VALPARAISO, Ind. — For a lot of Americans, something about the fall air and the vivid landscape of fall leaves evokes feelings of romance.
Travel + Leisure went coast to coast to find the most “romantic place for a getaway” in all 50 states, and for Hoosiers in the mood for love, they’ll have to take a trip to Valparaiso.
The list named the “kissing bridge” on Valparaiso University’s campus as the most romantic getaway in Indiana.
“Parke County calls itself the ‘Covered Bridge Capital’ of the United States. But the most romantic of the county’s dozens of covered bridges is the Kissing Bridge at Valparaiso University,” writes Travel + Leisure.
However, anyone who’s actually been to the kissing bridge knows the bridge isn’t actually covered!
According to Valpo Life, “kissing bridges” were once known as spots where courting couples could sneak away for a kiss away from prying eyes.
You can find Valpo’s kissing bridge in a tree grove “near the Route 30 entrance to the University,” described Valpo Life.
The bridge that you can walk across today is actually a piece of a much larger bridge that was torn down in the 1960s.
As Valpo Life detailed, the original “Student Bridge” was built in the mid-1880s.
“It quickly became student lore that any couple who stood on the bridge and kissed the entire time a train was passing under the bridge would have good luck.”
The bridge found its new home in 2005, thanks to a business owner who kept a piece and held on to it through the years, said Valpo Life.
