Lying just off I-80/90, halfway along the northern fringe of Indiana, SOUTH BEND briefly rivaled Detroit as the country's leading car manufacturer during the early 1920s, when now-defunct Studebaker was going strong. These days it's better known for the University of Notre Dame , the most famous Roman Catholic college in the US and home of the Fighting Irish team that once dominated college football. Free tours of the campus (tel 219/237-4872, ) take in the gold-domed Administration Building and sights such as a replica of the grotto at Lourdes. If you are in for something more daring, head to the East Race Waterway, where you can kayak or raft the first man-made whitewater course in North America. For $2, navigate the one-third mile course that runs, believe it or not, through downtown South Bend. Once downtown, head to Niles Avenue near the Jefferson Street bridge and the Emporium Restaurant (tel 219/299-4765; June-Aug only).

Budget motels are grouped along US-31 N. The Book Inn B&B , 508 W Washington St (tel 219/288-1990 or 1-877/288-1990, ; $100-130), offers gourmet breakfasts and has a used bookstore in the basement.

Forty miles west, smaller MICHIGAN CITY marks the start of the twenty-mile Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore , intended to prevent further encroachment on the state's shoreline. There's not much to the "city" itself but it is the handiest place to stay near the lake. The Knights Inn , 201 W Kieffer Rd (tel 219/874-9500, ; $50-75), offers the best value. Just west of town, the impressive Mount Baldy is, in fact, a giant sand dune. Good swimming beaches and hiking trails through woods and marshes can be found at Indiana Dunes State Park , twelve miles farther along.

From here it's another fifteen miles west to the industrial mess of GARY , the largest US city founded in the twentieth century and mildly famous as the birthplace of Michael Jackson. Until the US Steel Corporation built a giant foundry here in 1906, this was uninhabited bogland. These days it's basically a depressed suburb of Chicago.

Northern Indiana

• Northern Indiana

Indiana cities


All U.S. city guides