Stopped by for a bathroom pit stop and was pleasantly impressed with the visitor center! The staff greeted me upon entry and the bathrooms were clean and stocked. There was a nice baby changing area as well and they had paper towels too! If you need to stretch your legs there's a great gift shop bringing you all things from Indiana and also check out the fun graphics/descriptions that line the walls, you'll learn more about Indiana than you imagined. The building itself is neat from the outside--it represents several major industries home to Indiana. Did you know the movie, The Christmas Story is based in a fictional town in Indiana?!? read more

Oh wow! This is a nice welcome center. I've started to enjoy visiting welcome centers because there is usually a lot of good information about the area that can be found at these types of places. This one is no exception! The Indiana Welcome Center is filled with friendly people who love nothing more than to help you. There are brochures, pamphlets and literature about the area available for you to pick up. This welcome center has local art exhibits inside, including one about A Christmas Story, a film that was set in nearby Hammond, Indiana. (Although, I think the film was actually filmed in Canada, but that's neither here nor there.) There's also a huge gift shop, with lots of souvenirs, snacks and toys available to purchase. I actually found a tote bag that I didn't know I desperately needed here, so my visit to the Indiana Welcome Center was especially blessed. The restrooms here are large and very clean. At the very least, this is a great place to stop and use the restroom. Before you leave, be sure to see the A Christmas Story statue outside the building. It's a statue of the kid who gets his tongue stuck on the pole. It's an Indiana classic. read more

Easy to get to from the highway, easy to get back onto the highway, food & gas nearby, clean bathroom, lots of tourism info, and fun displays of local art and history - this is a great place to stop when we travel through Hammond! Of course, we got our photo with Flick fulfilling the infamous TRIPLE dog dare, and with some of the other A Christmas Story memorabilia. They have a decent little spot for walking dogs. For anyone in an EV or plug-in hybrid, there are two fast chargers in the lot. read more

Indiana Welcome Center - Triple-dog-dare!! - Travel Services Near Me - Hammond, Indiana

I like it's welcome center. During the Fall season, the leaves change to nice golden yellow color in front of the visitor center. It is beautiful. The corn silo in front signify the agricultural of Indiana. The silver roof make this structure stand out. It is unique structure on the side of highway. Inside the visitor center has a lot information about the state of Indiana. They divided to the geography region. Mainly we are interested on the northwest and central region. A lot of good information. Inside the center has a gift store from local artist and farmer. We saw an interesting item like the chocolate marshmallow. They also come with six other flavors. The day we have visited the display is close. Outside has buffalo statue for kid to take a picture. A State map was lay on the floor. The bathroom is well kept. read more

Indiana Welcome Center - Travel Services Near Me - Hammond, Indiana

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Clean, clean, clean! Greeted with a warm welcome! Informative and helpful staff. Great souvenirs in their shop. A girl could go broke in there with all the cute, unique tchotchkes, as well as, practical items with Indiana identifiers on them. I went there for a magnet and left with gloves too. But I want to go back for leggings, coffee mugs, tshirts, plates, placards and some great littles toys I can use for SWAG when I go geocaching. We will be back for the 1920-1960 car show they will have in their showroom the week of February 22, 2020. read more

Indiana Welcome Center - Display out front - Travel Services Near Me - Hammond, Indiana

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I find it weird to rate a welcome center. I don't feel unwelcome per say but I didn't really need a whole dedicated building to let me know that I'm in a new state. However, I constantly need somewhere to pee so that's how I ended up at the Indiana Welcome Center. Not that I can necessarily gauge an efficient star system for rest stops and welcome centers, but I gave this one a solid four. The building is (unexpectedly) ginormous. There was an interesting art exhibit in the main room in addition to numerous "A Christmas Story" odes due to the proximity to Hammond. We ventured in toward the end of the operating hours so practically everything was closed except for the open room exhibit and restrooms. There's not much I can really say, as I don't plan on venturing into this part of Indiana except for driving through. It's a well put together building. I wish they had longer hours, but the amount of time I spent in there really doesn't dictate a need for it. An interesting stop along the path to Chicago, but not a necessity to see. read more

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Good little rest stop and welcome center when entering indiana! Had a lot of poke stops inn if you play wizards United. The bathrooms were in OK . Nice place to walk around be careful for bees and bugs though during the summer. read more

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As a frequent traveler, I always find it handy to stop at welcome centers or visitors center for maps and information. It's something I used to think was rather nerdy, but it almost always pays off. We went to the Indian Welcome Center with a purpose however. To learn all about John Dillinger. I have a love for all things outlaws, I don't know why, and this kind of museum seemed right up my alley! And it's located in the welcome center. I didn't know a lot about Dillinger but sure did by the time I left. I was very happy with the experience. Great little museum. The cost is $4 for adults. John Dillinger, Jr. was an American gangster and bank robber in the Depression-era. He was charged with the murder of an East Chicago police officer, but never convicted. During his bank heists, a dozen victims--prison officers, police, federal agents, gangsters and civilians--were killed. His gang robbed two dozen banks and four police stations. Dillinger escaped from jail twice. In 1933-34, among criminals like Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Bonnie and Clyde, Dillinger was the most notorious of all. There were a lot of cool artifacts of the era and of Dillingers, as well as little activities to do. Photos weren't allowed but I did get a few ;) Another cool thing to note, Hamlet is the hometown of Jean Shepard, who wrote A Christmas Story. The house, as it is portrayed in the film, is located in Hohman, Indiana, the fictional town modeled after Shepherd's native Hammond, Indiana. There is a little area there with information about it as well. read more

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Nice place, I brought my golden retriever Dixon out here to accompany me while Geocaching. The fun part of this game is that it takes you to places you ordinarily wouldn't go. read more

They do TSA pre check here as well as Global Entry and fingerprinting for HazMat. You must call or go online for an appointment to be serviced for sure. You can take a chance and walk in for these services but there's no guarantee you'll be seen. read more

I've never needed to stop here since I try to push through my road trips with minimal stops. Two kids and a dog have changed my road trips immensely. Needless to say, within an hour of our trip we needed to have a potty break. The blue Indiana signs on the highway alerting us of the Welcome Center coming up was perfect timing for us. It is smaller than the Michigan Welcome Center but this one is cleaner. The bathrooms were super clean. The handicapped automatic door openers all worked. There is some fun artwork and statues to peruse. There is also a little gift shop. And there was a receptionist when we walked in. If you need visitor guides and pamphlets, this is your place! There are dog poop bags for you to use near the small grassy area. If you need to stop within this vicinity, I say go for it. Nicer than a gas station by far! read more

Got my tsa pre check here, they are super nice and fast thanks for getting me in and out

"A Christmas Story" is my favorite movie, so we went to see the Flick statue. It's a HOOT! We got a great photo of our son -- Dad said, "Pretend to lick the pole!" ...and he's five, so of course...he actually licked the pole. Gross, gross, gross... but it made for a super funny picture. We were one day early for the "A Christmas Story Comes Home" exhibit but we could peek inside and we grabbed a schedule. It looks like it's going to be a lot of fun. A lot of fun things to see and there are a lot of family activities planned. I love that Santa sits on a snowy mountain and there is a red slide for kids to go down. In addition, there is a gift shop with movie memorabilia. Fun stuff! The entry is filled with pretty trees, too, (not movie related) and the staff was extremely friendly. There are plenty of brochures if that's what you need and the restrooms are spacious and very clean. There is a small gift shop but I didn't see too many things that said "Indiana" on them, other than a few magnets. This would be a great place to stop and stretch your legs either before heading into Chicago or just after. read more

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Friendly staff, nice clean bathrooms, free wifi, and plenty of parking. Perfect place to stop after getting through Chicago.

Nice place to stop if you're traveling & need a place to rest and use the bathroom. The bathrooms were well cleaned and maintained. Decent gift shop with products from the State Of Indiana. Like candy from the Albanese Candy Factory and souvenirs from Indiana University. Lots of brochures of local events. Nice walls of Fame of famous people that hail from Indiana. A lot of b.s. related to the movie A Christmas Story (which I never really cared for or understood the appeal of that movie) because the creator is from the Hammond area. However, not much else outside of that, hence the 3-star rating. read more

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This is a great welcome center, it's nice and clean and interesting. A good way to stretch your legs on a road trip. The only problem is that it's got kind of limited hours for a welcome center, I wish they could find a way to operate this 24/7. read more

I mean, this place SLAPS. The gift shop basically sells everything in my wardrobe, so if you're looking for a 2020 look that will turn heads, look no further. The water fountains provide water that could have easily come from a glacier but probably doesn't. I've literally never felt so welcome in a new state. Can't wait for our visit next year!!! read more

Nice place. Pet waste bags are available and the bathrooms are clean plus the sink water isn't frigidly cold like the Illinois Welcome Center. read more

Clean bathrooms, friendly people, and vending machines...what more could you ask for from a rest stop. There are also displays about the South Shore area, and the best thing was the statue of the kid from A Christmas Story licking the pole with information about the movie, because the author of the book it was taken from is from the area! read more

My daughter, Indiana was so excited to visit the Indiana Welcome Center to get souvenirs with her name . We picked this one when planning our cross country trip because it had a store and activities. We spent the night in Hammond just to go here. At 8:15 am when we arrived you were having a private event and didn't even want to talk to us. The gift shop is closed got construction. Not very welcoming at all! Don't waste time stopping. read more