A rainy day near Michigan City: outlets, art, a drive to Valpo and a bowling alley with cider

In town (ten minutes)

• Lighthouse Place Premium Outlets: an open-air outlet mall downtown, so bring the umbrella between stores. Kids' clothes, sneakers, kitchen stuff, and the replacement rain jacket you are now shopping for.
• Lubeznik Center for the Arts: free, bright and a short walk from the outlets. Changing exhibits and a gift shop that is better than it needs to be.
• Old Lighthouse Museum: the 1858 lighthouse in Washington Park, with the lens, the shipwrecks and the story of the keeper who ran it for decades. An hour, indoors, right by the lake you came to see.
• Barker Mansion: a 38-room industrialist's house from 1905, with guided tours. Better for older kids and anyone who likes a staircase.
• Blue Chip Casino: for the adults, with a hotel and restaurants attached. Someone has to stay back with the kids and the fireplace.

Valparaiso (40 minutes)

Valpo is the rainy-day rescue for the whole region. Zao Island has an arcade and indoor games to go with the go-karts and mini-golf for when it clears. Downtown, the courthouse square is ringed with real restaurants (Spanish tapas at Don Quijote, Greek at Parea, breakfast at Blackbird), a few bookshops and a candy store, and the Memorial Opera House often has a matinee. Our Valparaiso guide has all of it with links.

Harbor Country, Michigan (25–45 minutes)

• Peat's Cider Social in Stevensville: a retro bowling alley with cider on tap and food. About 45 minutes, and the best rainy afternoon on this list for a mixed group of ages.
• Vickers Theatre in Three Oaks: an old single-screen movie house showing independent and foreign films. Check what's on; it is often a grown-up pick.
• Journeyman Distillery, also Three Oaks: tours and a tasting room in an old corset factory, with a restaurant. Adults.
• Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo: restaurants and entertainment under one roof, 15 minutes away. Adults.

Chicago (train)

A rainy day is a museum day, and the South Shore Line drops you a short walk from the Art Institute and a bus ride from the Field Museum and the Shedd. Decide by 9 AM; the trip is a full day.

Or stay in

Sandy Shores was built for this: the fireplace lounge, the long dining table for a puzzle, the screened porch for watching the storm come across the lake, and the treasure map, which has a Rainy-Day Rescue quest that sends the kids to the covered spots around the resort. The clubhouse café is a cart ride away when the rain lets up, and the heated pool is open rain or shine as long as there is no lightning.

The town guides have more for every direction, and the plan your stay page has the practical details.