Winter

Winter along the Amish Backroads is often blanketed with snow and welcomed with steaming cups of cocoa. Chilled noses and rosy cheeks abound as winter activities beckon us to make the most of the shortened daylight hours. Of course, the cold isn’t so bad when you know a crackling fire awaits your return.

With over 70 lakes, LaGrange County has its share of ice in the winter. If you’re an ice-fisher, winter brings hardwater season. Bundle up, drill the ice, set the hook and start pulling walleye or panfish through the hole. Pretty Lake is one of our most popular ice-fishing lakes and one of the best in the state. If you’d rather take to the ice on skates, there’s plenty of opportunity for that, too. Still want more? The Shipshewana Ice Festival welcomes ice carvers by the dozens who shave, drill and saw their ice blocks into magnificent works of art.

The winter also brings out the kid in all of us as we take to sledding hills or head out for adventure on gently rolling cross-country ski trails. A horse drawn sleigh rides under the clear and starry winter sky is like nothing you’ve experienced before.

In February, we just prefer to stay warm and comfortable in our pajamas—especially when we’re shopping. The annual Shipshewana Downtown Pajama Sale start at 6:00 a.m. and many of the 100+ stores offer additional discounts for those in their pajamas.