Spring Break Getaway near Chicago?

When ours where young we took them to Dearborn, MI to Greenfield Village. Here is a link to their site: http://www.hfmgv.org/

We are going next month because our youngest (who will be 27 next month) is coming in on leave from the Air Force and wanted to there again because he remembered it from when we visted. They have an outside village comprised of many historic homes (Websters, Tom Edison's Factory, etc.) a train, farm and much more. They also have a museum with many interesting items from history to now.

We usually stay at the Embassy Suites near by as this used to give the give thier "own" room.

Maybe you could look up Pheasant Run resort- its in Illinois and they have a nice resort. We really enjoyed it!

God bless!

Galena is really nice, and is less than a 3 hour drive. Also, Wildlife Animal State Park in Peoria is awesome. We took our boys there last year. It is like an outdoor zoo with many animals in their natural habitats. You can stay there overnight. We stayed in a converted caboose! There are cabins and converted silos, too. It is by Peoria, also about a 3 hour drive. Check out the website: http://www.wildlifeprairiestatepark.com/

Have fun! Let us know what you did!

For a nature-focused break, check out the Little Sugar River Farm, in Wisconsin. It's about a 2-3 hour drive from the city. www.littlesugarriverfarm.com

It's a little organic farm, surrounded by a nature preserve. The owners live on the property too, but not in the house/barn that you can rent privately. It's self-catering, but "Farmer Frank" will also cook you dinners upon request, usually using produce from the farm, and meat from local farmers. You can also use any produce from the farm for your own cooking, and he has some free range hens that provided us with delicious eggs for breakfast. Frank cooked us a delicious lamb meal one evening, and we actually made the drive to the farmer to pick it up. It was great seeing where our meat came from (although it was pre-butchered!) and that farmer took us on a little tour of his place too.

My husband and I had a mini-break there a couple of years ago and it was so refreshing after the city. This was pre-baby, so just the two of us, but we did think it would be a great place to take kids one day that didn't focus on 'things to do' and 'entertainment'.

There are bikes you can take for rides through the nature preserve - we ended up in a little town where we ate Amish Cream Pie at a diner that came straight out of a movie. And the pie was so good we ordered one to take home on our way out of town.

I'm not sure if it's what you're looking for, but it would definitely be a low-key, nature-focused, private family time, not a lot of hustle/bustle.

How about Springfield and visit the new Lincoln Museum, the capitol building, Old Capitol, etc. Or go a little farther into St. Louis and there's lots of things to do - the Science Museum, the zoo (admission is free!), go up in the Arch, etc.

Springfield IL is only 3-1/2 hours away by car, and they have lots of activities for 9-11 year olds. The Abraham Lincoln Museum is amazingly interactive, so we meet family there when we have to entertain everyone from 6-66 years old. There are good prices on hotels, since there are so many. When we stayed in the Hilton, it was surprisingly affordable, and we walked to a number of sites, including the Lincoln Museum. Have fun, wherever you end up!

Galena, IL. Is a grwat charming and quaint spot for a mini vacay! It is only 2 1/2 hours outside of Chicago! There is lots of history in that town, and it caters to families. You'll definitely feel as though you've been somewhere special.