Midwest Vacation/Getaway Ideas

[mommyof3sons2004]

I was hoping for getaway destination ideas for my 5th wedding anniversary the end of May. We have a Disney Vacation planned for us and the kids in August so I would like ideas other than Florida (Disney). We live in Illinois and would like to getaway for about 5 days just us!!! We are not opposed to driving somewhere within a 5 or 6 hours drive or a Caribbean/Cancun etc vacation but I don't know much about those places as I have never been....thanks!

 

[mrsklamc]

What do you like to do on vacation? Are you sports/active people? Museums? Shopping?

 

[McKelly]

How about the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island? Depending on where you live in IL, that might only be a 5-6 hour drive...

 

[ZehnJahren]

Depending on where you live in IL, you can find a lot of great places in Missouri - if you live near STL, you can get all the way past KC in 5-6 hours. You could go to Worlds of Fun / Oceans of Fun in KC; or Six Flags St. Louis in STL. You could get down to Elephant Rock (always loved it). You could canoe the Current River and camp out, or get a cabin. There are vineyards in Missouri as well; you could do a tour and have some Missouri wine. You could also head south towards Lake of the Ozarks and do shows or waterparks there.

If you're north, you could go to Wisconsin to the Dells. If you're east, you could make it to Springfield to check out the capital, Chicago to check out the big city, and possibly even all the way up to Wisconsin, too, depending on where you live.

If you're south, you could go to Lake Barkeley in Kentucky to camp and boat, or head to Memphis for some Elvis, barbecue, and blues.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Hit a couple B&B's along the Missouri Wine Trail, then finish at lake of the Ozarks. Stay at Camden On The Lake (be sure to book a couples massage). Note: try to do this last portion mid-week. It will be pretty crazy on hr holiday weekend.

 

[IceSkatingPrincess]

The Kalahari resort in the Wisconsin Dells is super fun. Waterpark, Amusement park, movie theater, Bowling, restaurants, bars, all in one building!

 

[JanaDee]

What about Santa Clause, IN?

http://www.holidayworld.com/

 

[aclov]

It really depends what you like to do, Wisconsin seems to offer alot. Milwaukee, Kenosha, Wisconsin Dells. There are some nice resorts.

 

[mrsklamc]

What about Santa Clause, IN?

http://www.holidayworld.com/

I love holiday world but would do that as a 'take the kids' trip rather than a couples' getaway.

 

[mom2alix]

The Elms in Excelsior Springs, MO is a really nice, historic hotel and spa. It's where Truman stayed the night he won the presidency. They have some great couples packages.

 

[mrsklamc]

How about the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island? Depending on where you live in IL, that might only be a 5-6 hour drive...

I'm going to piggyback on this one- but if the Grand Hotel is out of your budget, the Best Western Plus in St.Ignace is wonderful- I know it doesn't sound glamorous but they have beautiful grounds, look out toward Mackinac Island, and the Friday night fireworks were- dare I say it- better than the ones at the MK. I would say a night or two in the area, then down to Traverse City and the Sleeping Bear Dunes area.

 

[SEA333]

Ooh...Oohhh!!! Where do I start???!!!!

OK, this is assuming you live in the general Northeastern Illinois/Chicago area/suburbs - if you live farther west or south, just add the additional driving time:

Michigan:

Traverse City/Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes/Glen Arbor - about 5-6 hours from Chicago
Petosky - there is a brand new "dark sky" park...only one of 9 in the WORLD to see the stars - 5 hours
Mackinac Island - 6-8 hours
Higgins Lake/Houghten Lake - about 5-6 hours
Silver Lake Sand Dunes - 3 1/3-4 hours
Ludington - 4 hours
Frankenmuth MI - 5 hours
Detroit Area/Ann Arbor- (where I was born and raised before moving to Illinois at 35 years old!): Greenfield Village/Henry Ford Museum/Detroit Zoo/Science and Art Museums/Detroit Tigers baseball game (if summer)/Festivals/various University of Michigan events/shopping/nightlife - 5 hours
Tubing/canoeing/camping on any choice of rivers and lakes - driving distance varies depending on location
Grand Haven/Holland - 3 hours
Brooklyn - Michigan International Sppedway (NASCAR) if you are into that - 3 1/2 hours

Wisconsin:

We did a 4 day trip last year from the western Chicago suburbs:
Day 1: Jelly Belly factory just over the Wisconsin state line, then back to Antioch for the night so the kids could swim in the hotel pool
Day 2: Milwaukee for a brewery tour (take your pick....I just typed in family-friendly brewery tours in google and pulled up...Sprecher? I think that was it. The kids LOVED the root beer samples!) Then we went to the SafeHouse for a late lunch - super FUNNNN resturant - make sure you find out the secret password first!!! (look it up online!)
Day 2, late afternoon/early evening: Wisconsin Dells to Great Wolf Lodge
Day 3: Great Wold Lodge
Day 4: GWL, left at about 4pm to come back home. The kids wished they could stay another couple days!!

 

[msp2mco]

Here are a few more ideas

Door County, Wisconsin
The American Club Hotel - Kohler
Sundara Resort and Spa in the Wisconsin Dells
Frank Lloyd Wright's Sether Peterson Cottage

 

[mommyof3sons2004]

Oh how I am loving all the ideas....I didn't realize the Midwest had so much to offer! Can't wait to start researching all the great ideas!! Thanks for everyone's wonderful input!

 

[mommyto2]

We went to Lake Geneva, WI for our anniversary one year. Depending on where in the northwest suburbs, maybe only about an hour away. We stayed at a bed and breakfast and went horseback riding one day. It was nice and quiet and relaxing.

 

[J. Galt]

If you are looking to come to Wisconsin you should consider Door County as well as the American Club in Kohler. My DH and I have been spending some weekends in Milwaukee sans kids and having a blast.....great restaurants (too many to list, seriously), Art Museum, Harley Davidson Museum... if you come in the summer there are TONS of festivals... various ethnic as well as the big daddy Summerfest (10 day music festival). For brewery tours I would recommend Pabst and Lakefront Brewery - Pabst takes you through the old building (they are slowly being restored) and give you a great history of Milwaukee Brewing... Lakefront is just a blast. Milwaukee Food Tours are a great way to see the city and eat some great food... take you to some great ethnic bakeries, etc....TONS of live theater as well. Another idea is Madison... great walkable college town... tons of restaurants and squeezed between two lakes.... beautiful natural areas to hike and explore nearby..... then you could head out to Spring Green for the American Players Theater... they have an indoor theater but in the summer and early fall they do Shakespeare (and other plays) outside in the most beautiful setting. With 5 days you could hit a few of these sites.

Ugh... just went back and read that you are coming in late May, lol! Anyway... most of this still applies... Summerfest is in late June/early July... American Players Theater won't have outside shows yet.....

 

[Beehn]

We stayed at the West Baden Springs hotel in French Lick, Indiana for our anniversary. It is a very cool hotel with tons of history. I would definitely recommend it for a few days getaway.

 

[JanaDee]

I love holiday world but would do that as a 'take the kids' trip rather than a couples' getaway.

Oops, I missed it was for a couple only getaway. I thought the kids were coming along.

Scratch my idea then.

 

[Chelley00]

We stayed at the West Baden Springs hotel in French Lick, Indiana for our anniversary. It is a very cool hotel with tons of history. I would definitely recommend it for a few days getaway.

We spent our anniversary weekend there a couple of years ago. It's so pretty and the food was amazing. You can do a carriage ride, tennis, golf, bowling, pools or shuttle to the French Lick Hotel for the casino. Make sure to get a room overlooking the atrium and you can listen to the music from your balcony in the evenings.




If you are looking towards Indiana, Brown County is another great place for kids free trips. There are many different B&Bs, hotels and cabins to stay in. Nashville IN is an artist colony so there are tons of little shops to poke around and lots of different restaurants to visit. You can hike or horseback ride in the park.

 

[Egdisney]

The Elms in Excelsior Springs, MO is a really nice, historic hotel and spa. It's where Truman stayed the night he won the presidency. They have some great couples packages.

I live in Kearney, MO. We just moved here last year, have driven by the Elms a few times. I was just wondering if you lived in the area