The Midwest, with its big cities, rolling plains and inviting lakes, is an enjoyable vacation destination for families, singles and couples in search of a quiet getaway. Museums exhibit the history of westward expansion, state fairs celebrate agricultural heritage and secluded parks surprise vacationers with waterfalls and winding rivers. If you’re looking for action, book a stay at a water park resort or buy tickets for the Indianapolis 500.
Cities in the Midwest are popular vacation spots. Cultural events, shopping, baseball games, restaurants and hotels of all categories and prices attract many to spend their holidays in a specific city. Chicago, with its museums, riverfront walks and lakefront activities, is a top vacation pick in the Midwest.
Michigan boasts two other popular city destinations: Mackinac Island and Traverse City. The fact that vehicles are banned here and that the island remains the center of a living Victorian community draws many tourists.
Billed as a favorite family destination, Branson offers many live music venues with more than 50 live performance theaters and 12 championship golf courses, a historic downtown, outdoor drama and several museums.
Kansas City has music festivals such as ‘Jazz in the Woods,’ and Indianapolis attracts race fans to the famous Motor Speedway and the Hall of Fame Museum.
The Midwest is ideal for a lakeside vacation. Choose between a Great Lakes vacation during which you can enjoy beach life, or a smaller lake, such as Missouri's still vast Lake of the Ozarks. This lake twists and turns amid resorts and pine-covered hills as it offers cool breezes in the mist of summer.
Brainerd, Minnesota, has many lakeside resorts, shops, state parks and hiking trails, as well as 11 golf courses. For a real boating treat, try Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota. This 218,000-acre national park has no roads, so boats or even motorized houseboats are the way to explore the park’s 30 lakes as you fish for walleye, watch for moose or enjoy the sunsets.
Okoboji, Iowa, has a string of glacial lakes that covers 15,000 acres which you can enjoy as you fish, swim, visit the boat docks or take a trip on a glass-bottomed boat. Door County, Wisconsin, nicknamed “Cape Cod of the Midwest,” has 10 lighthouses, evening fish boils on its beaches, art galleries and bike trails,
Children love amusement parks, and if the park is a water park, so much the better. Wisconsin Dells has the largest water park in the country and several indoor water parks as well for inclement spring or fall weather. Double-decker river boats cruise the Dells, which are craggy bluffs over the Wisconsin River that look like pancakes stacked on top of each other. The area also has several old-fashioned amusement parks to delight adults as well as children.
Minocqua, Wisconsin, has 300 lakes with dock fishing for kids, swimming lessons, water skiing, wake boarding and even a lumberjack show. Sandusky on Ohio’s Lake Erie has the famous Cedar Point amusement park as well as several indoor water parks. Ferry rides to South Bass and Kelly’s Island and a visit to the Marblehead Lighthouse add interest and fun.
Canoeing on Lake George near Rochester, Minnesota, can also be fun for the whole family. And if you want family camping, then Dayton, Ohio, has good camping facilities at Hueston Woods and Caesar Creek state parks, as well as fishing and hunting.
