Ohio state line to Richmond
4.7 miles: 0 hours, 11 minutes
Start your trip at the Indiana/Ohio border, where I-70 intersects with the National Road (signed as US 40 through most of the state). Soon you’ll enter the city of Richmond. Established by Quakers and German immigrants in 1806, its history pre-dates the National Road. At the southwest corner of Glen Miller Park is a Madonna of the Trail sculpture, a monument to pioneer women.
Richmond to Cambridge City
14.8 miles: 0 hours, 22 minutes
The National Road turns into Main Street through many small towns along its path. Centerville was once an important stop for travelers as they headed west, and it’s a pleasant stop for modern-day travelers, too. You’ll see Federal-style row houses converted into antique shops, as well as the Mansion House Inn, built as a tavern and stagecoach office in 1840.
Cambridge City to Knightstown
19.0 miles: 0 hours, 23 minutes
Leaving Cambridge City, keep your eyes peeled for the Huddleston Farmhouse, a three-story Federal-style farmhouse that served as a stop for weary travelers in the mid-1800s. Fields and grain silos dominate the view west of Cambridge City through Knightstown, the setting for the 1986 sports film “Hoosiers.” The Hoosier Gym still stands at 355 N. Washington St.
Knightstown to Indianapolis
36.3 miles: 1 hours, 16 minutes
The next major town you’ll pass through is Greenfield, the birthplace of Indiana’s poet laureate James Whitcomb Riley; a statue of Riley stands in front of the courthouse at State Street and the National Road. Nearing Indianapolis the National Road becomes Washington Street, turning north toward the iconic Soldiers’ & Sailors’ Monument at Monument Circle.