Famed for its beautiful scenic landscapes, rich range of wildlife, and stunning natural landmarks, the Midwest is quite simply one of the most stunning regions of America. The likes of Ohio, Missouri, South Dakota, and Michigan offer some must-see sights and must-experience locations, and one of the best ways to explore the Midwest is by taking a road trip.
But with so much to see in the Midwest, where do you even start? Well, a lot of folks find themselves faced with that very same question, but sometimes all you need is a little inspiration, and we’re here to provide. If you’re thinking about taking a road trip in the Midwest, you’ll find some great ideas and suggestions down below.
Before you take a closer look at our ideas, however, we have to take a moment to underline the importance of road trip safety. Countless accidents occur every year, and it’s not uncommon for road trip travelers to encounter issues on the road due to a lack of preparation, unfamiliar surroundings, or distracted driving. So be sure to stay safe out there, pack properly, stay alert, and follow the rules of the road. Now let’s take a closer look at some Midwest road trip ideas!
Lake Michigan
The second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume, Lake Michigan is also one of the most awe-inspiring, and it’s a great place to either start or end a Midwest road trip, with a lot of great routes to follow and surrounding cities to stop off at.
A good option is to start off in Michigan, exploring the charming city of Grand Rapids before heading for the coast, visiting local hotspots like Muskegon and Holland as you cruise around into Indiana, onwards into Chicago, and then further round-up towards Milwaukee.
All About Iowa
Looking to experience the best Iowa has to offer in just a few days? Well, here’s a great Midwest road trip idea for you. Start off at Omaha, right on the state’s western edge, before heading across to the artsy haven of Des Moines, calling at any cute country towns that tempt you along the way.
From there, continue eastwards on the I-80 towards Iowa City and why not check out Cedar Rapids too? If you want to expand the trip, consider heading over into Illinois towards Chicago and finish up on the shore of Lake Michigan.
Photo by May Guo from Pexels
The Black Hills and Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore is one of the most-visited touristic landmarks in the whole of the Midwest, drawing in close to 2 million visitors each and every year, so it’s no surprise that it makes it onto our list of the best road trip destinations.
But it’s not just Mount Rushmore that can draw in the crowds in South Dakota. The surrounding Black Hills region is terrific for road trips too, with surrounding and nearby cities like Keystone, Hot Springs, and Rapid City being great spots to visit along the way.
St. Louis to Kansas City
Another awesome idea for road trips in the Midwest takes in two of the region’s most amazing cities: St. Louis and Kansas City. This road trip can be done in just a few days or a full week, depending on how many stops you want to make along the way. You can start off in St. Louis, a city filled with terrific bars and restaurants, along with some excellent museums.
Next, head west towards the west into Missouri, following the Missouri river and calling at some of the charming towns along the way like New Haven, Berger, and Hermann, before ending up in Kansas City, a real haven for music lovers.
Image by David Mark from Pixabay
The Loess Hills
The Loess Hills are a formation of beautiful hills across Iowa and Missouri, and they even stretch a little into neighboring Nebraska and Kansas too, all along the Missouri River.
You can happily spend a few days cruising along the Loess Hills Scenic Byway here, stopping off at some great cities along the way like St. Joseph in Missouri or Sioux City in Iowa, as well as visiting local wineries, restaurants, and villages too.
Conclusion
The Midwest has so much to offer, and these are just a few simple ideas to give you inspiration for your next trip, but part of the fun of any road trip is making it your own. Instead of following each itinerary to the letter, let yourself be inspired by them all and make changes to suit you, discovering your own hidden gems along the way.
Pin It on Pinterest
Shares
{"id":null,"mode":"button","open_style":"in_place","currency_code":"USD","currency_symbol":"$","currency_type":"decimal","blank_flag_url":"https:\/\/iriemade.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/tip-jar-wp\/\/assets\/images\/flags\/blank.gif","flag_sprite_url":"https:\/\/iriemade.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/tip-jar-wp\/\/assets\/images\/flags\/flags.png","default_amount":500,"top_media_type":"none","featured_image_url":false,"featured_embed":"","header_media":null,"file_download_attachment_data":null,"recurring_options_enabled":true,"recurring_options":{"never":{"selected":true,"after_output":"One time only"},"weekly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every week"},"monthly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every month"},"yearly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every year"}},"strings":{"current_user_email":"","current_user_name":"","link_text":"\u2665 Leave me a tip? \u2665","complete_payment_button_error_text":"Check info and try again","payment_verb":"Pay","payment_request_label":"Iriemade","form_has_an_error":"Please check and fix the errors above","general_server_error":"Something isn't working right at the moment. Please try again.","form_title":"IRIEMADE","form_subtitle":null,"currency_search_text":"Country or Currency here","other_payment_option":"Other payment option","manage_payments_button_text":"Manage your payments","thank_you_message":"Thank you for being a supporter!","payment_confirmation_title":"Iriemade","receipt_title":"Your Receipt","print_receipt":"Print Receipt","email_receipt":"Email Receipt","email_receipt_sending":"Sending receipt...","email_receipt_success":"Email receipt successfully sent","email_receipt_failed":"Email receipt failed to send. Please try again.","receipt_payee":"Paid to","receipt_statement_descriptor":"This will show up on your statement as","receipt_date":"Date","receipt_transaction_id":"Transaction ID","receipt_transaction_amount":"Amount","refund_payer":"Refund from","login":"Log in to manage your payments","manage_payments":"Manage Payments","transactions_title":"Your Transactions","transaction_title":"Transaction Receipt","transaction_period":"Plan Period","arrangements_title":"Your Plans","arrangement_title":"Manage Plan","arrangement_details":"Plan Details","arrangement_id_title":"Plan ID","arrangement_payment_method_title":"Payment Method","arrangement_amount_title":"Plan Amount","arrangement_renewal_title":"Next renewal date","arrangement_action_cancel":"Cancel Plan","arrangement_action_cant_cancel":"Cancelling is currently not available.","arrangement_action_cancel_double":"Are you sure you'd like to cancel?","arrangement_cancelling":"Cancelling Plan...","arrangement_cancelled":"Plan Cancelled","arrangement_failed_to_cancel":"Failed to cancel plan","back_to_plans":"\u2190 Back to Plans","update_payment_method_verb":"Update","sca_auth_description":"Your have a pending renewal payment which requires authorization.","sca_auth_verb":"Authorize renewal payment","sca_authing_verb":"Authorizing payment","sca_authed_verb":"Payment successfully authorized!","sca_auth_failed":"Unable to authorize! Please try again.","login_button_text":"Log in","login_form_has_an_error":"Please check and fix the errors above","uppercase_search":"Search","lowercase_search":"search","uppercase_page":"Page","lowercase_page":"page","uppercase_items":"Items","lowercase_items":"items","uppercase_per":"Per","lowercase_per":"per","uppercase_of":"Of","lowercase_of":"of","back":"Back to plans","zip_code_placeholder":"Zip\/Postal Code","download_file_button_text":"Download File","input_field_instructions":{"tip_amount":{"placeholder_text":"How much would you like to tip?","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"How much would you like to tip? Choose any currency."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"How much would you like to tip? Choose any currency."},"invalid_curency":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please choose a valid currency."}},"recurring":{"placeholder_text":"Recurring","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"}},"name":{"placeholder_text":"Name on Credit Card","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter the name on your card."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter the name on your card."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please enter the name on your card."}},"privacy_policy":{"terms_title":"Terms and conditions","terms_body":null,"terms_show_text":"View Terms","terms_hide_text":"Hide Terms","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"I agree to the terms."},"unchecked":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please agree to the terms."},"checked":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"I agree to the terms."}},"email":{"placeholder_text":"Your email address","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"not_an_email_address":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Make sure you have entered a valid email address"}},"note_with_tip":{"placeholder_text":"Your note here...","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"empty":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"not_empty_initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"saving":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Saving note..."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Note successfully saved!"},"error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Unable to save note note at this time. Please try again."}},"email_for_login_code":{"placeholder_text":"Your email address","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."}},"login_code":{"initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."}},"stripe_all_in_one":{"initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"success":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"invalid_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is not a valid credit card number."},"invalid_expiry_month":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration month is invalid."},"invalid_expiry_year":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration year is invalid."},"invalid_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is invalid."},"incorrect_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is incorrect."},"incomplete_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is incomplete."},"incomplete_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is incomplete."},"incomplete_expiry":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration date is incomplete."},"incomplete_zip":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's zip code is incomplete."},"expired_card":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card has expired."},"incorrect_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is incorrect."},"incorrect_zip":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's zip code failed validation."},"invalid_expiry_year_past":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration year is in the past"},"card_declined":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card was declined."},"missing":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"There is no card on a customer that is being charged."},"processing_error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"An error occurred while processing the card."},"invalid_request_error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Unable to process this payment, please try again or use alternative method."},"invalid_sofort_country":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The billing country is not accepted by SOFORT. Please try another country."}}}},"fetched_oembed_html":false}
