Exploring Southeastern Indiana: Metamora, Indiana

My wife and I recently had the opportunity to explore historic Southeastern Indiana for a romantic weekend away. It was a fantastic experience this is part of series of posts about our trip.

Metamora is a really interesting place – it’s unlike any place I’ve ever been. Nestled along the historic White River Canal – Metamora existed long before the railroad that runs to it. The White River is not a very navigable river, so to work around it, they built a canal which was revolutionary when it was originally built.

Today, Metamora is most known as the the town that the Whitewater Valley Railroad runs to – which I wrote about yesterday. Metamora is filled with lovely little shops and restaurants selling fine home made country goods, antiques, books and so much more. It’s really hard to classify the shopping in this lovely little town – but you can pretty much find anything in the town’s more than 50 shops. There are no chain stores here!

The most lovely thing about the town is that it’s walkable – which is great if you rode the train in. You can walk through the whole town in the two hours the train gives you to explore before returning to Connorsville.

The centerpiece of the town is the old Canal, which is still in use to this day, albeit to entertain tourists. There’s still a canal boat that runs along the stretch of canal still in use. For a small fee you can go for a ride on the horse drawn canal boat.

The pace of life in Metamora is slow – and it’s very relaxing. Exploring the shops, you don’t feel rushed and shopkeepers are happy to help with any questions you might have.

Another great feature in town is the historic grist mill, which is powered by the flow of the canal. The mill still runs today and you can pick up fresh ground flour and cornmeal. Perfect for baking!

One quick tip – if you’re hungry when getting off the train, walk as quickly as you can to a restaurant and get a table because you’re not going to be the only hungry passenger and who wants to wait around for a table?

There are many places around to get ice cream and on a hot summer day, it’s a joy to sit outside, watch the world go by and enjoy a cold ice cream cone before hopping back on the train for the ride back to Connorsville.