Summer getaways: rediscover your own backyard.

• Author: Tricker, Jennifer
• Position: Tourism & Recreation

THIS MAY BE THE SUMMER for a trip to the Hoosier outdoors. According to a Travel Industry Association of America report, leisure travel is expected to grow about 3 percent in 2004. With increased fuel costs, road trips close to home will account for much of that increase this summer.

Northern Indiana, Fishing, swimming and boating are just a few attractions at the picturesque Lake James, located within Pokagon State Park in Angola. Paddleboat, rowboat and pontoon rental boats are available along the Lake James shoreline, which includes two beaches. Horseback riding is offered at Pokagon's stables. Several trails challenge hikers, and Lake James Golf Club features rolling hills and tree-lined fairways.

The Potawatomi Inn offers 138 guestrooms in a warm and friendly atmosphere, complete with a whirlpool/sauna, fitness room and activities room. The more outdoorsy types can choose cabins or plenty of campsites.

With its patchwork landscapes and rolling hills, Amish Country invites new visitors every year to watch butter being churned by hand and sample homemade cheeses and preserves. At Shipshewana Auction & Flea Market, the largest in the Midwest, you can shop for treasures from more than 1,000 vendors.

Named one of the nation's 10 best zoos for kids by the editors of Child Magazine, the Children's Zoo in Fort Wayne is unveiling its newly renovated Australian Adventure. Climb into your own dugout canoe and explore the Outback as you float past dingoes and keep an eye out for little joeys peeking from the pouches of the eastern grey kangaroos.

Take a safari ride across the African Veldt among antelope, giraffes, wildebeests,

8-foot tall ostrich, and even a herd of zebras. A trio of rare Sumatran tiger cubs was born April 22nd at the zoo.

Indiana Beach in Monticello offers a full amusement park with 26 adult rides and nine for the kids, miniature golf on two courses, and a water park featuring six water slides. Build a sandcastle or take a dip at the sand beach, shop on the boardwalk, catch the water ski show, or even take a fishing trip on the well-stocked lake.

Central Indiana. Conner Prairie, the living history museum in Fishers, has a unique offering for visitors to Hamilton County: time travel. You will be transplanted into 1,400 acres of early 19th-century natural beauty Visit long-ago America with a schoolteacher leading a one-room schoolhouse, or a farmer bartering for goods. Costumed townsfolk will make you feel right at home in the five historic...