Under An Hour From Chicago Is The 'Crossroads Of The Nation' With Tasty Eats And Family-Friendly Fun

Long before Schererville, Indiana, had a name, the land at the southern edge of Lake Michigan was already a crossroads. American Indian trails converged here, fanning out across the continent in every direction. Over time, those footpaths gave way to settlers' wagon tracks, then railroads, then highways. While the means of transport changed, one thing stayed the same: the roads cross near Schererville.

Today, Schererville is where U.S. Highways 41 and 30 meet Interstate 80/94 and Interstate 65, which the town credits for giving it the official slogan, "Crossroads of the Nation." But with around 29,000 residents, Schererville is more than a fork in the road. It's part Windy City suburb, part Northwestern Indiana community that might be the low-lift alternative to Chicago you're looking for.

While no one is seriously suggesting Schererville can compete with the draw of Chicago's most vibrant neighborhoods, there is still enough to eat and do around town to make a great pit stop or day as part of a larger trip. And since it's a crossroads, naturally, it's quite easy to reach. By car, Schererville is about 2.5 hours from both Indianapolis and Milwaukee, slightly over 4 from Detroit, and around an hour from Chicago Midway and Chicago O'Hare International airports and downtown Chicago, all depending on the traffic.

Ask people around Chicago for places to visit outside the city, and almost none of them will say Schererville. Most people know it only as a sign on a highway. But from here on out, you're not most people. And once you pull off into Schererville, you'll find fun rain or shine. 

Start with the Pennsy Greenway Trail, a 14.5-mile path that crosses the Illinois-Indiana state line before weaving through several Schererville green spaces. The paved walkway — which is parallel to what was once a Penn Central railway route — is wide, smooth, and friendly to strollers and wheelchairs. If you want to experience more of the great outdoors, the Indiana Dunes National Park is about 30 minutes away. This 16,000-acre park features 50 miles of trails meandering through sand dunes, woodlands, prairies, and wetlands, and it's also a great place for birdwatchers. Be sure to check out the park's friendly neighbor, a quiet Indiana lake town with beaches, dunes, and waterfront trails called Ogden Dunes.

On rainy days, Schererville has a few good options for family fun. Up Your Alley, staking its claim as "Northwest Indiana's Largest Entertainment Facility" has bowling lanes and laser tag. It also has newfangled attractions like a 4D interactive ride and Cyber Sport, a bumper-car-style game, which Up Your Alley calls a version of lacrosse and basketball "where humans and machines become one." There's also Sky Zone Schererville, an indoor trampoline park with a ninja warrior course, sky jousting, a foam zone, and wall-to-wall indoor bouncing attractions.

Every good crossroads town needs a flagship stop, and Schererville's is Teibel's Family Restaurant. The Teibel brothers opened as a highway stop in 1929, and the location is still serving fried lake perch today. Teibel's has grown from a 12-seat diner into a large family restaurant and café, with a banquet hall, all built on nearly a century of family recipes. The new kid in town is the Nisi Greek Taverna, whose octopus, lamb chops, and shrimp saganaki pull a 4.8-star average across nearly 700 diners on OpenTable since its opening in 2022.

For additional family-friendly dining options, it doesn't get much more all-ages than Tyler's Tender, a railroad-themed restaurant where your food is brought to you on a model train and a ride-on locomotive circles the dining room. Or you can head out for an authentic taste of Chicago's famous deep-dish pizza without having to deal with downtown Chicago traffic. Schererville is home to one of two Indiana locations of Lou Malnati's, a local chain known as one of the city's must-visit restaurants for deep-dish pizza.

The morning shift is covered best at Sophia's Famous Pancakes, where breakfast is served from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. This casual restaurant has an 11-page menu with something for everyone, from classic buttermilk pancake stacks to the restaurant's specialty: a large apple pancake baked to order in a convection oven.