Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
MILLTOWN – For nearly 40 years, Cave Country Canoes has been sending kayakers and canoers down the peaceful Blue River.
Located just a few miles from Marengo Cave, the outfitter’s many options for enjoying the Blue River is a good reason to visit Milltown but it’s far from the only reason.
A group of community members has been focused on giving Milltown visitors a reason to linger and come back.
A focus on public art led to the creation of a mural on Maxine’s Market and old canoes have been painted and “planted” around points of interest in town. In 2022, the inaugural Milltown Festival drew about 3,500 people to town for music, food trucks and a car show. And this May, a coffee and ice cream shop will open. Out of the Blue will operate inside Cave Country Canoes, offering 16 flavors of ice cream, donuts and a selection of coffees.
Sherri Nail, owner of Cave Country Canoes, is one of the volunteers working on improvements.
Milltown may be small, with a population of less than 1,000, but Nail said being small is an advantage.
“It is an unprecedented time in Milltown. A lot of people realize tourism is our strength and see all that we have to offer as far as scenery and outdoor recreation,” Nail said.
Nail said a group focused on economic development works with the Milltown Town Council on town projects – currently, the group is raising money to add lights to the bridge that spans the Blue River.
The result has been a sprucing up of downtown and a vision for a festival.
Milltown Festival returns
The Milltown Festival will return Aug. 18-19 followed by a car show Aug. 20. Adam Sines, president of the committee planning the festival, said he anticipates 6,000 to attend this summer. Fireworks are planned and music headliners are the Crashers and Juice Box Heroes.
“Last year was the biggest crowd we’ve ever seen in Milltown,” Sines said. “We want the festival to bring people to Milltown and be an affordable entertainment option for people and families.”
Sines grew up in Milltown, owns a construction company and sees great potential in the small town. He said it’s hard to point to a single thing that started the Milltown revival. But once people started making changes, others jumped on board.
For his part, Sines built a house where an unattractive junk yard had been because, “I got tired of looking at it.”
Milltown’s location is another advantage. In addition to its proximity to Marengo Cave and the curious oddity known as the Shoe Tree, Milltown is just 15 minutes from Corydon, the state’s first capital, and is 23 miles from Hemlock Cliffs, a unique site with a hiking trail that takes visitors to a box canyon.
Special events on Blue River
The addition of special events at Cave Country Canoes is also bringing more people to the town that straddles Crawford and Harrison counties.
A women’s weekend, the Full Moon Float and twilight canoe ride with catered dinner and live music have tapped into new markets of customers, Nail said.
“We created the women’s weekend for any woman who wants to try water recreation and is hesitant,” she said. “We take the scary out of it and it’s really encouraging when you’re surrounded by women.
“The Full Moon Float is extremely popular. We start at dusk and it adds a whole new element of sounds and smells.”
The Twilight Canoe and Dinner for Two trips have been popular with couples and fill up quickly. The upcoming June Paddle Festival covers 37 miles in three days and includes overnight camping.
The outfitter averages about 30,000 visitors a year, operating on weekends in April and seven days a week from May 1 until closing for the season, sometime in October. A camping area has 12 electric sites and 25 primitive sites. Nail also started a podcast to promote Milltown and the Blue River.
Nail worked for the previous owners as manager of Cave Country Canoes since 2017 and also worked for them as a teenager at Marengo Cave. In between she spent several years working in long-term care.
She enjoyed working in long-term care, but was looking for a career change to complement her education in outdoor recreation. Her husband Derek left his job to join her in the business.
“Milltown and Cave Country Canoes is a great place to visit even if you don’t want to get out on the beautiful Blue River,” Nail said. “We have lots of great scenic, curvy roads perfect for afternoon drives in your classic car or motorcycle and the perfect ice cream and coffee stop.”
As Cave Country Canoes has added more trip options and adventures, a move to pre-paid reservations has improved the visitor experience, Nail said.
In 2020, Cave Country Canoes had 40,000 visitors, its biggest year ever. The spike was the result of COVID and people looking for safe, outdoor activities. Because customers are taken to the landing location by bus, advance registration allows the outfitter to better plan for bus capacity and drivers.
“COVID forced us to grow,” she said. “We had people from all over the country coming here because they were roaming around and camping.”
Kaylee Gildersleeve, office manager for Crawford County Tourism, said Milltown is a great example of a community working toward a shared vision.
“Milltown has a lot of really engaged people,” Gildersleeve said. “They are really motivated and care about their town. Being small allows them to be tight knit and know what’s going on.”
She said the canoe art walk and mural add to the town’s character. Not only do visual features give tourists a reason to explore the town, they build community pride.
“All of these things will keep people staying around,” Gildersleeve said. “It will be more than just beneficial for tourism.”