I’m really excited to interview author Joseph S. Pete about Gary, Indiana. Joseph’s tips for the best things to do in Gary are excellent because he is a Northwest Indiana native that loves the region’s melting pot of cultures and the rich biodiversity that’s found in the Indiana dunes.
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The Florida Tropical House is a beach house built for the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago that was relocated to a beach on Lake Michigan.
Gary, Indiana
We share a lot of resources and local suggestions in today’s podcast, but you should also check out the City of Gary website. They are a wealth of information and can help you plan an itinerary based on your time, budget, and interests.
If you’d like to learn how to travel for free using airline miles and hotel points, check out my free 7-day email course.
Fans often visit Michael Jackson’s boyhood home when they’re in Gary.
Getting around Gary
Most visitors fly through Chicago to get to Gary, Indiana. While Chicago has two airports, the closest option is Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), which is about an hour’s drive to Gary. Use our Expedia tool below to find flight, hotel, and rental car options.
The Northwest Indiana region is spread out, so Joseph says it’s a good idea to rent a car. For the best offers, visit Avis, Budget, or Hertz.
While Uber and Lyft are available, you could spend a lot more money using rideshare services over renting a car. For a quick visit, you could use the South Shore Line, which is a suburban commuter train. It is the nation’s last remaining interurban train and runs between downtown Chicago and the South Bend International Airport in South Bend, Indiana.
When you only need a car for a couple of hours, you can rent by the hour with Zipcar. Join now to get $25 loaded into your account.
Example of historic architecture of Gary, Indiana
Places we talked about on the podcast
Here is a map of all of the places we talked about on the podcast episode with Joseph Pete about Gary, Indiana. You can zoom into the map and click on each dot to explore the city.
- Red dots = best places to eat in Gary, Indiana
- Green dots = best things to do in Gary, Indiana
- Yellow dots = best places to stay in Gary, Indiana
Who is Joseph Pete?
Joseph S. Pete is an award-winning journalist, the author of three local interest books, an Iraq War veteran, an Indiana University graduate, a book reviewer, and a frequent guest on Lakeshore Public Radio. He is a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee who was named the poet laureate of Chicago BaconFest, a feat that Geoffrey Chaucer chump never accomplished.
His literary work and photography have appeared in more than 100 journals, including Dogzplot, Stoneboat, The High Window, Synesthesia Literary Journal, Steep Street Journal, Beautiful Losers, New Pop Lit, The Grief Diaries, Gravel, The Offbeat, Oddball Magazine, The Perch Magazine, Rising Phoenix Review, Chicago Literati, Bull Men’s Fiction, shufPoetry, The Roaring Muse, Prairie Winds, Blue Collar Review, Lumpen, The Rat’s Ass Review, The Tipton Poetry Journal, Euphemism, Jenny Magazine, and Vending Machine Press.
Here are a few articles about the book he has written:
- Telling secrets: Author’s new book delves into ‘Secret Northwest Indiana’
- Adventures in the Region: New book by Times reporter presents ‘things to do’ in NWI
- Exploring Hammond’s history: Times reporter writes book on storied NWI city
You can connect with Joseph on his website and social media on Twitter and Instagram. Support Joseph and this podcast by using our affiliate links to buy his books – Secret Northwest Indiana and Lost Hammond, Indiana.
Click here to download our one-page guide of Joseph’s tips for Gary.
Big thanks to today’s podcast partner – Bluffworks
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Stay tuned for our next episode
Listen to the next episode when author Lisa Evans shares the best things to do in Gulfport, MS. In this episode, Lisa and I talk about exploring Coastal Mississippi’s incredible attractions, including visiting Ship Island, exploring the Crawfish Festival, and gambling at the Coastal Casinos. We hope you’ll join us when We Travel There.
What’s your favorite part of Gary? Send us a Tweet, let us know in the comment section below, or continue the discussion in our Facebook group!
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To see which cities we’ve interviewed and scheduled, please visit WeTravelThere.com/map. If you’d like to be a guest on the show, please submit your information at WeTravelThere.com/guest.
Related episodes
To learn more about Indiana and other destinations near the Great Lakes, listen to our other episodes:
Erick
As a native of southern Indiana, an IU grad (go Hoosiers!), and a current/longtime resident of Chicago, I truly appreciate this post. NWI, especially Gary, gets a bad rap and I know that there are a lot of great things to see/do there. Thanks for sharing!
Lee
Hey Erick, thank you for the compliments. I’m glad that you liked the episode. I enjoyed learning about the area and hope to visit someday! Please share it with your friends.