LaGrange County Opens New Agritourism Trail
Published: Friday, June 6, 2025
The LaGrange County Agritourism Heritage Trail is now open for business.
The trail has 60 sites scattered throughout the county. They include familiar destinations like the Shipshewana Livestock Auction, Topeka Livestock Auction, Clearspring Produce Auction and Cook's Bison Ranch but also many fruit and vegetable farms, farm markets, farm-to-table restaurants and historic farms. Most of the sites sell products or experiences.
"It is not a guided tour experience—it is self-guided," said Sonya Nash, executive director of the LaGrange County Convention and Visitors Bureau. "It's meant to be flexible based on their interest."
A map of these destinations can be found on the Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) website.
The CVB also offers a free digital pass that guides visitors in search of the best pie, for example. Visitors can also sign up for the "Once Upon a Farm" trail to find farm markets, antique tractors and even a lavender farm.
"The farms that are on the trail agree to be on it," she said. "They agree to either provide a discount or a BOGO (buy one, get one) or a gift."
The digital passes are available through the end of June. More information is available at https://visitship shewana.org/digital-passes/.
All LaGrange County communities are represented on the trail, including Shipshewana, LaGrange, Howe, Topeka and Wolcottville.
According to Nash, tourism has a $253 million impact on LaGrange County. Each year, the county with a population of 44,000 draws 2.5 million visitors, most of whom travel to the Shipshewana area. It is hoped that the Agritourism Heritage Trail will expand tourism opportunities in the county and encourage visitors to extend their visit.
Looking ahead, the CVB is partnering with the Indiana Barn Foundation to host IBF's annual barn tour on Sept. 13. Nine barns will be featured on the tour, with food trucks, selfie stations and a festive atmosphere. Representatives from both IFB and the CVB will be at each site to answer questions.
"Many of our barn tour sites will have surprises, selling products and having fundraisers for their church," Nash said. "One of the barn tour sites makes honey, so he'll have honey products available."
To encourage people to arrive early, the CVB will hold a pre-tour event on the evening of Sept. 12. Activities include an open house at Brown Swiss Dairy in Shipshewana and a make-and-take barn quilt class.
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