We’re talking about a vacation this summer so we can plan ahead. My mother (who will pay for it) said she’d love to go to Yellowstone, but it looks like it’s about a 24-hour drive for us. Still, I like the idea of going to a national park. We’re in Indiana, so this image shows about the limits of where we’re willing to drive. Maybe 14-15 hours at most, which puts most of the ones in the image in range.
However-
• We’ve already been to Indiana Dunes and Gateway Arch.
• My daughter is scared of caves, so Mammoth Cave is out.
Out of the rest, which would you most recommend so I can suggest it to my mother?
Is there anything not in Indiana that is within this area that you think is more worth visiting than a national park that also would take a decent amount of time to visit and see different things? (Not a city, obviously.)
Any advice appreciated. Thanks!
I would suggest Shenandoah National Park. Partly for the beauty of the park itself, and partly because the drive from Indiana will go through some gorgeous terrain. I would suggest taking route 33 through Wayne National forest in Ohio. You can stop in Athens as a halfway point, it’s a picturesque little college town nestled in the hills.
If you’re going by Athens anyways, you should definitely check out Hocking Hills! It’s a very pretty state park with some fantastic waterfalls.
As a Michigander Hocking Hills literally changed my view on Ohio. Incredible place. We did an early spring trip with a cabin and hot tub. We want to go back in the summer during better hiking conditions.
My wife and I have been to Athens because my brother went to school at OU and I also know southern Ohio because I went to a training school in Chillicothe. We also just drove through northern Ohio to take a trip to Niagara Falls. I don’t know if we’ve had enough Ohio yet or not.
Fair enough, if you end up going that way anyhow, it might be worth taking route 7 along the river. It’s minimal Ohio and a very pretty drive.
Thanks!
I grew up going to the Great Smoky Mountains fairly regularly as a kid, my favorite was always to go to Chattanooga. It’s like a mid sized town in the middle of the Smokies, so it’s super easy to drive out into very rural natural areas during the day and drive back to the amenities of town at night. There’s also a lot of fascinating Civil War history in the area if anyone is a history buff.
The aquarium is great, and I’m a sucker for the incline railway and Rock City (featured prominently in American Gods). Rock City is technically in Georgia, but it’s a 15 minute drive away from Chattanooga so it might as well be right there.
If any of the kids are 8 or under they’d probably enjoy the Creative Discovery Museum. It’s a pity caves aren’t an option, because Ruby Falls is an underground waterfall in the area and very beautiful. The other thing we always did was either go horse riding or zip lining.
Oh, and if you see people selling fruit or veg on the side of the road with hand written signs, stop and buy it. It will be some of the best you’ve had. Same rule for boiled peanuts and apple butter.
The aquarium is definitely a big selling point. Whenever we go anywhere, my daughter asks if there’s an aquarium.
And it’s also not far from Pigeon Forge which is an absolute wild place that also has Dollywood in it (one of the most beautiful theme parks with tons of rides for kids)
Breaks interstate Park between WV and KY is pretty nice. I also very, very highly recommend smoky mountains, I live in the region and have gone every year. Ik you said no cities but Gatlinburg area can be nice to check out after the trip if you wanna see Smoky Mountain Knife Works and all the small businesses in the rural parts of the mountains.
The boundary waters area is really great, but maybe not for a family. Honestly, I don’t think any of these areas are going to compare to Yellowstone in terms of the purely sublime combined with ease of access with children.
New River Gorge is nice, but, like a lot of these options, it’s “take your kids for a weekend” kind of nice, not “my mom is paying for a multi-generational meeting at a national park visit” kind of nice.
It’s all what you make if it though. Were I you, I would figure out how to go to Yellowstone. Especially considering it’s the preference of the person, you know, paying for it.
I agree.
OP, just bite the bullet and go to Yellowstone. I live in Illinois and have been to several of these other parks / areas. Yellowstone is on a completely different level and it’s not even close. It is one of the best, if not the best, parks in the world. This is not an exaggeration.
I’ve been to all of those except congaree and if I had to go back to one I’d do isle Royale. Great for introductory backpacking with it’s low elevation change and pit toilets at all camping areas. More modern toilets at either end of the island. You also can kayak to one of the the surrounding islands and camp there. If that’s not your thing there’s a hotel, restaurant, and boat tours of all the shipwrecks. I’m a big backpacker though so if I went back it’d be kayaking and camping on the chain if Islands around one end of the island. Lots of more family friendly options near rock harbor too. Like others have said you can visit lots of things in the way up to break up the trip. I’d do a day at pictured rocks, tahquamenon falls, kitch-iti-kipi, or even a couple nights on mackinac Island on the way up.
If you get the chance, Congaree is pretty cool if you’re ever in the neighborhood in July the fireflys glow in sync!
Otherwise, if you’re in Columbia, just go to the zoo and botanical gardens instead.
My partner and I have a goal to visit all the national parks, so we’ve done almost all of these recently.
Mammoth cave is by far my favorite, but I’m a computer nerd, and a giant hole in the ground is my natural environment, so there may be some bias.
Gateway arch is okay, but not worth a long drive in my opinion.
Got springs was very neat. It has a different feel than the other parks I’ve been to. It is a bit “touristy”.
New River Gorge is amazing. Be aware that any hiking there is going to take a lot of vertical travel, a 1 mile trail there is more like a 3 mile trail in a flat area. That being said, it has a lot of wildlife, picturesque views, unique structures (big ass bridge) a cozy little town (Fayetteville reminds me a lot of downtown Bloomington) and plenty of activities (hiking, rafting, zipline, tree top obstacle course, history, shopping). Easily a top recommendation.
Congaree. Probably the most wildlife I’ve seen at a park. Snakes, salamanders, pigs, owls, fish, skinks and a shit ton of fuzzy caterpillars. Very buggy, but honestly the mosquitoes weren’t as bad as everyone said they would be. Also highly recommend. The park has a long boardwalk as it’s “main” attraction, which is very accessible. Saw lots of wheelchairs while I was there. I’d recommend taking a kayak tour as well.
Great Smoky Mountains is a great choice as well. Has that authentic “National park” feel. Very big (for an East of the Miss. park) Gatlinburg is nearby for lodging and other activities. You could easily spend a week here between the two. I like more unique “unique experiences” but GSM would be an awesome choice if your family isn’t very adventurous.
Don’t forget some state parks while driving through. Red River Gorge in KY is one of my favs, and easily worth the trip on its own. You’ve got Natural Bridge State Park right there, and the skylift is the best way to get to the top. Shout out to Daniel Boone coffee shop, best breakfast burrito I’ve ever had, but the line goes out the door, so be prepared to wait a little. FYI, this area had a bad fire last year, not sure about the extent of the damage.
All in, I’d say do GSM. Solid pick, easy to get lodging, lots to do if the weather doesn’t cooperate. On your way over, hit up Red River Gorge on the way if it’s not too far out.
Thanks for all of that! I appreciate it! I think based on your and everyone’s recommendations, I’m going to suggest the Great Smokey Mountains.
My wife and I really wanted to do Mammoth Cave either last year or the year before, but my daughter said absolutely not. We’ve offered since to take her to closer-by Marengo Cave or Blue Springs Caverns, both of which are also terrific, but she says she is never going into a cave as long as she lives. She didn’t even want to go into the tunnel at the Niagara Falls Power Station when we went to the Falls earlier this year and that wasn’t even a real cave. And, of course, she hates it every time we drive somewhere and have to go through a car tunnel.
It’s weird because she’s not otherwise claustrophobic. She just doesn’t like the idea of rock over her head.
GSM is a great choice! There are a few mountain-side tunnels you have to drive through in the park, very short, maybe 50 yards at most. Hope your daughter is okay with that.
Shame about the caves. I know it probably won’t help comfort her, but more people are going to die in car wrecks in Indiana today than have ever died from cave-ins at Mammoth cave.
Clingman’s dome at GSM is (or was) the highest point in the Appalachian mountains. Def visit in the evening if you want amazing views. Cades Cove usually has bears and is a driveable trail. We saw 2 bears and a bear cub, plus some deer and Elk on the drive.
I saw in another post that your fam like aquariums, there is the Ripley’s aquarium in Gatlingburg, which was a little expensive IMHO, but it is a decent aquarium.
Skybridge is a ton of fun, but very touristy.
There is a little GSM trail at the edge of Gatlinburg that my wife and I walked at night. We frequently do this in parks. Bring red lights to preserve your night vision, and a black light because there are tons of centipedes that glow a ghostly blue when hit with a blacklight. We also blinded the shit out of a few mice. Try not to do that…
Also, depending on the time of year, do some road cruising in the morning or early evening. You’ll see lots of wild turkeys, deer, and snakes. Please be careful not to run over the snakes.
Thanks for all the info! She’ll be fine with short tunnels like that.
Also-
and a black light because there are tons of centipedes that glow a ghostly blue when hit with a blacklight.
My wife will never even set foot in the park if she hears that there are tons of centipedes, so I think I’ll leave the blacklight at home as cool as that sounds.
You’ll see them in the day too. There are yellow and pink varieties.
I’ll just keep her in the dark about that.
Niagara Falls isn’t too far out of your area, 9 hours for the American side, maybe 10 for Canadian. Walking on the pier under the Canadian side is incredible, if you are willing to pay for the ferry ride.
We actually were just there in August. It was amazing!
I was really disappointed that I didn’t get to go a second time, during a maintenance a few years ago that had the entire Canadian side blocked dry. Would have been so cool to see how the rock has been shaped.
Oh wow, yeah! I would love to see that!
Gateway Arch? I think you meant to say City Museum.
I live in VA and I find Shenandoah to be the most boring national park I’ve visited. Unless you can catch it during foliage season, I’d go somewhere else. That said, Skyline Drive is a mess during foliage season. Great Smoky Mountains is nice.
I’ve done quite a bit of camping in the UP of Michigan and have been really impressed by how much beauty can be found up there. Doing Pictured Rocks, Tahquamenon Falls, and Kitch-iti-kipi on a 4 day weekend trip is pretty incredible. So I’d do Isle Royale and hot up a few more landmarks while being up there. Sounds like a good clean inexpensive trip!
Isle royale is on my list because its so wild. May not be great for a family though because its so hard to get to.
Not a national park and kind of on the outskirts of your radius, but any thoughts on the Finger Lakes region of NY? Lots of hiking, waterfalls, lakes, etc.
Hot Springs in Arkansas.
I have no idea why the St. louis Arch is listed as a national park here. More like a national arc at best.
Shenandoah tends to be very very packed. It’s cool but it’s full of people. The Smoky Mountains also can be quite busy depending on the exact season that you’re visiting.
And then it just depends what you want to do. National parks are national parks for a reason but then again there are a lot of great state parks that might suit your interests.
Personally I’m partial to looping them all into a trans continental high speed rail network, make them all visitable in simple order
