This Indiana Town Goes All Out for a Giant Pie Every Summer

Every summer, something truly special happens in the heart of Northern Indiana that draws visitors from all over the Midwest. Nappanee transforms into a celebration of community, tradition, and one enormous dessert that has to be seen to be believed.

This charming town, nestled between Elkhart and Kosciusko counties, hosts the famous Nappanee Apple Festival. A giant pie takes center stage and captures the hearts of everyone who attends.

With its rich Amish heritage and friendly small-town atmosphere, Nappanee offers visitors a genuine slice of Americana. It feels refreshingly authentic.

The annual festival brings together locals and travelers alike to witness the creation and serving of a massive pie that weighs hundreds of pounds.

But the giant pie is just the beginning of what makes Nappanee worth visiting.

From historic sites to delicious homemade food, unique shopping experiences to beautiful countryside scenery, this Indiana town delivers an unforgettable experience. Explore every corner.

It goes far beyond dessert.

The Famous Giant Apple Pie at Nappanee Apple Festival

Picture a pie so massive it requires a team of volunteers to bake and serve it to thousands of eager festival-goers. That’s exactly what happens each September during the Nappanee Apple Festival, when the town creates a legendary giant apple pie that has become the stuff of local legend.

This isn’t your grandmother’s pie cooling on a windowsill. We’re talking about a dessert that weighs several hundred pounds and uses bushels upon bushels of fresh Indiana apples.

The tradition started decades ago as a way to celebrate the apple harvest and bring the community together. Today, it stands as one of the most anticipated events in Elkhart County.

Volunteers begin preparing early in the morning, rolling out enormous sheets of dough and carefully layering in the apple filling seasoned with cinnamon and sugar.

When the pie emerges from its specially designed oven, the aroma fills the downtown streets and draws crowds of hungry visitors. Lines form quickly as people wait for their chance to taste a piece of this community treasure.

Authentic Amish Country Experience and Heritage

Nappanee sits at the heart of one of the largest Amish communities in the United States, offering visitors a genuine window into a way of life that has remained largely unchanged for centuries. Unlike touristy areas that commercialize Amish culture, Nappanee provides authentic encounters with this fascinating community.

Drive along the county roads surrounding town and you’ll share the road with horse-drawn buggies, pass by immaculate farms with laundry drying on clotheslines, and witness families working together in their fields.

The Amish influence permeates every aspect of Nappanee’s character. Many local businesses are Amish-owned or operated, from furniture workshops to bakeries to produce stands.

These establishments offer products crafted with exceptional attention to detail and quality that’s hard to find elsewhere. The craftsmanship is evident in everything from hand-stitched quilts to solid wood furniture built to last generations.

Amish Acres once served as a living history museum where visitors could tour historic buildings and watch craftspeople demonstrate traditional skills. Though it has changed ownership, the area still reflects the deep Amish roots of the community.

Coppes Commons and Historic Shopping District

Shopping in Nappanee feels nothing like wandering through a modern mall or scrolling through online stores. Coppes Commons, housed in a beautifully restored historic building, offers a unique retail experience that celebrates local artisans, craftspeople, and small business owners.

The building itself tells a story. It once served as the Coppes Brothers and Zook cabinet factory, which produced Hoosier cabinets famous throughout America in the early 1900s.

Walking through Coppes Commons is like exploring a treasure hunt where each vendor space reveals something unexpected. You’ll find handcrafted jewelry, locally made candles, vintage home decor, specialty foods, Amish-made goods, and one-of-a-kind gifts.

The vendors are often present, happy to discuss their creative process and the stories behind their products. It turns browsing into a conversation.

The building maintains much of its original character with exposed brick walls, wooden beams, and large windows that flood the space with natural light. This isn’t a sterile shopping environment but rather a warm, welcoming space.

Many visitors spend hours exploring every nook and discovering items they didn’t know they needed.

Mouthwatering Homestyle Restaurants and Bakeries

Forget fancy fusion cuisine and molecular gastronomy. Nappanee specializes in honest, hearty food that sticks to your ribs and reminds you of Sunday dinners at your grandmother’s house.

The restaurants here serve generous portions of comfort food made from scratch using recipes passed down through generations. You won’t find pretentious presentations or tiny portions on oversized plates.

Instead, expect plates piled high with fried chicken, homemade noodles, fresh vegetables, and warm bread.

Several family-style restaurants in the area offer all-you-can-eat meals served at your table in big bowls and platters meant for sharing. The menus typically feature traditional Amish and Mennonite favorites like broasted chicken, real mashed potatoes with gravy, homemade stuffing, green beans cooked with bacon, and fresh-baked rolls with apple butter.

These meals create a communal dining experience that encourages conversation and togetherness.

The bakeries in Nappanee deserve their own visit. Cases filled with fresh-baked pies, cookies, cinnamon rolls, and breads greet you with irresistible aromas the moment you walk through the door.

Many bakeries are Amish-owned, and the quality reflects the care and skill that goes into every item. Fruit pies made with seasonal produce showcase flavors that remind you what real food should taste like.

Beautiful Rural Countryside and Scenic Drives

Sometimes the best attractions aren’t specific destinations but the journey itself. The countryside surrounding Nappanee offers some of the most peaceful and picturesque scenery in Northern Indiana.

Rolling farmland stretches to the horizon, punctuated by classic red barns, silos, and farmhouses that look like they belong on a postcard. During different seasons, the landscape transforms dramatically, offering new beauty with each visit.

Spring brings fresh green fields and blooming fruit trees in the orchards. Summer showcases tall corn stalks swaying in the breeze and hay bales dotting harvested fields.

Fall explodes with color as leaves turn brilliant shades of orange, red, and gold. Pumpkins appear in patches ready for picking.

Even winter has its charm, with snow-covered fields creating a serene blanket of white that seems to muffle the world’s noise.

Taking a scenic drive through the backroads costs nothing but offers priceless rewards. You’ll encounter Amish families traveling by buggy, children walking to their one-room schoolhouses, and farmers working their land with horse-drawn equipment.

The slower pace forces you to relax and notice details you’d miss while rushing along a highway.

Several routes around Nappanee are particularly scenic. County Road 13 and County Road 46 wind through prime Amish farmland with minimal traffic and maximum charm.

These roads feature gentle hills, wooden bridges over small creeks, and farms where you can sometimes purchase fresh produce, eggs, or baked goods directly from the family.

Bring a camera, but remember to be respectful when photographing. The Amish prefer not to be photographed directly due to their religious beliefs.

Focus instead on landscapes, barns, and general scenes that capture the area’s beauty without intruding on anyone’s privacy.

Wakarusa Maple Syrup Festival Nearby

Just a few miles down the road from Nappanee lies the small town of Wakarusa, which hosts another beloved festival that draws visitors from across the region. The Wakarusa Maple Syrup Festival takes place each April and celebrates the sweet tradition of maple syrup production.

While Nappanee focuses on apples in the fall, Wakarusa honors maple syrup in the spring. The two towns make perfect complementary destinations for festival lovers.

The maple syrup festival features demonstrations of traditional syrup-making techniques. Visitors can see the entire process from tapping trees to boiling sap into the golden syrup we pour on pancakes.

Local producers sell their freshly made syrup in various grades, each with its own distinct flavor profile. Tastings help you discover whether you prefer the delicate light amber or the robust dark amber varieties.

Beyond syrup, the festival offers a full day of entertainment with a parade, craft vendors, food stands serving pancakes and sausage, and live music on multiple stages. The small-town atmosphere makes it easy to navigate.

The friendly locals are always happy to share recommendations or stories about the area’s history.

Combining a visit to both Nappanee and Wakarusa gives you a fuller picture of this region’s character and traditions. The towns are close enough that you can easily explore both in a single trip.

Many visitors plan their trips to coincide with one of the festivals. They often spend extra days exploring the surrounding Amish country, shops, and restaurants.

The proximity of these two festival towns creates a unique cultural corridor where traditional celebrations bring communities together. It’s a reminder that some of the best experiences come from small towns that honor their roots.

Exceptional Handcrafted Furniture and Woodworking

Nappanee has earned a well-deserved reputation as a center for exceptional furniture craftsmanship, particularly pieces made by skilled Amish woodworkers. The quality of furniture produced in this area rivals anything you’ll find from high-end retailers, but with the added value of being custom-made to your specifications and built to last multiple lifetimes.

Walking into a furniture showroom in Nappanee is like entering a gallery where each piece represents hours of skilled labor and attention to detail.

Amish craftsmen use traditional woodworking techniques passed down through generations, combined with high-quality hardwoods like oak, cherry, maple, and walnut. They don’t cut corners or use particle board and cheap materials.

Every joint is properly constructed, every surface carefully sanded and finished. The result is furniture with a solid, substantial feel that modern mass-produced pieces simply cannot match.

Several furniture stores and workshops throughout Nappanee welcome visitors to browse their collections and discuss custom orders. You can choose everything from the wood type to the stain color to the hardware and dimensions.

Want a dining table that seats your entire extended family? A bedroom set in quarter-sawn white oak?

A rocking chair sized perfectly for your porch? The craftsmen can build it.

Prices are remarkably reasonable considering the quality and customization. While these pieces cost more than flat-pack furniture from big-box stores, they represent genuine value.

This is furniture you’ll pass down to your children and grandchildren, not replace every few years when it falls apart.

Many visitors plan furniture purchases around their Nappanee trips. They place orders for delivery later.

The investment in quality craftsmanship supports local families and preserves traditional skills that deserve to continue thriving in our modern world.