Midwest Family Road Trip

[enginerd]

Looking for recommendations for a family road trip (myself, DW, two DD’s 6&8). Next month (August) before school starts. Leaving and returning to Chicago for up to a week, so preferably within 300 or 400 miles with multiple destinations along the way.

Thanks in advance.

 

[JoeWras]

Plenty of options. Where do you want to go? North, South, East or West? Indoor or outdoor activities?


Here's one possibility... Go south. Hit Starved Rock state park for a nice hike. Go to Springfield for a ton of history. Go to St. Louis. Hit the arch. Do a riverboat tour. Gambling? Possible, not necessary.


Going north, I like the U.P. of Michigan. Mackinac is cool for the adults. Potentially boring for the kids. A ring around Lake Michigan is one trip we took. Sleeping Bear dunes in lower MI is cool. Go to a cherry festival, it is the season. There is also Indiana State Dunes park.


There is a ton to do in that 400 mile range. I've only scratch a few positivities.

 

[68bucks]

I agree with Joe anywhere around lake Michigan is nice. Especially when its hot. Lots of good beaches on both sides. Milwaukee has some cool kids stuff and nice beach near downtown. The UP has lots of hiking. The Soo locks are interesting and Tahquameon Falls is nice and an easy hike, not too far out of the way. My GS thought crossing the Mackinaw bridge was about the coolest thing ever. Anywhere around the Traverse City area is nice. I think the Cherry Fest is over though. Mackinaw Island is cool. The kids would like a bike ride around the island and the ferry ride is fun. Maybe a carriage ride too. You could take the car ferry back from Luddington to Manitowoc. Kids always like boat rides.

Otherwise head to Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH. The kids will for sure like that. You could spend several days there is you wanted to. Take the ferry out to the islands one day or do a couple islands on different days. A couple cool caves on South Bass and going up the Perry Monument is cool and educational. Went there a couple weeks ago. I would do the South Bass/ Put-In-Bay thing on a weekday though. It gets crowded and more "adult" on the weekends. You can rent bikes or a golf cart to get around. Presque Isle park is in Erie, PA but that's a little further than you might want to go. They have really nice beaches.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

Yeah, you gotta narrow it down a little bit.

In August, I would generally recommend heading north to take advantage of the weather, but there are many fun things to your south as well. Cedar Point is my plan for August, and with kids at 6 & 8 I'd recommend it that for you as well.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I love northern Wisconsin. Door county, Hayward area, apostle islands in Ashland. You can take the ferry to the islands. Copper falls state park is one of the prettiest parks in Wisconsin.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

One of my favorite spots in the Upper Peninsula is Au Train Lake, halfway between Marquette and Munising. It's lightly developed, so you can enjoy the amenities of a rented cabin and a nearby convenience store amid the depths of the Northwoods.

There's also a National Forest campground at the undeveloped south end of the lake. At the north end, the winding Au Train river flows out toward Lake Superior, providing some excellent canoeing (rentals available). At the nearby mouth of the river, there's a beautiful white-sand beach on the big lake where the river outflow moderates water temperatures -- one of those rare spots on Superior where swimming is comfortable.

For a change of pace, Marquette is nearby, a bustling little college town. In the other direction, scenic Munising lies at one end of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Tour boats run along the cliffs hourly in the high season.

 

[Bestwifeever]

For your littles, I recommend the Dells in Wisconsin or the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. I know my kids would say those were their favorite summer vacations—lots of shlocky fun active stuff to do. Enjoy these special years!

 

[LakeRat1]

Lake of the Ozarks, Springfield MO area, and of course Branson .......

 

[Midpack]

I live near Chicago and Door County is our favorite, though we usually go for 4-5 days max. Fish Creek, Ephraim and Sister Bay are our favorite cities. We like the boat tours out of Fish Creek, the Door County Creamery, and the zip lines - http://zipliningdoorcounty.com is the best. Lots of great restaurant choices, from value to higher end. Lots to do on the west coast, peace and quiet on the east coast if you want to veg (not with kids).

Madison is a cool city with plenty to do too, though maybe not a draw for youngsters.

Mackinac Island is beautiful, but way too touristy and overpriced, I can’t imagine more than 1-2 days there, and St Ignace and Mackinaw City (ferry depart) is a touristy dump.

I’d consider the west coast of Michigan too, lots to see and do between St Joseph and Sleeping Bear - Harbor Springs and Saugatuck are favorites for us.

If you like amusement parks, Cedar Point is a good one (mentioned above) but it may be crowded. And taking the ferry to Put-In-Bay might be fun, but there will be drunk tourists and boaters around at all hours, not pretty for kids late afternoon and later.

 

[savory]

I was going to add something but my suggestions have already been stated. Door County is great. Upper MI Mackinaw Isle, hiking Picture Rocks, Sleeping Bear, Traverse City and the area. Love the MI/WI area. Not a fan of the Dells or Sandusky but I know the kids might be.

 

[Ronstar]

I like the Door County idea as well. Lots to do in Door County. The kiddos will get a kick out of those goats on the grass roof of Al Johnson's restaurant in Sister Bay. In August, it will be better weather up north as opposed to the heat somewhere south.

 

[mpeirce]

Otherwise head to Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH. The kids will for sure like that. You could spend several days there is you wanted to. Take the ferry out to the islands one day or do a couple islands on different days. A couple cool caves on South Bass and going up the Perry Monument is cool and educational. Went there a couple weeks ago. I would do the South Bass/ Put-In-Bay thing on a weekday though. It gets crowded and more "adult" on the weekends. You can rent bikes or a golf cart to get around.

The Erie Islands are nice and Cedar Point is arguably the best amusement park around.

If you head that way from Chicago, you can balance the "simply fun" of Cedar Point with "educational fun" by stopping at the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation & Greenfield Village outside of Detroit. I loved going there as a (nerdy) kid.

 

[imoldernu]

Chicago to Starved Rock, to Galena IL, to the Wisconsin Dells, and back down to Devil's lake State Park WI then to Edgerton WI for the Rock River Thresheree... (Aug1, thru Labor Day) which is worth two days by itself and an experience you'll never forget.

Or skip Galena and spend more time enjoying the rest!

 

[Teacher Terry]

My kids loved Wisconsin dells. Especially the water park. We went every year when we lived in Kenosha.

 

[JoeWras]

The Dells are the easy choice. A bit kitschy for me. I didn't mention them because this is the common default. There is so much more. I'd love to see the kids get out in some of the parks and see the scenery. You can have an inter-generational picnic. It will be memorable.

There are water parks and other stuff on the routes that don't include the Dells. Of course, just one park in 100 miles, not one every other block.

 

[Bestwifeever]

The Dells are the easy choice. A bit kitschy for me. I didn't mention them because this is the common default. There is so much more. I'd love to see the kids get out in some of the parks and see the scenery. You can have an inter-generational picnic. It will be memorable.

There are water parks and other stuff on the routes that don't include the Dells. Of course, just one park in 100 miles, not one every other block.

Kitschy comes from the old English for "kids will love it." We took our kids a lot of great places all over, but they loved being able to run around and make a lot of noise and hang out with other kids.

 

[CoolRich59]

Yeah, you gotta narrow it down a little bit.

In August, I would generally recommend heading north to take advantage of the weather,

I second this. In Chicago, August weather can be brutal - hot and very humid.

But, if you head north into northern Wisconsin and upper Michigan, you may find the conditions milder and less buggy.

I can recall camping in the Boundary Waters (which is much further north) in August and we could sleep outside because there were no mosquitos. That was a great trip.

 

[JoeWras]

Went to the headwaters of the Mississippi park in July.



There were bugs. Yes, there were bugs. I believe those mosquitoes had hammer drills with them. Bore through clothing.

 

[RAE]

Northern Wisconsin and the Western U.P. of Michigan. If you want a touristy experience, go to places like Minocqua and Eagle River in N. Wisconsin. If you want to avoid the crowds, go further north into the U.P.. Lots to do there.......Sylvania Wilderness (great beach at Clark Lake, which you can drive up to), Lake of the Clouds, Bond Falls, many other waterfalls that are not that hard to get to. Or hike up to the top of Silver Mountain, in the Ottawa National Forest. Further west, the Apostle Islands are pretty interesting also, as someone already mentioned.

 

[trirod]

One of my favorite spots in the Upper Peninsula is Au Train Lake, halfway between Marquette and Munising. It's lightly developed, so you can enjoy the amenities of a rented cabin and a nearby convenience store amid the depths of the Northwoods.

There's also a National Forest campground at the undeveloped south end of the lake. At the north end, the winding Au Train river flows out toward Lake Superior, providing some excellent canoeing (rentals available). At the nearby mouth of the river, there's a beautiful white-sand beach on the big lake where the river outflow moderates water temperatures -- one of those rare spots on Superior where swimming is comfortable.

For a change of pace, Marquette is nearby, a bustling little college town. In the other direction, scenic Munising lies at one end of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Tour boats run along the cliffs hourly in the high season.

I was just up in Munising and Marquette last weekend for the first time ever. That is an amazingly beautiful part of the world and I can't wait to go back. Didn't hurt that the weather was sunny 85F, which is not very common in the UP!

 

[trirod]

I would head up the west coast of Michigan to the Traverse City area, stopping at places on the way. Grand Haven is nice - beautiful beach there that the kids will love. Sleeping Bear Dunes is great for families, and then there's lots to do in TC itself.

 

[enginerd]

Wow! Thank you all for the ideas. This is exactly what I needed to get me started.

So far, I like the ideas of Door County or Western Michigan. Is a circle all the way around Lake Michigan doable or too much to see in one week probably? Has anyone made this trip?

But also Cedar Point is somewhat intriguing as I know virtually nothing about that area. I’ll have to do some more research. To be honest, I have heard of it but had no idea where it was!

 

[LauAnn]

If you end up in southern Wisconsin, I recommend the 'House on the Rock' attraction. It is very quirky and worth a visit IMO.

 

[enginerd]

Chicago to Starved Rock, to Galena IL, to the Wisconsin Dells, and back down to Devil's lake State Park WI then to Edgerton WI for the Rock River Thresheree... (Aug1, thru Labor Day) which is worth two days by itself and an experience you'll never forget.



Or skip Galena and spend more time enjoying the rest!

The Thresheree looks like a hoot...although my DW might strangle me if I brought her there. I asked my cousin (who does tractor pulls) if he’s been, but no. It did bring up an interesting conversation about my Grandfather’s first tractor, a Model T that they ordered a conversion kit from Sears. One of the other cousins said they would dig thru the old farm photos to see if they could find a photo, but no one remembers having one.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

The Thresheree looks like a hoot...although my DW might strangle me if I brought her there. I asked my cousin (who does tractor pulls) if he’s been, but no. It did bring up an interesting conversation about my Grandfather’s first tractor, a Model T that they ordered a conversion kit from Sears. One of the other cousins said they would dig thru the old farm photos to see if they could find a photo, but no one remembers having one.

Actually, there's a steam and gas engine show coming up in mid-August at Baraboo, which is a hop and a skip from the Dells. Badger Steam & Gas Engine Club Events