About Michiana

Michiana is a region in northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan centered on the city of South Bend, Indiana which includes the counties of Elkhart, La Porte, Marshall, St. Joseph, and Starke in Indiana, and Berrien and Cass in Michigan.

Southwestern Michigan College has two campuses, oneis located near Dowagiac in LaGrange Township and the other located in Milton Township, just outside the city limits of Niles, Michigan, both in Cass County, Michigan. From either campus, you’re only minutes from more than hundreds of inland lakes, rivers and streams, as well as Lake Michigan beaches that all provide hours of fishing, boating and sunbathing fun.

Known as the Grand Old City of southwestern Michigan, Dowagiac is a historical city that has retained its unique character with its picturesque central business district, concerts in the park, summertime festivals, holiday parades, live theatre by the Beckwith Theatre Company and the Dogwood Fine Arts Festival.

Niles, known as the City of Four Flags, is located on the St. Joseph River and is home to many festivals, concerts, fishing tournaments, haunted houses and car shows. The Four Flags Area also has numerous antique and collectible shops featuring everything from primitives to Victorian, from fine furniture to china. The Four Flags Area of Michigan has a long list of outdoor recreational opportunities waiting for you including canoeing, fishing, cycling, golf, motocross racing, rollerblading, skateboarding, disc golf, cross country skiing, hiking, horseback riding, extensive snowmobiling trails, and trail running.

Nestled in the heartland of Michigan’s "fruit belt," SMC is less than a 35-minute drive to South Bend/Mishawaka, Indiana, home to the University of Notre Dame and shopping opportunities galore; less than 45 minutes from Kalamazoo, Michigan, a city filled with restaurants, clubs and musical events such as the annual Blues Fest; and 35 minutes from the St. Joseph/Benton Harbor, Michigan area with its Lake Michigan beaches and its quaint waterfront communities.

Chicago is less than a two-hour train ride via Amtrak or the South Shore Line, which takes travelers near the city’s Magnificent Mile downtown.

SMC’s Dowagiac campus has more than six miles of cross country hiking and ski trails. For great outdoor enjoyment, participants also have access to many state and county parks and trail systems located in the region for horseback riding, cross country and downhill skiing, snowmobiling and bike riding.