Hammond

Hammond is a Chicagoland city of some 76,000 people (2019) in Lake County, Indiana—bordering Chicago's Far Southeast Side. Most visitors will find themselves passing through or on business, but Chicagoans would do well to include it in a close-in Lake County day trip, if for no other reason than to get some good food, perhaps stock up on fireworks, and realize that Chicagoland doesn't stop at the state line!

Understand


It may come as a surprise to other Hoosiers that Hammond is the state's sixth largest city. Its history and culture, as with nearly all of Indiana's Lake Michigan coast, is inextricably linked to a big blue-collar industrial workforce. While the industrial economy is not what it once was, Hammond is still in decent shape, with a big new casino drawing in visitors from the Chicagoland area.

By car
The big highways cutting east west across the city are I-90 and I-94/I-80, both of which head east towards Gary and I-65 towards Indianapolis, and west towards Chicago and its south suburbs. The biggest north south streets are Calumet Ave (US-41) and Indianapolis Blvd (IN-152). Both lead into the city coming from Chicago in the north, and are a far more interesting drive than the big highways.

By train
The South Shore Line, which stretches from Chicago's East Loop to Indiana's South Bend, has one stop at, located at 4531 Hohman Avenue, and another literally on the East Chicago/south Hammond border. Tickets are $4.75 per way. Amtrak offers a limited service on its Wolverine route between Chicago and Pontiac via Detroit. These trains calls at station, located in the Robertsdale neighborhood of north Hammond at 1135 North Calumet Ave.

By plane
The closest airport is certainly Gary/Chicago International Airport, but there are a lot more flights coming into Chicago Midway , which is about a 30 minute drive without heavy traffic.

Buy
Hammond and the rest of the cities immediately bordering Chicago across the state line are well known among Chicagoans for fireworks and far cheaper cigarettes. Indeed, here you'll find big box stores selling cases of either—the easiest to reach being on Calumet Ave just north of I-94/I-80.

Sleep
The following hotels are located along Interstate 90, the Indiana Toll Road:



The following hotels are located along Interstates 80/94, the Borman Expressway:

Go next
Chicago is the obvious nearby destination, but if you are up for staying far off the beaten path, exploring Lake County a bit can be quite rewarding. Check out the historic planned industrial-utopian community of Marktown, Meyer's Castle in Dyer, the confounding ruins of Gary, or even the far-off-the-beaten-path parts of Chicago just west, in the city's Far Southeast Side.