Weekend Getaway in Hamilton Co, Indiana
Hamilton County, Indiana
Visit Hamilton County hosted this trip, but all opinions expressed in this blog are based on my own personal experiences.
Hamilton County, Indiana is the perfect destination to plan your next weekend getaway. It’s only about a 2 hour drive from Cincinnati, Ohio, making for an ideal road trip. The cities that make up Hamilton County, Indiana include Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Westfield, Arcadia, Atlanta, Cicero, and Sheridan. Thanks to Visit Hamilton County we were able to explore some of what this thriving county has to offer.
Distance from major cities in Ohio
Cincinnati: 1 hour 50 minutes
Columbus: 2 hours 55 minutes
Cleveland: 4 hours 50 minutes
Dayton: 1 hour 55 minutes
Day 1
Hilton Garden Inn
We checked into our Hotel at the Hilton Garden Inn in Carmel, Indiana. This hotel was right off the highway, located minutes from the Carmel Arts & Design District. Although Indiana recently lifted their mask mandate, I was happy to see that the hotel was still following CDC COVID guidelines, such as mask wearing, social distancing, and extra cleaning measures. Our room was very clean and spacious. My favorite features of the hotel were the in-room microwave and the vicinity to many different restaurants, shops, and activities.
Penn & Beech
We had reservations to make candles at Penn and Beech in Carmel. We had never done this before so this made for a super fun date night activity.
Step 1: Smell the candles while writing down your favorite scents.
Step 2: Pick out your candle or home fragrance base.
Step 3: Bring your base and form over to a staff member and they will help you get started making your candle.
Step 4: Let your candle cure for at least 2 hours.
The Penn & Beech in Carmel is located across from Sun King Brewing. Sun King is a perfect spot to relax, grab a drink, and a bite to eat while your candle cures.
The Monon Trail
The Monon Trail is a beautiful 27 mile pathway that runs from Sheridan, Indiana to downtown Indianapolis. It’s a perfect trail for a nice afternoon walk, leisurely bike ride, or even a run. We walked on the trail through the heart of the Carmel Arts and Design District until we reached the Carmel City Center. We took a slight detour off of the trail to see the new decorations at the beautiful Cake Bake Shop.
Cake Bake Shop
The Cake Bake Shop is a must-try when visiting Carmel, Indiana. The decorations are magical and often change with the seasons. This spring it had an “Enchanted Mushroom Forest” theme but, when we went last December it was a beautiful Winter Wonderland theme. We did not eat here this time, just stopped by to see the decorations, but I promise, based on our previous visit, the food and the CAKE is worth the trip!
Dinner at Bazbeaux
There are so many outdoor dining options in Hamilton County. With the virus, it’s been a must for us to find restaurants with patio seating, lucky for us we found so many throughout our visit. Our first night we dined at Bazbeaux, located in Carmel along the Monon Trail. The weather was absolutely perfect and our food was really good. We ordered Cheesy Garlic Bread, the Margherita Pizza, and the Stromboli. Caleb raved about his Stromboli and is already saying he wants to go back for that again.
Alexander’s on the Water
We wanted to try some of the locals favorite ice cream shops. Our decision came between Bub’s Burgers & Ice Cream or Alexander’s. Ultimately, we decided on Alexander’s in Cicero, Indiana. This quaint walk up window has several flavors of both hand dipped and soft serve ice cream. If you’re hungry, they also offer food. We ordered a root beer float and a hand dipped cone of cookies and cream. While enjoying our ice cream, we took a stroll across the bridge to take in some views of the lake.
Day 2
Hoosier Heights
We woke up pretty early on Saturday to go rock climbing at Hoosier Heights Climbing. They have a few locations throughout Indiana, but we visited the climbing center in Carmel. They were following social distancing protocols and making sure that all guest were wearing mask. When we arrived we had to fill out a few waivers and then watch a safety video. After the safety video, an instructor came over to show us around the gym. Hooiser Heights was a lot bigger than most of the gyms I’ve been to in Cincinnati. After a quick tour of the facility we were free to start climbing. Included in admission of the First Time Day Pass, an instructor will teach you the proper technique to belay. We opted to use the auto-belays and the bouldering walls, that way we could climb together. It had been about 10 years since I had last been rock climbing and even longer for Caleb. We started at the practice wall, getting a feel for falling and climbing. After some time practicing on that wall we moved over to the auto-belay walls. This is when we started getting a little nervous. Trusting the belays was scary at first, but eventually we got more and more brave as the day went on. Maybe we will need to start rock climbing more often because it really was a lot of fun.
Bub’s Burgers and Ice Cream
On Friday night, we kept smelling the most amazing grilled burgers. It smelled as if there was a huge cookout right in the middle of the Carmel Arts and Design District. We later found out where that amazing smell was coming from, Bub’s, home of the “Big Ugly.” We knew what we would be eating for lunch on Saturday. Bub’s offered tons of food, but we had to try the burgers. There were a variety of burger sizes, the biggest being the “Big Ugly” at a whopping 22 Oz, but we “Settled For Less Ugly” and got the 6 Oz burger. It was delicious! My favorite kind of burger is one fresh off the grill at a cookout. That’s exactly what this tasted like, if not better. When in Carmel do yourself a favor and try Bub’s!
Urban Vines Winery & Brewery
We drove over to Westfield, Indiana to try the Carnival Candy Wine at Urban Vines. This wine was super sweet and delicious, it truly did taste like cotton candy. My husband decided to try the Cherry Pie Milkshake IPA, he enjoyed this a lot, saying it tasted like a smoothie. The rain was really starting to pick up while we were enjoying our drinks on the patio so we didn’t stay as long as we had hoped, but I could imagine spending lots of time there in the warmer months. They do get super busy, we had to make a reservation to be seated, so if you are in a rush they also sell bottles of wines to take home.
Exploring the Carmel Arts & Design District
This area stole my heart! There are so many charming restaurants, shops, sculptures, and galleries to explore. We had been to Carmel, Indiana multiple times, but we had never ventured to the Arts and Design District until this trip. I quickly fell even more in love with this gem of a town. We spent a lot of time wandering the shops and finding the life-like statues throughout the streets of the district. Every second Saturday of the month they have this event called “Meet Me on Main” from 5:00 until 9:00 pm . You’ll find live music and art throughout the streets. I was really excited that it was going on the weekend of our visit, however; the rain had really picked up after we ate dinner so we didn’t get to stay as long as we’d liked. The short amount of time we were at the event we were given a flower pot and some paint to take home to decorate. This seemed like a really fun event.
One of the places that really stuck out to me in the Arts District was No Label At The Table. They are a Gluten Free & Dairy Free food company that is staffed by people on the autistic spectrum. Unfortunately, by the time we had passed No Label At The Table, it was closed for the day. This is one place I wished we were able to visit because I really loved their mission.
Dinner at Woodys Library Restaurant
Woodys is a local restaurant found in Carmel, Indiana. The building first served as the towns public library until the 1970s. In 1998, Woodys opened its’ doors. The Bacon Bombs were the real winner of this restaurant. Bacon Bombs are fried bacon wrapped smoked sausages, served with a side of honey mustard. One word, YUM! We devoured these in minutes. For my entrée, I ordered the Chicken Tenders, these were not your average chicken tenders! Caleb ordered the Cajun Chicken Pasta. By the time we were finished eating we were stuffed.
Day 3
Cafe Patachou
This was the final day of our trip. We woke up early to a cold, rainy day. We checked out of our hotel and went to breakfast at Cafe Patachou. This is a super cute breakfast spot located in Carmel. (There are actually two located in Carmel, one at Clay Terrace Boulevard and the other on Main Street, as well as a third location in Indianapolis) I ordered the special which was an omelet with bacon, asparagus, and gouda cheese, Caleb ordered the Waffle. This might sound a bit strange, but my absolute favorite item was the Cinnamon Toast. They offered this as a side item and typically I would have just said regular toast, but for some reason I said yes to the cinnamon toast. So my advice to you is say “YES TO THE CINNAMON TOAST!”
Noblesville, Indiana
After breakfast we popped over to Noblesville, Indiana to grab coffee at Noble Coffee & Tea Company. We took a rainy walk through the downtown area of Noblesville. In this town we came across another Alexander’s Ice Cream. This one was very different from the one in Cicero, it was more of a parlor instead of a creamy whip. On our walk we spotted a fun wall by Andrea Haydon. We snapped one final picture before heading back to Cincinnati.
We had such a great time exploring Hamilton County, Indiana. Every time we visit I feel that we are always finding something new. This destination is great for couples, families, foodies, and just about anyone. One thing that helped us out tremendously was the guide book from Visit Hamilton County. We were able to find restaurants, parks, and activities to do in each of the cities. I cannot thank Visit Hamilton County enough for hosting us on this unforgettable getaway. We cannot wait until our next visit!
