4 Best Sights in Nashville, Indiana

The former home and studio of impressionist painter Theodore Clement Steele comprise this historic site, which displays a number of his works. Considered Brown County's first major artist, Steele moved to the area in 1907. Restored gardens once tended by Steele's second wife, Selma Nehbacher Steele, are open to visitors, along with four nature trails, the Dewar Log Cabin, and the 92-acre Selma Steele Nature Preserve. Hourly guided tours of Steele's studio are offered daily.

This homage to the father of bluegrass, the late Bill Monroe, is 5 miles north of Nashville in Bean Blossom. It contains a walkway of Hollywood-style stars dedicated to bluegrass-music artists, and there are also relics linked to Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. Bluegrass mania really gets into gear in May during a weeklong John Hartford Memorial Festival and climaxes in mid-June for the annual Bill Monroe Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival, the oldest continuously running bluegrass festival in the world, celebrating its 48th year in 2014. Another festival takes place in September.

Ranking among the Midwest's oldest art societies, the Brown County Art Gallery Association, which supports the gallery, was founded in 1926. Works here date back to the 1890s, and exhibits, videos, books, and programming document artists who found inspiration in southern Indiana's landscape of rolling hills. Collectors of early-Indiana art temporarily loan works to the gallery each October for the "Collectors Showcase" exhibit. Also of note is an extensive collection of antique tea cups.

Spanning 16,000 acres, this is Indiana's largest state park, nicknamed "the Little Smokies." A covered bridge marks one entrance, and there are six scenic overlooks along ridgetop roads, plus a tower for even better vistas. Weed Patch Hill is among the state's highest summits at 1,058 feet. Ten miles of trails hug two lakes, which attract anglers. Abe Martin Lodge offers accommodations and serves chicken-and-biscuit dinners.