Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway
Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway is a National Scenic Byway in Indiana. Within Indiana it covers roughly 70 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
Indiana's Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway runs about 78 miles along the Whitewater River, from Dearborn County to Hagerstown, tracing the historic Whitewater Canal. Construction began under Indiana's 1836 Mammoth Internal Improvements Act, and the state completed the stretch from Lawrenceburg to Brookville before defaulting on the project in 1840 and handing the canal to private investors; the finished system used 56 locks to manage a fall of nearly 500 feet. The canal once powered grist, woolen, pulp, and lumber mills, and hydropower from it fueled Connersville's automobile manufacturing into the 1950s. The byway's centerpiece is Metamora, an 1838 canal town preserved since the 1940s as the Whitewater Canal State Historic Site, where nearly half the original canal survives, including stone locks, a feeder dam, a reconstructed canal boat, and the Duck Creek Aqueduct, a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. Steep hills and rolling farmland frame the drive between Metamora's preserved industrial past and Hagerstown's quieter countryside.
- Whitewater Canal
- Metamora
- 78 miles
- Duck Creek Aqueduct
- 56 canal locks
- 1836 Mammoth Improvements Act
- Whitewater Canal State Historic Site
Designated for its historic qualities
Plan a drive on Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway → Drive this route in Road SortiesTurn-by-turn on iPhone · App Store
Places to stop along Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway
Whitewater Valley Railroad
A heritage railroad running excursions from Connersville to Metamora along the old canal.
Laurel Feeder Dam
One of seven feeder dams that kept water in the canal, now a riverside spot for fishing and paddling.
Whitewater Canal State Historic Site
Metamora's restored canal, with a working gristmill, a horse-drawn canal boat, and the Duck Creek Aqueduct, a rare covered aqueduct.
Whitewater Canal Trail
About ten miles of trail past locks and other surviving canal works.
Brookville Lake
A 5,260-acre lake with more than 25 miles of trails, beaches, and well-known fishing.
Where to Stay along Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway
4 campgrounds and RV parks sit within about 5 miles of Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway.
Campsite, lodging, RV rental and membership links are affiliate links — booking through them may earn Road Sorties a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Recreation.gov links are not affiliate links.
What is a National Scenic Byway?
National Scenic Byways are roads recognized at the federal level for at least one outstanding quality — scenic, natural, historic, cultural, archaeological or recreational — that gives travelers a reason to seek them out rather than just pass through.