I am looking for some vacation ideas in the midwest for the long weekend.We don't mind driving a lot but can't fly, too late to book tickets. We have friends joining us , 3 families and all are from midwest WI, MN ... We have been to Wisconsin Dells before and also Duluth. Any other ideas? We will be travelling with little kids, but they do great in the car.Thanks!
Check out Lakeshore Lodging in the Saugatuck, MI area. Only 3 hours from Chicago. We just booked a beautiful cabin for a week in August.
http://www.lakeshorelodging.com/
Pure Michigan awaits you!:) Drive up the west coast, Lake Michigan, to the Traverse City area. It's absolutely beautiful and very reasonable in cost. Plus, it's not far at all from Chicago. There are many beautiful scenic towns along the route and beaches too.
What kinds of things are you interested in seeing/doing? The Springfield area has Lincoln sites. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum is great! They even have an area for children called "Mrs Lincoln's Attic." It has dress up clothes, games, books, dining room table with play food. New Salem, just north of Springfield, is where Lincoln lived before moving to Springfield. It is a 19th century village in a park with houses, shops and the church/school house set up like it would have been. It's very interesting, and an easy place to take children. Plenty of room to run around.
Bloomington has a very nice children's museum. Peoria has a good zoo - not as good as Brookfield, but pretty good, just the same.
East Peoria has a nice, relatively inexpensive water park. It has a good swimming pool, a water slide, a play area with lots of ways to get wet, a toddler area, a lazy river (might be more, but I can't remember).
Springfield also has Knight's Action Park. When I was growing up it had a driving range, putt-putt, batting cages, golf carts and 3 water slides. I haven't been there in a long time, but they now have a very big water park. My kids are 4 and 7, so I'm still hesitant to take them. But there are lots of people I know that have season passes and go there quite often. I've been told they have a great toddler area.
So, there's my little plug for central Illinois. Hope you have a great time, whatever you decide.
Niagara Falls, NY. We've done it over a long weekend, at least four times!
Lake Geneva is pretty and they have boat trips you can take, a beach, shops. Not sure of what they all have for little kids but they have some nice resort places like grand Geneva.
