New Harmony

Harmonie State Park
New Harmony, Indiana
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We took a drive out to New Harmony, Indiana a couple of weekends ago, and it was well worth the trip. We stayed at nearby Harmonie State Park, and were pleased with the spacious site accommodations and layout of the campground. Electric service is available, but water service is not. Spigots are located throughout to fill your tank. We didn’t consider this a problem, as most campgrounds turn off water service in Fall anyway.

Harmonie is a good-sized park, threaded with many well maintained hiking trails. We spent several hours exploring the woods along easy paths, marveling at the autumn flora. A couple of trails end at a pretty picnic area along the Wabash River.

Just a few country miles from the state park is the special town of New Harmony. Once the site of a utopian settlement, much like the Shakers, it is now a sweet tourist destination.

We stumbled on several delights in New Harmony, including a large boxwood Labyrinth (which I’ll admit to cheating on a bit), the New Harmony Inn that offers both hotel rooms and cottage rentals, and the splendid Red Geranium Restaurant – a must for brunch!

New Harmony also boosts a few unique attractions. The Roofless Church is a walled garden with an unusual pavilion in the center. A museum and gallery is located at the end of town, and there’s a historical library a few blocks away.

New Harmony has a tradition of electric golf carts as a preferred mode of transportation. You’ll see many residents going about their daily business in these carts, with dogs and groceries loaded in the cargo hold. Golf cart and bicycle rentals are available at the Inn. Walkways down to the Wabash River permit electric cart traffic, or you can just hoof it like we did.