Spencer County offers a range of ways to explore the area: hiking trails and lakes in Lincoln State Park, sites associated with Abraham Lincoln, and recreational attractions with roller coasters. You can consider nature, history, and entertainment as different focuses for planning your trip.
Nature: Trails, Lakes, and Bottomland Forest
Lincoln State Park offers 10 miles of hiking trails and two scenic lakes. The trail network gives you a concrete sense of the scope of the hiking opportunities; the lakes add a scenic feature. Sarah Lincoln Woods Nature Preserve is in the southernmost part of Lincoln State Park. Kramer Original Woods Nature Preserve is an old-growth southern hardwood bottomland forest in the Ohio River floodplain. It is open to public visits; specific access conditions may vary by preserve.
Lincoln History and Historic Buildings
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial is located at the site where Abraham Lincoln and his family lived in a pioneer community from 1816 to 1830. Its visitor center includes two Memorial Halls, a museum with various exhibits, and an orientation film. The Living Historical Farm brings to life the story of Lincoln’s 14 formative years in Indiana. Two perspectives help put the history in context: the Memorial ties the story to the place where he lived and the period from 1816 to 1830, while the farm highlights Lincoln’s formative years in Indiana.
The historic home of Colonel William Jones in Gentryville is a restored 1834 Federal-style house. Alongside the Lincoln sites, it offers a clearly dated example of 19th-century architecture. The Santa Claus Museum & Village includes a collection of original town buildings dating from 1856 onward. The Museum & Village also includes the completely original Santa Claus Church, built in 1880. Here, several historic buildings take center stage rather than a single person or life story.
Recreation and Theater
Holiday World & Splashin' Safari offer two parks for the price of one admission. The Thunderbird steel roller coaster accelerates riders from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds. Cheetah Chase is the world’s first launched water coaster. When comparing the rides, Thunderbird’s acceleration figure and the distinctive type of water coaster offer two different points of reference. Lincoln State Park is also home to the Lincoln Amphitheatre, a 2,200-seat theater. It is a different kind of venue from the rides.
The Ohio River Scenic Byway
The Ohio River Scenic Byway follows the Ohio River through river towns, colorful wooded areas, and broad agricultural landscapes. It passes through the southern part of Spencer County. This offers another trip-planning option alongside the individual cultural and recreational sites: a road route through several types of landscape.
Choose Accommodation Based on Your Itinerary
Explore more destinations: Grandview, Santa Claus, Dale, Shelby County, Johnson, Vermillion County, Orange County, Warren County
For the broader travel overview: Indiana.
