Exploring while social distancing? Yes, it’s possible. Last week we enjoyed a unique day trip on the Garfield Trail in Grant County, Indiana searching for 14 Garfield statues as well as enjoying the charm of several small towns.
What is the Garfield Trail?
Garfield’s creator, Jim Davis’s hometown is Fairmont, Indiana, so the county Fairmount is in, Grant, created a Garfield Trail. There are 14 Garfield statues all over Grant county, in towns such as Marion, Gas City, and of course, Fairmount. The weather was lovely, so we had a fun time hopping in the car and seeing how many we could find.
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To participate, download the map from the visitor’s site. In addition to a map of the locations of all the statues, the addresses and a short description are mentioned – it made it very easy to find each Garfield. Each sign also has a handy phone number to call to learn a little more about the statue as well as the location. Pretty cool!
Insider Tip: Be sure to call or text the number listed on the map ahead of time so you can learn which statues are currently out for renovation – you don’t want to drive all the way to a location and find out the statue isn’t there. Talk about frustrating!
Garfield Statues in Marion, Indiana
We started our day in Marion as it was the furthest city North of Indy and we figured we’d work our way back. We checked out three of the four statues in Marion AND took some time to enjoy the beautiful Matter Park.
Matter Park is 101 acres with exciting playgrounds, several paved trails, lots of open space for picnics, and an enclosed area called the Gardens at Matter Park.
The Gardens contain a beautiful Koi pond, several secluded sitting areas, a butterfly garden, a number of statues, and of course, Garfield.
After checking out the Gardens and enjoying a picnic on the grounds, we headed south to Gas City.
Gas City Garfield Statues
Our favorite Garfield was found in front of Payne’s. Sadly we had just eaten or we would have been sorely tempted to try some of Payne’s famous fish & chips. This will definitely be a return trip. Their outdoor patio and menu looked inviting!
Gas City is a charming small town with a number of antique shops, local restaurants, and even a speedway. The other Garfield we stopped at in Gas City was right in front of the local library.
The Fairmount Garfield
Sadly it was time to head home, but we made a short stop in Fairmount to check out the Garfield in front of the Historical Museum. The museum wasn’t open, so I know we’ll be heading back to visit it in the future. In addition to Jim Davis, Fairmount’s other hometown hero is James Dean so when we return we can also visit the James Dean museum and gravesite.
Just a few hours exploring a nearby county felt like quite the adventure! With a tank of gas, a full cooler, and a free afternoon, this is a day trip worth replicating! After all, we have more Garfield’s to find!
Are you looking for more fun day trip or weekend getaway ideas? Check out my Explore Indiana project for dozens of fun adventures!
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What a fantastic outing that I never knew existed! I love Garfield and think it would be amazing to spend a day searching for him!
If you love Garfield, this would be a fun day for you!
I’d never heard of this. So cool! I would love to look for Garfield someday!
Hope you get the chance!
My kids would love going on this trail!
Even my teens got a kick out of it.
This is such a cute idea! I had not idea it even existed and I love that you can take your dog.
We are always looking for places we can take Bernie – he gets to go on lots of outdoor adventures with us.
I’m so excited you shared this adventure. I never knew this existed and I can’t wait to plan a trip to walk this trail.
It was fun, but forewarning, you’ll probably have to drive most of it!
What a fun road trip. I would love to do this. I think I might need to show my kids some cartoons of Garfield first. It’s so sad they don’t know who he is. I grew up reading about his antics very Sunday while I delivered everyone’s newspaper.
Fun! I always read the comic too when I was younger. My kids knew who he was, but not as well as we did. I told my daughter he should be her favorite as he loves to sleep, eat lasagna and drink coffee just like her 🙂
What a fun way to spend a day! I had no idea this existed – thanks for sharing!
You are welcome – it was fun!
I’m so glad you posted this. We are only about 3 hours from here and we could probably make a day trip out of it. My kids would love doing this!
It was a fun day trip – and there is a lot more to experience that we just either ran out of time for or couldn’t check out due to COVID. We’ll go back for sure.
I used to love Garfield when I was a kid, this would be so fun!
It was quite fun.
Garfield! Oh my gosh. I would love this! He was so popular when I was young.
I used to love him too when I was young!
Good luck finding all the Garfields. That would be a fun trip.
Thanks – we have to head back out to find the rest.
What a fun way to explore! That trail must be popular.
It was fun! I think it’s popular for Garfield fans for sure.
What a fun way to spend the day! I wish some place in California had something like that. I grew up in Beavercreek, Ohio and for some anniversary every local business decorated statues like this but of beavers and now they are located all over town like at police stations, fire stations, libraries, and schools.
I love that! I always get a kick out of anyplace that has decorated statues.
This article makes me want to pack my bags and visit the Garfield Trail! It looks so fun!
Hope you get the chance to check it out someday!
So fun! We have a number of Peanuts Gang statues as Charles Schulz was from St. Paul. And would love to visit the gravesite of James Dean as part of my cemetery tour.
How fun!!!
I use to read this comic strip when I was younger. How could you not love this cat?? This looks like a lot of fun.