In Elkhart, you can explore nature and culture at different locations: the Elkhart Environmental Center covers more than 80 acres, Wellfield Botanic Gardens offers themed garden areas, and several museums focus on art, railroad history or comics. There is also the Lerner Theatre, with year-round programming. When planning, it helps to consider whether landscapes, a particular collection or a performance will be the focus of your stay.

Landscapes and Themed Gardens

The Elkhart Environmental Center covers more than 80 acres of prairie, wetlands, wooded areas and shoreline that visitors can explore. If you are interested in different types of landscapes, you will find several distinct areas of focus within one site. The center hosts community events, interactive workshops, educational programs and other activities throughout the year. The specific program may vary seasonally.

Wellfield Botanic Gardens in Elkhart covers 36 acres and features more than 24 themed areas. Compared with the Environmental Center, its particular emphasis is on a botanical garden arranged by theme, while the center encompasses prairie, wetlands, wooded areas and shoreline. Wellfield also offers workshops and educational programs. If you would like to combine nature-related topics with an educational offering during your visit, you can consider these alongside the Environmental Center's programs.

Art, Architecture and Collections

The Ruthmere Campus comprises two historic estates and offers visitors a distinctive experience of history, art and architecture. Visits to the Ruthmere Museum are guided only; self-guided visits are not permitted. Check the current schedule before you travel, as the guided format is important when planning your visit.

The Midwest Museum of American Art displays more than 6,800 works of American art in its permanent collection, by prominent American artists of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. This gives it a different collection focus from Ruthmere's historic estates. The National New York Central Railroad Museum, in turn, preserves the local and national railroad heritage of the New York Central System and is a continually growing site. These distinct themes can help you choose a museum visit based on your personal interests.

The collection at the Hall of Heroes Superhero Museum includes more than 70,000 comic books, more than 10,000 toys and games, and more than 100 animation and comic art works. Comics and related collection areas offer a markedly different focus from American art or railroad history. This makes it possible to distinguish the museums by their respective subjects rather than treat them as interchangeable stops.

Activities and Theater Program

NIBCO Water & Ice Park features interactive water elements and an outdoor roller-skating rink. These offerings have a different focus from the art and history collections: water and roller skating take center stage here. When making your selection, you can therefore weigh museum and garden themes against the activities at the park.

For more than a century, the Lerner Theatre has been a defining theater in downtown Elkhart. It offers performances, musical theater, films and theater workshops throughout the year. Since the program changes, check the current schedule before your trip. This lets you plan a theater visit around the performances or events actually on offer.

Discover more destinations: Goshen, New Paris, Nappanee, Middlebury

Return to the main travel overview: Elkhart.