Residents and newcomers enjoy a variety of housing choices. A mix of historic homes, lakefront residences, and established neighborhoods, the Angola area is in the midst of a residential boom. Builders are constructing a variety of single-family housing developments and an apartment complex to accommodate the arrivals of new residents to the area. With home prices averaging about $65,000, there’s a home to suit each and every budget.

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Historic bed and breakfasts, business-friendly hotels, budget-minded motels, privately owned cottages and homes, and luxury resorts welcome visitors with a generous helping of Hoosier hospitality.

The Oakhill Conference and Retreat Center offers rest, relaxation, and family fun at their 220-acre site north of Angola. Potawatomi Inn & Restaurant, a family resort and conference center located in Pokagon State Park, invites its guests to enjoy–in addition to the park’s myriad amenities–two restaurants, 142 guest rooms, and fitness and game centers. Charming B & Bs, such as the Hartman House Inn & Restaurant, Chef’s Nest, and the Tulip Tree Inn, pamper guests in homey quarters, while nine publicly and privately owned campgrounds cater to those who like their lodging on the "wild" side.

Restaurants satisfy those with a taste for everything from Tex Mex spice and Italian delights to quick-off-the-grill sandwiches and down-home cooking. Timbers, specializing in charbroiled steaks seasoned with the chef’s secret spices, offers a casual ambiance. The Hatchery is renowned for fine dining, offering American cuisine originally prepared and artfully presented. Chefs at Caruso’s, a family-owned restaurant, specializes in Italian favorites, seafood, steaks, and ribs. A variety of restaurants and supper clubs, located along area lakefronts, offer waterfront views along with their house specialties.

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No season of the year passes without some sort of celebration or special event taking place. In the fall, Tri-State University schedules a homecoming celebration and downtown Angola gets hopping with the town’s Fall Fest. Holiday festivities, like the Gingerbread Festival and a Christmas Walk, ring in the season during December. In April, do-it-yourselfers attend the Remodelers Showcase and Tour for spring spruce-up ideas. During the summer more than a dozen fests take place in the area, including 4th of July parades and fireworks, Fremont’s Musicfest, the Steuben County 4-H Fair, and the Ashley-Hudson Festival, to mention just a few.

Theatrical groups, at the Steuben County Theatre, the area’s five public high schools, and Tri-State University, stage a variety of plays and musical revues. Tri-State University, Steuben County Community Concert Association, and Pokagon State Park host special performances and events that are open to the public. Two movie theaters, located in Angola’s downtown square, roll the latest releases on three screens. Residents and tourists also visit galleries, attend plays and concerts, and tour museums in nearby Fort Wayne and Toledo, Ohio.

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With 101 lakes and the state’s most magnificent park an easy drive from every corner of Steuben County, visitors and residents never have a problem finding something to do.

From well populated to almost secluded, the lakes range from just a couple of acres to 1,034 acres in size and offer a variety of fishing, boating, water skiing, and relaxation possibilities. Public launches and beaches, make lake experiences accessible for all. Public beaches on 800-acre Clear Lake, Crooked Lake, Pleasant Lake, and Hamilton Lake supply swimmers and sunbathers a place to splash and tan. For those without a boat, marinas on many of the lakes offer boat and water skis rentals.

At 1,200-acre Pokagon State Park, visitors learn about local environments at the park’s nature center, enjoy two beaches on Lake James, saddle-up for a trail ride, and cross-country ski when the snow flies. There are campgrounds, hiking trails, picnic areas, and boat rentals at the park as well.

Other local sites sure to appeal to the naturalist and hiker include 20-acre Wing Haven Nature Preserve, Woodland Bog, Beechwood Nature Reserve, Ropchan Memorial Nature Reserve, 80-acre McClue Reserve, 80-acre Anspaugh Wildlife Habitat Trust Area, and the Fawn River State Fish Hatchery, where fish-rearing ponds produce a variety of game and pan fish.

Anglers think they’ve found nirvana when they visit Steuben County. Casting from docks, boats, and shore, they troll for (and hook) walleye, smallmouth and largemouth bass, pike, perch, crappie, and bluegill. Experts say that Clear Lake, Lake James, and Crooked Lake are fishing hot spots, but that waterways stocked by the local fish hatchery, like Fawn River, Pigeon River, Lake Gage, Mclish Lake, and Ball Lake, also offer up a good catch.

Off-the-water action can be found at the Angola Motor Speedway, a stock car racing track in Fremont, at two bowling alleys in Angola, and on five 18-hole, two 9-hole, and two miniature golf courses located around Steuben County. Zollner Golf Course, a challenging 18-hole course located at Tri-State University, has been the site of three NAIA National Golf Championships. Fun Spot Amusement Park, in Angola, is home to roller coasters and other kid-pleasing rides and activities.

Local park districts maintain ball diamonds, picnic facilities, hiking paths, playgrounds, tennis courts, and natural areas at a variety of locations.

They also organize summer recreation programs, including sports leagues. Fremont Park District operates a community swimming pool at Vistula Park. Fitness buffs workout at Tri-State University’s Gettig Fitness Center, the Angola Health Club, and the YMCA; special fitness programs for seniors are available through Cameron Hospital’s Healthy Life Steps program and the Steuben County Senior Center.

When temperatures dip, ice fishermen carve out fishing spots on the lakes, snowmobilers head down a trail system in the Crooked Lake/Lake James area, and tobogganers whoosh down 1/4-mile refrigerated run at Pokagon State Park.

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