Our Favorite Spots in All 50 States: Part 3-Midwest

Needles Highway, Custer State Park, South Dakota

A list of our favorite places, plus sites that we want to go to but haven’t seen yet, in North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.

For the purposes of this blog post, I’m referring to the Great Lakes states west of Pennsylvania, together with the north-central Plains states, the region as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.

NORTH DAKOTA:

Our 50th State, and our first RV trip. We visited in September, 2020, when the sky was quite hazy from smoke caused by wildfires farther west, so the views were sometimes not so great, but we still enjoyed exploring North and South Dakota.

1. Theodore Roosevelt National Park—wonderfully uncrowded after Labor Day; lots of bison, wild horses, and prairie dogs

2. Enchanted Highway—huge sculptures made of repurposed metals

3. International Peace Garden—We visited about a week after Labor Day, and there was hardly anyone else there. So peaceful and quiet. Unfortunately, an early frost had killed all the annual flowers, but it was still pretty.

   We also enjoyed the stave church replica at the Scandinavian Heritage Center in Minot, our huge RV site with a view at Lake Sakakawea State Park, and all the kitschy roadside stops like the world’s largest buffalo and world’s largest Holstein cow.

SOUTH DAKOTA:

1. Custer State Park—Huge park with an equally huge herd of bison—biggest bison traffic jam we’ve ever been in! Sylvan Lake is beautiful, with a great trail around it.

2. Spearfish Canyon—Scenic drive—we managed to catch the fall color in mid-September, as there was a very early frost that year.

3. Badlands National Park—We do like cool, colorful rock formations!

NEBRASKA:

We haven’t spent much time in this state, but we liked what we did manage to see.

1. Scott’s Bluff National Monument

   We also had fun visiting Carhenge—cars set up and painted to look like Stonehenge.

IOWA:

Pretty much a drive-through state for us or an overnight stop at most. Sorry, Iowa. Maybe sometime we’ll explore the 2 National Park service sites or some state parks there. Pella might be fun when the tulips are in bloom. I’ve also heard the Iowa State Fair is a really big deal.

KANSAS:

It’s not all flat land and farms here, and although these sites are tucked away, they aren’t too far from I-70.

1. Monument Rocks—This formation is found down a dirt road in the middle of nowhere, but not far from very nice Lake Scott State Park, as well as an interesting day-use state park called Jerusalem Badlands.

2. Mushroom Rock State Park—A tiny day-use state park with quirky natural rock formations.

MISSOURI:

We lived in suburban St. Louis for two years, but one of those years was when Covid started, so we didn’t get to do as much as we would have liked. There is quite a bit to see in the St. Louis area alone. In addition, there’s Kansas City, and the Ozarks in the southern part of the state, for starters.

In St. Louis—

1. Missouri Botanical Garden—very few public gardens can compare to this one. When the cherry trees bloom in spring, it’s gorgeous in the Japanese garden. I got an annual membership and went every week during the spring because there was constantly something new in bloom.

2. Forest Park—larger than New York’s Central Park. World-class zoo, free art museum, Missouri history museum, science museum, sports fields, etc.

3. The Hill—cute Italian neighborhood with some great restaurants

4. The area around Gateway Arch, especially in spring, but I wouldn’t go there after dark anymore. However, the Cardinals’ baseball stadium is quite nearby, so it feels safer if there’s a lot of people around for a game. There’s a very good free museum underground below the Arch.

   Also in “The Lou” that’s worth a visit: the cool Victorian houses in Lafayette Square, the Museum of Transportation, Laumeier Sculpture Garden, the fields of sunflowers at Columbia Bottoms Conservation Area in July.

Lots of great state parks, including—

1. Elephant Rocks State Park: day-use only, but fun place to hike around

2. Johnson’s Shut-ins State Park

3. Echo Bluff State Park: nice paved campsites and lodge

   Also, Ozark Natl. Scenic Riverways, managed by the Natl. Park Service.

Alley Spring Mill, Eminence, Missouri

MINNESOTA:

We have hardly been anywhere in Minnesota besides Minneapolis, so this list is limited.

1. Mall of America—it’s just something we had to experience! It was fun on the first visit with the kids, but we passed on it last year.

2. Minneapolis Sculpture Garden

3. Mississippi Natl. River at St. Anthony Lock & Dam in downtown Minneapolis

WISCONSIN:

1. Door County—cheese tasting, Peninsula State Park, cute small towns

2. Apostle Islands

ILLINOIS:

1. Chicago—more world-class museums than you can shake a stick at; I especially like the Art Institute, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the Museum of Science and Industry. Plus, you have the lakefront, the architecture, and the food!

2. Garden of the Gods—Most people associate Illinois with either Chicago or flat land with cornfields, but the southern end of the state is very different, and quite pretty.

3. Starved Rock State Park—another park with great trails and views; We saw a family of wild turkeys on one trail, and big views on another trail.

Chicago skyline view from Indiana Dunes State Park

INDIANA:

1. Indiana Dunes State and National Parks—We camped at the state park, which is nestled between the 2 sides of the national park. Great beaches and trails.

2. George Rogers Clark National Historical Park—This memorial was built to honor the brother of William Clark (of the Lewis and Clark expedition). Turns out George Rogers Clark was no slouch, either—he was a Revolutionary War hero.

Century of Progress home at Indiana Dunes

MICHIGAN:

Really a beautiful state with so much to do.

1. Sleeping Bear Dunes Natl. Lakeshore—Awesome views of Lake Michigan from the top of the bluffs

2. Tahquamenon Falls State Park—Beautiful falls, and we beat the crowds by going early in the day.

3. Pictured Rocks Natl. Lakeshore—We took a boat tour to really see the cliffs lining the lakeshore, but there are great trails, too.

4. Crisp Point Lighthouse—miles down a dirt road, but worth the drive

   We enjoyed Mackinac Island, except for the heavy crowds—too bad we visited on a summer Saturday! We also liked Porcupine Mountains State Park.

   I’d like to go back to Michigan to see the fall colors.
   

Pictured Rocks

Easy walk from the parking lot to this view of Lake of the Clouds at Porcupine Mountains State Park

OHIO:

1. Hocking Hills State Park—Popular park for good reason. Some really good and easy trails with cool caves and waterfalls.

2. Cuyahoga Valley Natl. Park—I’d like to see more of the park when the leaves have changed color. We only hiked the Ledges trail, and that was good, but there’s so much more we didn’t get to see.

One of several great hikes at Hocking Hills, this one is right off the parking lot by the visitor center.

Short, easy walk to this cool cave, although the waterfall was only a trickle in late June.

The Midwest is seriously underrated.