Itinerary Day 2
Day Two
After enjoying a scrumptious Amish breakfast somewhere in town, start your day’s adventure with Buggy Lane Tours.
Buggy Lane Tours has been guiding visitors through the LaGrange County countryside for nearly 40 years. Options include a 7-minute buggy ride in town, a 15-min buggy ride with narration about the history of the community, a 30-minute buggy ride through the countryside past Amish farms on the backroads, and a 20-minute buggy ride to a working 70-acre farm with time allowed to observe the dairy operation, horses working in the field, and more, along with the option of a traditional Amish meal. Drivers provide personal insights about growing up in the area, highlighting the notable white painted houses with laundry blowing in the breeze, golden corn fields, brightly colored flower gardens, and working Amish farms with stands selling homemade baked goods and homegrown vegetables. Call for reservations. Costs range from $8/adult for a buggy ride in town to $35/adult for the farm visit. A buggy ride to the farm and an Amish family dinner is offered for $56/adult.
140 Harrison Street, Shipshewana, IN 46565 260-350-1768
Every visitor has to experience the Yoder Department Store at least once on their tour of Amish Country.
It’s been quite some time since Ora and Grace Yoder opened their store in Topeka, IN in 1945, to serve local farmers who needed bib overalls, work shoes, and fabric for clothing and quilts. Now located in Shipshewana, the store, run by the third generation has been massively expanded. Items on offer now include everything from hardware, clothing, home decor, quilt fabrics, jeans, work shoes, to wool fabric and women’s tatted hankies. If you like well-crafted quilts, admire them hanging on all the walls at Yoder’s. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, just ask. It’s probably in there somewhere.
300 S Van Buren St, Shipshewana, IN 46565 260-768-4887 M-Sat 8AM-5:30PM
Now it’s time to tour the Amish Backroads Byway.
The Amish Backroads Byway Route
The Amish Backroads Byway route begins right in Shipshewana at the Visitors Center.
- Begin the Byway Route/Experience at the Shipshewana La Grange County Visitor Center, 350 South Van Buren Street, Shipshewana, IN
- Turn right onto SR5/Van Buren Street, travel .2 miles to Menno-Hof Amish Mennonite Interpretive Center
- From the Menno-Hof Amish Mennonite Interpretive Center turn left on SR5/Van Buren Street, travel .7 miles to the intersection with Middlebury Street/CR 250 North
- Turn left on Middlebury Street/CR250, travel 7.2 miles
- Continue straight on what has become Middlebury Street/CR250/CR 16 to the stoplight
- Stay straight through the stoplight, take the left jog onto Wayne street, travel 1 mile to Das Dutchman Essenhaus
- Leaving Das Dutchman Essenhaus turn right on US 20, travel .8 miles
- Turn left on CR35, travel 1 mile
- Turn left on CR 22, travel .3 miles, turn right back onto CR 35, travel 1.6 miles
- Turn left on CR 20, travel 2.9 miles
- Turn right on CR 43, travel 1.5 miles
- Turn left on CR24, travel 1 mile
- Turn right on 1200 East County Line Road, travel 1 mile
- Turn left on W 400 S/CR 34, travel 3.5 miles
- W 400 S turned into S900 W at Honeyville Feed and Fertilizer, travel 2.9 miles
- Stay right to stay on S 900 W by Honeyville Feed and Fertilizer, travel 1 mile
- Turn ight on W 500 S, travel 3 miles
- Turn left on 1200 W County Line Road
- Turn left on W 600 S, Rock Run Road, travel 1 mile
- Turn right onto S 1000 W, travel 2 miles
- Turn left on W 700 S, travel 1 mile
- Cross SR 5, follow W 700 through Topeka, travel 4.9 miles
- Turn left on S 500 W, travel 1.1 miles
- Turn left on W 600 S, travel 1.7 miles
- Turn right on S 675 W, travel 1.5
- Turn right on W 500 S, travel .9 miles
- Turn right on S 600 W, travel .6 miles
- Turn left on W 600 S, travel 1 mile
- Turn right on 500 W, travel .9 miles
- Turn left on 700 S, travel 2 miles
- Turn left on 300 W, Amish Alley, travel 3 miles
- Turn left on W 400 S, travel 3 miles
- Turn right on 600 W, travel 5 miles
- Cross over US 20, take the left curve on W 100N, travel .8 miles
- Turn right on N 676 W, travel 1.5 miles
- Turn left on 250 N, travel 1.2 miles back into Shipshewana
- Turn left on SR 5/Van Buren Street, travel .1 miles to the Visitor Center
Along the route, stop at Das Dutchman Essenhaus in Middlebury.
After Bob and Sue Miller moved west from Sugarcreek, Ohio in 1970, they purchased a property on U.S. 20 that was at the time a small 24-hour truck stop known as Everett’s Highway Inn. After a week of minor repairs and cleaning, they reopened January 4, 1971 as an Amish-style restaurant complete with Amish and Mennonite cooks and waitstaff. Today, this very successful complex includes a restaurant, still serving Amish Mennonite traditional meals, the Das Dutchman Essenhaus Inn and Conference Center with 89 guest rooms and a 4,000 square foot conference center, a collection of Village Shops, carriage rides, and a beautiful Quilt Garden in bloom between May and September each year.
240 US-20, Middlebury, IN 46540 574-825-9471, Restaurant and Bakery, Mon-Sat 6:30AM-8PM, Essenhaus Village Shops and The Quilt Shop, Mon-Sat 10AM-7PM,
And plan to stop at several Amish Businesses along the route.
Amish farms, averaging 40 acres each, and a selection of the 375 Amish businesses in LaGrange County, are at the heart of the Amish Backroads Byway. Many Amish farmers still use horses instead of tractors to plow and plant their land and typically, a farm has no electricity. The combine science, technology, and experience to maintain their traditional farming methods that enables the land to be worked by a family who all contribute to its success. The Byway is dotted with a multitude of cottage businesses, many of which are located directly on their farms.
On your way back into Shipshewana, if it is after 2PM on other than Sunday, call ahead to tour Marv Yoder’s Antique Farm Equipment. Amish farmer and fence builder Merv Yoder has been collecting 18th and 19th century farm machinery for decades. Yet, unlike most other collections of antique machinery, Mr. Yoder’s collection is all in working order. He has repaired, restored and otherwise rejuvenated every piece of the collection that now fills three barns, all organized by the date of the machine. Tours are available after 2PM, any day except Sunday and reservations can be made by calling for an appointment.
6450 W 275 N, Shipshewana, IN 260-768-4986
After dinner, plan to attend a Blue Gate Theater Performance
The Blue Gate Restaurant is also the home to the Blue Gate Theater and Blue Gate Musicals. The theater features a variety of live performances and productions throughout the year. The musicals are a unique genre with a central Amish character whose stories intertwine the Amish and English worlds, creating intriguing dilemmas and soul-searching journeys – with lots of laughs along the way!
195 North Van Buren Street, Shipshewana, IN 46565 260-768-4725 Restaurant hours:
M-F 10:30AM-8PM, Sat 7AM-8PM, Theater Shows generally begin at 4PM and 7PM, with ticket prices ranging from $15-$35, but show times do vary. Tickets for major performances such as the Jay Leno show range from $60 to $135
