Terre Haute, Indiana

I’m at my first travel nursing assignment, where I will be spending 13 weeks in Terre Haute, Indiana. I’ll be exploring the area as a first time visitor to Indiana. Here are my favorite hidden gems:

Terre Haute means “high land” in French and sits along the Wabash River near the western edge of Indiana, about an hour west of Indianapolis.

Terre Haute once had a reputation as “Sin City,” well before Vegas. During Prohibition and the early 20th century, the city was notorious for gambling, bootlegging, prostitution and political corruption. Terre Haute reportedly had dozens of brothels and a massive gambling operation, with organized crime figures moving through the city.

A few weird Terre Haute facts:

The famous Coca-Cola contour bottle was developed and manufactured by Terre Haute’s Root Glass Company in 1915.
Terre Haute’s Prohibition-era gambling scene was reportedly one of the largest in the country.
The city has a surprisingly deep history of political corruption and organized crime, making its quiet Midwestern appearance somewhat deceptive.
Terre Haute’s federal prison is one of the few places in the country where federal death-row inmates have been housed and federal executions have been carried out.
Indiana State has a Division I athletic program, so the university has a much bigger presence in the city than you might expect from a mid-sized Indiana town.

Hidden Gems

Turkey Run State Park

📍8121 Park Rd., Marshall, IN 47859

🔗 Link

Turkey Run has a saddle barn offering guided horseback trail rides. The rides run seasonally, generally April–October, and are about an hour long.

The park is carved by deep sandstone ravines, rock walls, forest and Sugar Creek, with trails ranging from easy walks to genuinely rugged climbs.

Terre Haute Farmers Market

📍Vigo County Courthouse

33 S 3rd St., Terre Haute, IN 47807

🔗 Link

Terre Haute Farmers Market is held on Saturday mornings on the grounds of the Vigo County Courthouse, right in downtown Terre Haute. During the summer season, it runs 8 a.m.–noon, with local farmers, growers, creatives, and bakers selling seasonal produce, eggs, baked goods, flowers, handmade products and other local finds. There’s often live music and themed community days.

Grab coffee, wander the courthouse square, buy something weird or delicious, and go home with a bag of Indiana produce.

The Magpies Nest

📍 2170 N 13th Street, Terre Haute, IN 47804

🔗 Link

The Magpies Nest was an instant must-see spot when I arrived. Coffee, plants, books! All my favorite things in one quirky spot, with a bank vault turned into a reading nook. When I arrived and ordered my banana latte and took a seat, I noticed the friendliness and strong sense of community as regulars rotated in. I left with focaccia and a Venus fly trap.