Things to Do in Valparaiso This Weekend

Make a Whole Weekend From the Map

Saturday morning: Start with one of the bigger farmers markets. Choose Chesterton's European Market if you want the south Duneland side of the loop, or Valparaiso Market if you want to stock up downtown before heading north.

Saturday afternoon: Shift into the middle. Walk a preserve, stop at Sunset Hill Farm County Park or Rogers Lakewood Park, follow the country roads around Four Corners, and let the day slow down a little.

Saturday night: Catch a movie at the 49'er Drive-In Theatre, then stay close enough that Sunday starts easy.

Sunday: Build the day around the north Valpo market pair. Start with The Edge of Liberty on select Sundays, swing over to The Sunday Vibe Market less than a mile away, then check whether Four Corners Winery or Sunset Hill Farm County Park have events happening too.

Staying longer? Add Coffee Creek Farmers Market on Wednesday and use the extra time for Coffee Creek Preserve, Moraine Nature Preserve, Zona Wildlife Sanctuary, or a quieter weekday pass through the Four Corners area.

What's on the Map

Use this as a choose-your-own-weekend list for the overlooked sweet spot between downtown Valpo and the beach. Check each location's current hours, event calendar, tickets, and weather updates before heading out.

This is the Four Corners area where Liberty, Center, Washington, and Jackson townships come together. It is close enough to feel connected, but spread out enough to breathe.

Quick note: The places below are not formal partners or paid recommendations. They are local stops we are happy to point visitors toward because a stronger, more connected Valparaiso area helps everyone.

Markets, Music & More

• Coffee Creek Farmers Market - A south Duneland market stop to pair with a north Valpo Sunday.
• Chesterton's European Market - A bigger Saturday market option if you are making a full weekend of it.
• Valparaiso Market - The downtown farmers market exception: useful for fresh food and morning errands before heading north.
• The Edge of Liberty Craft Fair - Our select-Sunday outdoor market with handmade goods, local vendors, food, music, garden walks, and free admission and parking.
• The Sunday Vibe Market - A brand-new nearby Sunday market associated with O'Brien's Bakery & Cafe, with vintage finds, handmade goods, food, and local shopping energy.

Sunday market tip: The Sunday Vibe Market happens less than a mile from The Edge of Liberty Craft Fair and overlaps our select-Sunday events, which makes the two stops an easy pair. Visit both, compare the vendor mix, grab food, and help this little north Valpo market loop keep growing.

Explore the Outdoors

• Moraine Nature Preserve - A quiet nature stop north of Valpo.
• Coffee Creek Preserve - Trails, water, and wildlife habitat in south Duneland.
• Zona Wildlife Sanctuary - A nearby protected natural area for people who want something calmer than the shoreline rush.
• Shirley Heinze Land Trust - The local land trust behind many protected natural places in Northwest Indiana.

Weekend Spots

• Sunset Hill Farm County Park - A north-side park stop that keeps you out of downtown and away from beach traffic, with frequent community events to check before you visit.
• Rogers Lakewood Park - A 122-acre north-side park with trails, open water, fishing, kayaking, disc golf, playgrounds, shelters, and room to breathe.
• Four Corners Winery - A country winery and event spot near the crossroads of Liberty, Center, Washington, and Jackson townships. When they are not hosting a wedding, they frequently have food events, live music, and festival weekends.
• 49'er Drive-In Theatre - A classic Valparaiso drive-in movie theater just up the road, perfect for turning a Sunday outing into a full weekend.

Places to Stay

• Create Happiness House - Furnished private rooms in a quiet shared home on a five-acre farm just north of Valparaiso. Weekly rooms currently start at $250/week, with Blue at $250/week, Green at $290/week, Purple at $290/week, and Teal at $425/week. That works out to roughly $36-$61/night when divided across a full week. Each room includes a queen bed, desk, TV, mini fridge, WiFi, on-site laundry, shared kitchen access, and parking.
• Hilton Garden Inn Chesterton - A familiar hotel choice on the south Duneland side of the loop, useful if you want a traditional hotel stay with easy highway access. Recent nightly rates are around $133/night before taxes and fees.
• At Home in the Woods Bed and Breakfast - A local bed-and-breakfast option for visitors who want something quieter and more tucked away than a standard hotel. Recent nightly rates are around $229/night before taxes and fees.

Rate note: Hotel and bed-and-breakfast prices change by date and booking site. Create Happiness House is priced by the week, so the nightly range above is a weekly-rate comparison, not a nightly rental option.

Stay longer tip: If you are planning more than a quick weekend, stay close to the loop and use the extra time for Coffee Creek Farmers Market on Wednesday, preserve walks, a quieter winery stop, or a slower weekday pass through the Four Corners area.

The Sign at Gospel Corners

If you have driven past The Edge of Liberty, you may have noticed the old Bible verse sign at the corner. We are not a church, and as far as we know, no church ever stood on this property.

When we bought the land in 2016, the area around the sign was so overgrown that we could not even see both sides of it. We still do not know who painted it or when it was first put up, but neighbors remember it being here for generations. In 2024, donated funds from our customers helped us build a new steel frame so the sign could keep standing.

What we have learned is that this crossroads was once commonly known as Gospel Corners, named for a small Methodist Episcopal church that stood nearby in the 1800s. The church is gone, but the old name still feels like a clue about what this place can be: not a church, but a neighborly gathering place rooted in care, memory, and community.

That is the spirit we are trying to preserve: a rural Liberty Township place where people can gather on Sundays, celebrate life, create happiness, and help keep local history visible. We have ten years until Liberty Township's bicentennial, and we would love to see this corner become one of the places people remember when they tell that story.