Indiana, famously home to Abraham Lincoln in his formative years, and later to legendary NBA star (and now coach) Larry Bird and entertainer David Letterman, also boasts a family-friendly menu of options for folks on a travel budget.

Head to the beach at Indiana Dunes State Park, near Chesterton, or Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, near Michigan City, where, along with relaxing in the waters of Lake Michigan, there are camp grounds, hiking trails, bird watching, horseback riding and picnic areas. Both reserves offer nature programs, too. Landmarks include Mt. Baldy, a sand dune that rises 126 above the water level of Lake Michigan and moves at about 4 feet a year because of wind erosion. And the Chellberg Farm, maintained as a 1900s-era farmstead, ohosts and annual harvest festival featuring music, food and activities.

Conner Prairie, a living history museum campus in Fishers, Ind., is named for William Conner, a 19th century fur trader, land speculator, Indian agent and state representative, on whose former land the museum sits. Kids and parents alike will be drawn to costumed interpreters who teach and demonstrate history by assuming the roles of fictional characters. Among the programs: an interactive simulation of the Underground Railroad experience where visitors take on the role of a fugitive slave; and a "hearthside supper" where guests help prepare and eat a 19th-century meal including churning butter, grinding coffee, preparing vegetables or making bread.

There was a time when folks in the East considered Indiana to be a wilderness frontier, and Wolf Park in Battle Ground offers a taste of what frontier men and women might have experienced in those days, with a presereve for wolves and bison. A walking tour that takes about an hour gets you up close and personal with the canines -- kept at a distance with a chain-link fence -- and the park also offers Howl Night tours, when you can sit on a viewing stand and hear the creatures call out to the moon and each other. Howl Night is held every Saturday at 7:30 p.m. throughout the year.

Check out the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, where there's big emphasis on "hands-on" learning, and some jaw-dropping exhibits. A Gustav Dentzel carousel, almost 100 years old, radiates color, sound and delight to kids. It's one of fewer than 175 known to exist anywhere. A 35-foot long, 55-ton steam engine designed by Reuben Wells in 1868 invites exploration. Built to push train cars up Indiana’s Madison Hill, the steepest railroad grade in the United States, it weighs 12 tons. And you'll want to be sure not to miss the mastodon and and "SuperCroc" exhibits; reconstructions of skeletal remains found in Indiana.