There’s nothing quite like welcoming out-of-town visitors to Evansville, showing them our Hoosier hospitality, and promptly putting them back in the car and driving them out of town. That’s one way to read the results of this year’s Best of Evansville voting. (See the annual feature, “Best of the City,” beginning on page 40.) Asked to name the Best Place to Take Visitors or Out-of-Town Guests, Evansville Living readers chose … New Harmony. We can laugh at ourselves over that one, but we also can’t argue with the choice. New Harmony is a gem, and it’s about time more people appreciated just how special this historic Posey County town is. With its remarkable history as the site of two early utopian communities, beautiful architecture, gardens, galleries, shops, trails, and an atmosphere that encourages visitors to slow down, New Harmony makes a memorable introduction to the southwest corner of Indiana.
Of course, we’re not exactly bereft of things to show visitors closer to home. After New Harmony, the top vote-getter in the category of Best Place to Take Visitors or Out-of-Town Guests was the Ohio riverfront in Evansville and Newburgh. It’s hard to lay claim to being a river city without enjoying the river, and both communities give us plenty of ways to do just that. In Newburgh, walkers, runners, and cyclists take to the Rivertown Trail, a roughly 3.8-mile paved route that stretches through the historic Downtown on the riverfront. Along the way are sweeping views of the Ohio, the old and new locks and dams, the overlook, picturesque Water Street, and easy stops at Downtown restaurants and Honey Moon Coffee Co., not to mention plenty of places to watch river traffic roll by.
In Evansville, the riverfront has gained a significant collection of new attractions in recent years. The waterfall at Sunrise Pump Station turned a piece of city infrastructure into a riverfront destination, complete with an overlook, swings, seating, and a dramatic cascade carrying treated water into the Ohio. A new stretch of greenway ties the area to Mickey’s Kingdom Park, the sprawling all-abilities children’s playground, and the nearly 27,000-square-foot Sunset Skatepark, giving families, walkers, cyclists, and skaters even more reasons to head for the river. And then there’s the attraction that doesn’t require a playground, skateboard, or pair of running shoes: Take a seat on a bench along the riverfront esplanade to watch barges pass and catch a glorious Ohio River sunset.
Gaining enough votes to also make the Top 10 were the USS LST-325, docked along the Ohio River in Downtown Evansville, and Bally’s Evansville Casino and Hotel, which came ashore in 2017 from its earlier days as a riverboat casino.
Also appearing in the Top 10: food. Evansville is a food town, after all, and readers made that abundantly clear: The Log Inn, House of Como, Pangea Kitchen, and Gerst Bavarian Haus all landed among the top vote-getters for places to take visitors.
Perhaps the message isn’t really, “Welcome to Evansville, now let’s leave.” It’s that showing off Evansville means celebrating the whole place we call home — even if that means driving a few miles down the road.
As always, I look forward to hearing from you!
Kristen K. Tucker
Publisher & Editor
Top Ten Places to Take Visitors
Results from 2026 Best of Evansville Reader Survey
1. New Harmony
2. Evansville/Newburgh Riverfront and Riverwalk
3. USS LST-325
4. Log Inn
5. House of Como
6. Pangea
7. Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden
8. Gerst Bavarian Haus
9. Bally’s Casino
10. Bosse Field/Evansville Otters
