Madison, Indiana’s got it going on

A charming Indiana river town on the banks of the Ohio that offers something for everyone

After an hour and 45-minute drive on a Friday night after work, we were stoked to discover a different side of the Ohio River peeking out from a bend in an old country highway in Milton, KY…and then we spotted the giant Milton-Madison bridge we were about to traverse.

On the other side of the bridge we could see the Riverboat Inn with their own version of the famous Welcome to Las Vegas sign. This was going to be our place to crash for the weekend. We could spot the expansive deck, bar stools and fire pits and it made us think how packed this town must be during high season. We were coming in low season, so we had to use our imaginations. We did not know what was waiting for us when we checked in.

The clerk just had to mention there was a golf cart rental place…and, instantly, we knew we were in the right place. Our lifelong dream of living in a beachside golf cart community was starting to take shape. The next morning, we called Acree Alley Golf Cart rental the minute it opened at 10:00 am. The said golf cart was delivered to our hotel 20 minutes later…and we were on our way to breakfast and our Indiana adventure via a 15-mile an hour 4-seater golf cart.

Follow along on our adventure…

Things to do

1. Lanier Mansion State Historic Site: You have to book your tour ahead of time. They happen at 10:00 am, noon, 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm Wednesdays - Sundays. Meet in the Visitor Center across the street and your docent will take you into the mansion. To say our docent was amazing would be an understatement. He knew just enough about Madison history interspersing the facts (and some hearsay) with humor. This Greek Revival mansion was home to banker James Lanier and family and was designed by James Costigan. It’s a premier example of this type of architecture and is referred to as the “Crown Jewel” of Indiana.

2.    Architectural tour: While you are waiting for your Lanier Mansion tour, find the tour map of Madison’s famous buildings. Also, let me tell you how EASY this was with a golf cart, but I digress. The tour took us to the house of the architect Francis Costigan, which was a feat of interior design at the time. The front door was a pocket door although seemingly looked like a regular door with a round door knob. And inside, you will find curved walls and curved doors! Follow the tour to Dr. Hutchings’ office and home, The Schroeder Saddletree Factory Museum and even the famous Broadway Fountain.

a. The Schroder Saddletree Factory Museum: We don’t know anything about horses, so this is the first time we learned about saddletrees. These are the underpinnings of all saddles and they were made right there in Madison where the old factory still stands intact.

b. Broadway Fountain: We happened upon this cool masterpiece not even knowing that I had seen this before. It turns out that there are 3 replicas throughout the world and I had seen two of them. One in Cusco, Peru and the other in Savannah, GA. Crazy.

3. Mural and Art tour: While you’re at the Visitor Center, pick up the brochure on the Mural and Art tour. You can do this on foot, in a golf cart or in your car. The town has an impressive collection of murals and sculptures.

4. Underground Railroad landmarks: You can start a 125-mile drive to visit many stops in the Underground Railroad. Start by going to the corner of Jefferson and Fifth Street to an area that used to be called Georgetown, a free black neighborhood that was known as the “Network to Freedom District.” There you will see the oldest AME church building in the U.S. During high season you can tour the Underground Railroad Georgetown exhibit inside. Then follow Main Street due East to see another marker and so on. This is only ONE of the three tours that start in that area of Indiana.

5. Clifty Falls State Park: The park was breathtaking, even more so with the falling snow. We got to view a large cliff, a waterfall and a giant hawk flying through the trees. Totally worth the 10 minute drive outside of Madison. Bonus, stop to see Hanover College right next door with a long state-park feel of a drive to get to the campus and gorgeous views of the Ohio River. No wonder tuition is $63,000!

Places to eat

Madison has a ton of restaurants, too many to name. Here are the placed we selected and we’ll name a few with good reviews that we’re saving for our next trip.

1. Off Broadway Taproom Less of a taproom, more of a dive bar atmosphere with really nice food. Set in what looked like an old saloon with a cherry bar, this unassuming place serves up cold beers and spirits and a delicious menu of tacos, handhelds and entrees. And it was packed on a Friday night. Since it was a Friday during Lent, we both ordered two tacos with various fish--blackened cod, blackened crawfish and shrimp, respectively. They have a giant stage in the back so we assume they have bands in here periodically, like we discovered many places do in Indiana’s “Music City.”

2. The Red Roaster On the corner of Main and West, you can mosey on in to this cute local coffee and breakfast bar. It was cozy and the food was pretty good, so we ended up there both Saturday and Sunday mornings. The pièce de résistance was their coffee cake. The bottom was pillowy and the top was crunchy, but the real winner was the oozing cinnamon sugar liquid coming from the middle. I am determined to learn how to make this at home since Madison is so far away. 

3. Hamburgers Hinkle This place is a “down and dirty” slider diner. The right door is for the diner format where you sit at a bar overlooking the cook and the left door if for traditional seating. The sliders were as advertised and darn good. Wash it down with one of the 50 shakes listed on the menu--from Amaretto and Andes Mint to Mounds and Purple Goo. Yum!

4. Clifty Falls State Park Restaurant The only reason why this restaurant deserves mention is because sometimes we learn hard lessons. We broke our very own rule and didn’t read the reviews. Sadly, even with the spectacular views of the Ohio River, this establishment does not even get 1 star. If you want to know how that’s possible, offer a lunch buffet with unrecognizable “food” and dishes that don’t look edible. To drown our sorrows, our next stop was the Cocoa Safari Chocolate…we needed chocolate.

5. Other restaurants we didn’t have time for. The Red Pepperoni, Red on Main, Bello’s Pizza, River Oak Chophouse and more. Lighthouse Marina, closed during the winter, looks like a blast during the summer…and we plan to be back to check it out for ourselves.

6. Cocoa Safari Chocolate Do make this a stop on your Madison adventure. The owner makes all her beautiful and decadent chocolates in-house. We didn’t hesitate to leave with several truffles and chocolates to bring home.

Places to drink…and listen to music.

Not really sure what the fascination is with all things RED and MAD in this town, but we loved it. There were at least 4 places with the word Red in them as well several different places with the word Mad. 

1. The Red Bicycle: This music venue is really nice, almost wedding venue-like which is unusual for most music places. It probably seats no more than 75 people, so everyone has a good seat and good visibility. We would love to go back there and see another band. The night we went they had a Led Zepplin cover band. Unfortunately, we only got to listen to two songs by the time we got there.

   
   

2. Thomas Family Winery: Double thumbs up for this winery. The vibe in here is like a little restaurant in France’s Alsace-Lorraine region with dark wood tables, church pews and dim lighting. Their wine was decent (read as, we could get it down easily) and their charcuterie board was delightful. They let you customize the board by picking the cheeses, meats and bread. But what took this winery up a notch was the cool rockabilly band they had the night we were there - The Fall City Boys.

   
   

3. Mad Paddle Brewstillery: More of a bar and grille locale, this place has an extra-large stage for bands and this place was rocking! There is even a large space for dancing, which tons of people were taking advantage of.

   
   

4. Shipley’s Tavern: We weren’t able to get there this time, but it came highly recommended. 

   
   

5. MAD LOVE eat + drink: We drove by this place and it looked really cute. Sad we missed it this weekend, but we WILL be back.

Places to shop

1. Old Thyme Marketplace: Every woman’s dream store: clothes, home décor and even some food items like soup and bread kits, spices, etc. It is merchandised in a really upscale way and loved the vibe.

2. Galena Garlic Company: I am sure they have more vinegar types in this store than in all of Modena, Italy, so definitely stop in here and taste all the different flavors. They also have enough spices in the store to put McCormick out of business. We went home with 3 spice bags including the Spicy Thai meat/poultry rub, Asada - Arrachera grill marinade and Smoke Mesquite Flake Salt. Can’t wait to try all of these.

3. Antique stores: Too many to name all of them, but we especially enjoyed The Mad Flea and Lumber Mill Antique Mall, Attic to Basement and Wow What A Find.

---

Overall, this small town was all it was cracked up to be--from Best Small Town in the Midwest to Indiana’s Music City and everything in between. There is something for everyone whether you are into music scenes, art, architecture, outdoors, food, drink, dessert, cafes…or golf carts!

Madison gets 5 stars from emptynestervibes.com!