My husband and I just got married last May. We told my son (who is now 6) that we were going to take our honeymoon and then go on a family vacation after that. We are looking to keep this tradition going.
Our first family vacation was to the Mall of America, which we drove to. We are looking for another road trip idea that will give us a lot to do in one area. I would like to find something a little further away that we have to drive at least 4 or more hours to get there. There are a lot of things nearby that we can do, but I'd like to save those for weekend trips. Please give us some suggestions.
Have you considered the St. Louis area? They have a great children's museum, 6-flags, the "Arch" & museum, riverboats, there's the mounds(indian) in Cahokia (IL - across the river), Mermac Caverns, Busch Stadium, Bowling Hall of Fame, zoo, etc, etc....
Try Branson, MO... They have Silver Dollar City and Celebration City as well as shows
http://www.randmcnally.com is a great site for planning a driving trip!
Personally our favorite out of all 38 states we have done so far is Mud Island River Park in Memphis. A most spectacular day for both our girls (they were 4 and 7 at the time).
One of the best vacations I was ever on was Nashville,Tenessee. I took my daughter when she was 7. There was so much to do. She is turning 19 tomorrow & we always talk about going back. We went horseback riding. There is a gorgeous waterfall that takes about 2 hours to walk to. The town is cute. Nearby was Asheville, NC, so we went whitewater rafting & Biltmore estate. There was a river that everyone goes to and you can rent inner tubes & float around. There is also Dollywood, but we never made it to that. There is o much more, I highly recommend it. Now I have a soon to be 2 yr old, 3 1/2 yr old & soon to be 5 yr old & we plan on taking them in the near future. Canada is beautiful too, going the Michigan route.
I used to live near Branson Missouri, it is about an 8 hour trip. I have taken it many times as I still have family there. It is a great drive ...St. Louis is about half way, and I nice place to stop on the way. The scenery is beautiful and there is soooo much to do. It is a great family friendly atmosphere as well. Check it out on line.
Hope you try it. If you go north, we were just at door county a couple of months ago , in Wisconsin , and that was also great...in fact we are having our family reunion there next year. Hope this helps. You can also go online for that.
If you are looking for a family destination that is not too far, be sure to check out st. louis! there are a lot of things to do there, and many of those are free! St. Louis has the fabulous Forest Park. It is beautiful and that is where the zoo is located. the zoo, and the museums in forest park are free. You can go to the ARCH. it is inexpensive to go to the top. what a view. the museum at the base of the arch is free. Grants Farm is a great family place. it is also free. Just west of the downtown area is the six flags amusement park. also purina farm.
Branson Missouri is only about a 10 hour drive from this area, and there is a ton of things to do there..lots of traffic however. Silver Dollar City is a great family vacation destination too!
St. Louis or Gatlinburg, Tn.
Hershey, PA - all kinds of fun things to see and do there - not sure of distance, but guessing about 10 hours or so. Biggest draw there, of course, would be the Hershey factory adn FREE chocolate!
Perhaps Louisville, KY - about 6-7 hours from here - your son may like the Louisville Slugger factory and museum! Lots to see adn do there, as well.
just some ideas and places on my list! Have fun and good luck!
We took our children to the Smokey Mountains a couple of years ago. It will probably take a little more than 8 hours to drive there from the Chicagoland area. We stopped off in Indianapolis and then drove the rest of the way the next day. Gatlinburg, TN and Piegon Forge, TN have lots of things to do for both children and adults. The Smokey Mountain National Park is just beautiful and you can easily spend 1/2 a day there. There are many paths to walk/hike on. Driving through the park is also very pretty and there are many places to park and get out to look around. Dollywood is an amusement park with a lot of art flare to it. There is also a Dollywood waterpark across the street that is also wonderful. All of us had fun spending the day at the waterpark. There are many cabins that can be rented by the day for about the same rate as a hotel room. Have fun! It was one of our most memorable "driving" vacations.
Hi R.!
My favorite driving vacation was to Mackinac Island..
There is alot to see & experience along the way in Michigan.
Deb G.
A few years ago we drov eto Colorado, we made a stop in SD, Mount Rushmore and alot more. My kids loved it, wish we had more time to stay and od more things, it was great
What about going down to Springfield and doing a history tour all the Lincoln museums.
My family and I love to drive when we are on vacation! We've drivin to DC, South Dakota and Colorado. Our kids are 4 and almost 6. Those places were awesome for our kids and there was alot of walking you could do, to overcome being in a car too.
