Apparently, "experts" don't think that there is much beauty in Indiana, which is why they ranked the state very (and I mean VERY) low on a list of most beautiful states in America.

Indiana is known as the "Crossroads of America", we have also been called a "Fly Over State" in the past too. As a lifelong resident of Indiana, I have been all over the state and have seen some very beautiful sights along the way. That being said, some "experts" at Thrillist didn't think that Indiana was very beautiful.

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Most Beautiful States in America

Thrillist recently ranked the most beautiful states in America. I'm sure it was no easy feat to come to their decision. Here's what Thrillist said about how they determined the most beautiful states:

We independently ranked the states, then came together around a table to debate the discrepancies and to plead for the divisive cases, of which there were several. How do you pick, after all, between desert vs. mountains? Mountains vs. lakes? Lakes vs. forests? Forests vs. seashore? Seashore vs. glaciers? Glaciers vs. orchards? There was no right answer... until we decided there was.

So Where Did Indiana Rank?

As I said previously, Indiana ranked pretty low on this list. We don't have any seashores, mountains, or deserts. We do, however, have beautiful caves, natural forests, awesome lakes, historical locations, and a few big cities with amazing views. That wasn't enough for Thrillist to rank us anywhere near the top 10, 20, or 30 for that matter. Thrillist ranked Indiana 47th out of 50 on their list of most beautiful states in America.

Why? Well, they say:

At its top edge, <a href="https://www.nps.gov/indu/index.htm" target="_blank" rel=" noopener">Dunes National Lakeshore</a> offers a crackling little playground and views of Lake Michigan. Near its southern border, Indiana's hilly contours give towns like <a href="https://www.thrillist.com/travel/chicago/things-to-do-bloomington-indiana" target="_blank" rel=" noopener">Bloomington</a> an idyllic feel. In between, though? There's not a lot to recommend, aside from summertime drives, and discovering the soothing, almost hypnotizing allure of watching corn flash past your window at 60mph.

At least it wasn't all negative. We here in Indiana have seen the beauty that our state has to offer. To be fair, the states that made the top five on their list is very hard to top.

 

  • 5. Colorado
  • 4. Utah
  • 3. Alaska
  • 2. Hawaii
  • 1. California

To see the full list of the most beautiful states in America, click here.

LOOK: Here's Why Indiana is Pretty Much the Best Place on Earth [As Told by Hoosiers]

Reddit user, u/youcanneverbanme recently asked their fellow Hoosiers in the Indiana subreddit what they liked about living here. The question received hundreds of responses and the vast majority of them were positive. Of course, there were some that were negative because there are sad people who are perpetually angry on the internet and want everyone to know it for some reason, but we won't concern ourselves with those. We want to focus on the good, and when it comes to the good, there's plenty of it to enjoy.

SEE: 11 Unique Attractions You'll Only Find in Indiana

KEEP READING: 40 Real Indiana Towns with Quirky, Weird, and Funny Names

Outside the major cities, the Hoosier state is full of tiny little towns you've probably passed through on your way to one of those cities. Most of them are likely 100 to 150 years old, or older, and have been around far longer than the large metropolitan areas such as Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, South Bend, and Evansville. Typically, they were started by early settlers who found their way to the state and decided to make it home. Eventually, others would join them, and a community was formed. Over time, as the surrounding areas grew, most of them were folded into those areas and governed by the nearest city or county's governing body officially making them "unincorporated," meaning they did not have their own formally organized municipal government.

A scroll through Wikipedia's long list of unincorporated communities in Indiana shows several of them have names that by today's standards would be considered weird, quirky, or just downright right funny. These are my 40 favorities.

 

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