Minnesota or Wisconsin vacation suggestions?

[newestkg06]

Seriously, I don't know how fast many of you guys drive or if you ever hit traffic, but the drive estimates here seem really short to me. We have a family cabin 20 minutes closer than Craguns and it is 2.5 hours to get there (2 hours without traffic if we don't leave Fri night). Definitely not 1-1.15 hours. We live in St Paul, not far from MOA, so maybe that is the reason for the differences in drive times?
OP, please do yourself a favor and google map these drives. Maybe it is just that I have two little ones and not teenagers, but I cannot imagine driving from Duluth to central IL in a day. But that may just be me.

 

[crisi]

Seriously, I don't know how fast many of you guys drive or if you ever hit traffic, but the drive estimates here seem really short to me. We have a family cabin 20 minutes closer than Craguns and it is 2.5 hours to get there (2 hours without traffic if we don't leave Fri night). Definitely not 1-1.15 hours. We live in St Paul, not far from MOA, so maybe that is the reason for the differences in drive times?
OP, please do yourself a favor and google map these drives. Maybe it is just that I have two little ones and not teenagers, but I cannot imagine driving from Duluth to central IL in a day. But that may just be me.

The other thing to note is that all drive times in Minnesota going North double on Friday and going South double on Sunday. Traffic gets that bad.

But we go to the North Shore a lot - two hours North of Duluth. Duluth takes two hours from Woodbury. Grand Marias is about six. It really depends though on what reasonable amounts of car time are to you. For us, we top out at 16 hours in a day. But when I took my Girl Scouts on a road trip, they topped out before ten.

 

[robinb]

I noticed that crisi mentioned Grand Marias. I just realized that the "North Shore" is the gateway into the Boundary Waters. It is very beautiful, but a LONG way from just about anything, even Duluth. It seems like the kind of place that one would want to spend more than a day or two since it takes so darn long to get there.

 

[crisi]

I noticed that crisi mentioned Grand Marias. I just realized that the "North Shore" is the gateway into the Boundary Waters. It is very beautiful, but a LONG way from just about anything, even Duluth. It seems like the kind of place that one would want to spend more than a day or two since it takes so darn long to get there.

And you need to be moderately experienced campers to do the Boundry Waters (or have a native guide) - its wilderness. Its easy to get lost if you haven't done canoeing and portage before. Every year people die up in the Boundary Waters. My idea of roughing it is when the hotel doesn't have an indoor pool, but I have a friend who goes up starting in May (when there is still frost) and into October (when it snows).

 

[Narnia_girl]

Thanks for all the insights and great suggestions. If we did my original idea (Mackinac Island, Mich.) we would most likely take two days to drive home, so we could also manage a two day drive from Minnesota.

but then again, we could head out to Mount Rushmore.... off on another tangent....

 

[crisi]

Thanks for all the insights and great suggestions. If we did my original idea (Mackinac Island, Mich.) we would most likely take two days to drive home, so we could also manage a two day drive from Minnesota.

but then again, we could head out to Mount Rushmore.... off on another tangent....

That is a longish and BORING drive (about 9 hours from the Twin Cities)

 

[robinb]

And you need to be moderately experienced campers to do the Boundry Waters (or have a native guide) - its wilderness. Its easy to get lost if you haven't done canoeing and portage before. Every year people die up in the Boundary Waters. My idea of roughing it is when the hotel doesn't have an indoor pool, but I have a friend who goes up starting in May (when there is still frost) and into October (when it snows).

I canoed the Boundary Waters (in Canada) a few times when I was in my early 20's with a group of friends. One time the plane dropped us off in the WRONG LAKE. Thank goodness we had detailed maps and were able to figure out where we were. We enjoyed the wilderness, but we would also be so happy to get back to the resort when were were done. What looked rough hewn and basic was luxury after 7 days of sleeping on a thermarest.

 

[Cookiecamilla]

Minnehaha Falls is beautiful and you can wade in the water pools. In and around the Twin Cities there are plenty of lakes. You dont need to drive all the way to the North Shore for that.

 

[m3owbox]

I agree with other posters about trying out Duluth.

 

[lovewdwdvc]

Grandview Lodge in Nisswa Minnesota is about two hours from the twin cities. It is close to Maddens and Craguns but much nicer. It is the perfect lake locations, swimming, fishing , golf, great restaurants, indoor pool, lake for swimming and fishing. Beautiful sandy beach etc. They have a variety of cabins and a variety of prices. Have lots of fun.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Seriously, I don't know how fast many of you guys drive or if you ever hit traffic, but the drive estimates here seem really short to me. We have a family cabin 20 minutes closer than Craguns and it is 2.5 hours to get there (2 hours without traffic if we don't leave Fri night). Definitely not 1-1.15 hours. We live in St Paul, not far from MOA, so maybe that is the reason for the differences in drive times?
OP, please do yourself a favor and google map these drives. Maybe it is just that I have two little ones and not teenagers, but I cannot imagine driving from Duluth to central IL in a day. But that may just be me.

I'm sure you're right on the first part. But, Duluth to central IL doesn't appear to be a terribly daunting drive. Springfield to Duluth is 585 miles. We drive the speed limit, take frequent potty breaks, and always sit down in restaurants for our meals (no drive through). And we knock out 700-800 miles a day no sweat.

 

[McKelly]

Eagle River and Minocqua are small lake towns in Northern WI that have enough things to do within in the city to keep a family busy for a couple days.

Do you like golf? Kohler has two nice golf courses. In fact, the PGA plays there in August. The American Club is one of the only AAA Five Diamond resorts in the midwest. It has good restaurants, a spa, horseback riding, hiking, fishing and shopping.