Claim to Fame

Posted on May 9, 2019

Do you know how we’re always talking about how special, unique, and magical this area is? Yeah, we’re not exaggerating. The amount of national recognition within the town of Santa Claus and sites throughout Lincoln’s Indiana Boyhood Home is incredible!

Here are ten local attractions and their claim to fame:

1. At the Santa Claus Museum & Village, you’ll find the tallest known Santa statue. At 22 feet tall and a whopping forty-four tons, it makes for an awesome photo op! #SantaSelfie, anyone?
2. The Santa Claus Post Office is the only post office in the world with the Santa Claus name. Stop by to receive the famous Santa Claus postmark during the Christmas season. The town's original post office can be found at the Santa Claus Museum & Village.
3. Founded in 1854, the peaceful and beautiful Saint Meinrad Archabbey is one of only two archabbeys left in the nation and one of 11 in the whole world. 
4. With fewer and fewer drive-ins left in the U.S., our local and much-loved Holiday Drive-In Movie Theater is quite a novelty. Check out Eight Things You Didn’t Know About Our Local Drive-In to learn more!
5. The sprawling, amenity-packed Lake Rudolph Campground & RV Resort was named one of the 2015 Top Ten Best Campgrounds For Families In The Country by TravelChannel.com. It was also named a 2015 Top Destination RV Park by Good Sam and is a two-time National RV Park of the Year recipient. They take camping to an all new level.
6. And as for Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari, where do we even begin? Not only is it the world’s first theme park, but it’s also home of:
   1. Thunderbird steel roller coaster -- the nation’s first, and only, launched wing coaster
   2. The Voyage -- named #1 Wooden Roller Coaster in America by TIME Magazine
   3. Splashin’ Safari ranked one of the nation’s Top 3 Water Parks by TripAdvisor.com and includes the two longest water coasters in the world—the Mammoth and the Wildebeest
   4. This theme park/water park duo continues to be voted Cleanest Park in the World year after year
   5. And last but not least, let’s not forget about the free soft drinks plus free parking, free sunscreen, and free Wi-Fi
7. At Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, you’ll find the tallest known flagpole in the National Park Service reaching 120 feet and 3 inches tall.
8. The Santa Claus Christmas Store offers nearly 8,000 ornaments. You could spend hours browsing to find the perfect souvenir and you can even get them personalized for free.
9. The Santa Claus Museum & Village received and answered nearly 28,000 letters in 2019! In December, "Santa's Elves" work diligently to reply to each and every letter.
10. Santa’s Toys offers thousands of specialty toys, including STEM toys and other cognitive learning toys. Guests of all ages are encouraged to find their inner child and play while browsing.

Are you wowed yet? Even more curious about this one-of-a-kind area? Explore all the things to do in the area on our website.

This blog post has been updated from November 2018.