About South Bend

Home of the Fighting Irish, the University of Notre Dame, but there’s more to see in South Bend. South Bend is located on the St. Joseph river in northern Indiana less than 100 miles east of Chicago. South Bend ranks as the fourth largest city in Indiana.

Studebaker wagons and then cars played an important part in the South Bend economy. The company started in 1852 and continued production through 1963. Today you can visit the Studebaker National Museum. Other entertainment venues include the College Football Hall of Fame, Northern Indiana Center for History and the South Bend Regional Museum of Art.

The South Bend Silver Hawks play class A minor baseball at Coveleski Regional Stadium. Tailgating is a sport in itself attracting fans before the Notre Dame football games in the fall. The Fighting Irish basketball games are also a big event for the town. The abandoned East Race canal has been transformed into North America’s first artificial whitewater waterway. Not an activity you normally do when visiting the city.

On a quieter, note visit the Ella Morris and Muessel-Ellison Botanical Conservatories and Potawatomi Greenhouse. You can also spend the day at The Potawatomi Zoo, Indiana’s oldest zoo.