Summer getaways: Indiana destinations for all tastes and budgets.

• Author: McKimmie, Kathy
• Position: Tourism

The trend for shorter vacations and staying closer to home should mean more Hoosiers will be discovering their own state this summer. And there are lots of things to do for the active outdoorsy type, the history buff or the amusement-park aficionado. Here are some ideas to get you itching to hit the Indiana highways. For more, log on to www.enjoyindiana.com, call 888/ENJOY-IN, or contact a local convention and visitors bureau.

Always a great place to start, Indiana's 32 state park and reservoir properties, run by the Department of Natural Resources, attract more than 18 million people a year. They offer breathtaking scenery, reasonably priced lodging and campgrounds, water sports and lots of room to roam.

The whole family will fit in the cabins offered at select parks: Brown County, Chain O'Lakes (Albion), Harmonie (New Harmony), Lincoln (Lincoln City), McCormick's Creek (Spencer), Potato Creek (North Liberty), Shakamak (Jasonville) and Whitewater Memorial (Liberty). Reservations are taken up to a year in advance--except at Brown County's Abe Martin Lodge, which accepts reservations two years in advance. At all but Brown County you must reserve for at least one or two weeks during June, July and August.

Indiana's state park campgrounds are also popular with families. They're comfortable, affordable, scenic, and in the middle of the parks' attractions, often right on hiking trails. Reservations for cabins, rooms at the state's seven inns, and nearly 2,000 campsites can now be made online at www.CAMP.IN.gov. Budget woes forced the state to increase park entrance fees last year, but annual passes are a bargain if you plan to make several trips--only $24 per car with an Indiana plate.

With the opening of the Indiana State Museum last year, White River State Park (800/665-9056) in Indianapolis continues to grow and draw Hoosiers and out-of-state visitors to downtown Indianapolis. There's a charge to get inside the museum but one of its best features is outside. Each of the state's 92 counties is represented on or near its outer walls, the most comical being Dela-ware County's Garfild in a Ball jar, recognizing Muncie institutions--the cat and creator Jim Davis--and the former canning jar king Ball Corp. While in the park, also check out the 4,000 animals at the Indianapolis Zoo and its new rhino exhibit, White River Gardens and its butterfly exhibit, an Indianapolis Indians baseball game at Victory Field, the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians...