant basketball legacy that you can plan a vacation around. Henry County is a great place to explore your passion for basketball.
Start with a trip to The Hoosier Gym – our 100+ years old community center and gymnasium and the iconic setting for the 1985 Oscar-nominated movie Hoosiers. Today, you’ll find historical information, memorabilia, a chance to shoot some hoops yourself, and (if you’re really lucky) the opportunity to see a live game. You can view their schedule here.
After some time in the gym, go outside to the Hoosier Gym Outdoor Court & Mural. It’s on the ground of the Knightstown Academy and you’ll see a replica of the Hoosier Gym floor and court lines. If you head a block away to downtown Knightstown, you’ll also see the Hoosiers Mural on US Route 40.
Grab some lunch in Knightstown, then plan to head to New Castle for the afternoon. You’re next stop is the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame – a 14,000 square foot museum with interactive exhibits. You’ll find history from the 1890s to the current season and nearly 1,000 Hall of Fame inductees. Start your tour with an introductory film, then explore the photos and memorabilia from our previous state championship teams, as well as dedicate exhibits to our famous Hoosier legends, like Larry Bird, Oscar Robertson, and more.
Finish your getaway by checking in to the Steve Alford All American Inn: an affordable, basketball-themed hotel. This will keep you close to the action, refreshed, and ready to get up the next more and continue exploring Knightstown, New Castle, Henry County, and the rest of East Central Indiana.
About Us
We hope this article gave you more information about the things you can do when your looking for inexpensive Fall family vacation ideas in Indiana! There is so much in Knightstown (and our neighboring cities) for you to enjoy. Stay up to date and get more Knightstown travel tips by signing up for our monthly newsletter or following us on social media. For more articles just like this one, check out the other article on our blog. Curious about the new Hoosier Made Here branding? Go behind the scenes to learn more.
