Minnesota Wisconsin Michigan Recs UPDATE in replies

[snowflurry]

I am planning a road trip through MN, WI and MI.  It will be myself and two kids (ages 16 and 14).  We have 10 days and are looking for ideas.

We are flying into Minneapolis and flying out of Grand Rapids, MI.

The only things we know we want to do is visit Mackinac Island and my son wants to go fishing at some point.

We do not enjoy museums and I recently had knee surgery so long/difficult hikes are not in the cards.  We prefer off the beaten path things and things that you can only do/eat/see locally.

Are teens to old for Wisconsin Dells?  Is the Door County, WI too far out of the way on the route?

I'd welcome any ideas on places to visit/see and routes to take through the states.

Thanks!!

[lilac05]

Where are you coming from? Are your teens excited about this trip, or do they need convincing/need to be impressed? What kinds of things do they like to do? That might impact some recs.

We have family up near Minocqua, WI. It’s a really sweet, very small tourist town with lots of beautiful woods, easy walking/“hiking” trails, etc. You can rent a boat or kayak and enjoy one of the beautiful lakes. It’s kind of a tiny gem in the middle of nowhere. In a very politically red area, you’ll find Minocqua Brewing in a tiny old gas station. They’ve had quite the battle, as they are unapologetically progressive, but it’s a cool little stop, if supporting businesses taking a stand for what they believe in is your thing. (They have merch and soda, since you’ll be traveling with teens.)

My take on the Dells: There’s something for everyone there. It’s generally a tourist trap, but there’s a ton of stuff to do. It’s a great little weekend destination for those of us in driving distance who can’t easily get to bigger destinations, but I’d never fly to it as a destination. Lots of people stay at the big resort places, but we like to rent a cabin.

[bex1973]

What time of year?

[flygirl]

I was going to recommend Itasca if you’ve never been to MN. If you have 10 days, I’d pick WI Dells or Door County if you want to stay a few days in each place. We went to WI Dells a few years ago, did a water park and go carts and had a great time. There is also a great park south of there for hiking but it’s not easy enough for someone who just had surgery.

ETA: also the apostle islands in northern WI are beautiful 
I’d personally skip the MOA unless you want to designate 2 hrs since we have no sales tax on clothes.  The theme park in my opinion is for smaller kids with the exception of 1-2 things

ETA2: Ducks tours are fun in WI dells!  
if you like baseball the Twins stadium is great and it’s right downtown 

[hermione]

Are you up for passing GR and coming all the way to Detroit?

[lust2hart]

I think if you're already planning on Mackinac Island, you can skip Door County.

I haven't been to the Dells so can't comment on that, but if you're considering heading that far south, you may want to take a look at Madison. The capitol building is cool, the UW campus is right on the water and has a fun ice cream shop in the student union that makes its ice cream from the milk of the cows that are on campus. There are several really good German restaurants. If anyone in your family is a mustard fan, you could visit the National Mustard Museum. I know you said museums aren't your thing, but this one is almost like a "mock" museum with lots of jokes and mustard tasting and buying.

[jinkies]

My only contribution is that if there is any chance that your plans will have you there July 22-28, the world's largest airshow will be in OshKosh Wisconsin. It is really cool for anyone with even a mild interest in aviation or planes. www.eaa.org/airventure

[snowflurry]

To answer some questions:

We are coming from the south. The kids are excited about the trip as we are trying to hit all 50 states and these are some of the last few.

It will be late May/early June

Kids are pretty much up for anything as long as it does not involve museums or too much history.

I am not tied to doing anything in Minneapolis and would much prefer to explore elsewhere in MN. I will look at Itasca - thanks!

[silva]

Door County is more adult-friendly, plus it is a 5.5-hour drive from MN. It's beautiful, but there aren't many teen activities other than fishing and hiking. You can rent bikes in the state park as well. I recommend experiencing an authentic fish boil. www.doorcounty.com/experience/fish-boils Door County is a beautiful, unique place.

Wisconsin Dells is about 3.5 hours from MN. It's filled with water parks and fun kid activities. Mount Olympus is a huge waterpark that has water slides, go-carts, arcade games, and rollercoasters. Noah's Ark is just water slides and, I think, go carts. Either are great.

Other Wisconsin Dells must do: Original Duck Tour, visit the Deer Park, if you like to feed and walk among actual deer and see other animals. They also have a main street with other shops and oddities (like, Ripley's Believe it or Not museum)

If you decide the Wisconsin Dells route, I would then visit Madison. www.travelwisconsin.com/places-to-visit/major-cities/madison Bonus: if you are there on a Saturday, you can go to the Farmers Market on Capitol Square. There is a smaller one on MLK Blvd on Wednesdays. You can enjoy lunch at the Memorial Union downtown and then shop on State Street. YOu can also rent bikes to explore the city as well. State Street has a mix bag of common and indie shops. We like to rent paddle boards or kayaks on either Lakes (Menonoa or Mendota). There is a free zoo. Also, you could do a quick visit to the Middleton Mustard Museum, which is nearby. Madison also has a soccer league (https://www.forwardmadisonfc.com/) and Baseball team (https://northwoodsleague.com/madison-mallards/) both fantastic if your kids are sports fans.

From Madison, you could then head to Milwaukee. Catch a Brewers game perhaps? They have a nice zoo (not free). Depending on your date they have Summerfest www.summerfest.com/.

Let me know if you need restaurant recommendations.


ETA: Wisconsin Dells outdoor water parks may be too cold to enjoy, but plenty (Kalahari Resort) has a good indoor one.  If you are in Madison on May 24-26 there is BRATFEST. bratfest.com/

[cap]

I live in Michigan, so here are some ideas:

There is a dark sky park in Mackinaw City, on the west side of the Mackinac bridge.
www.midarkskypark.org/
It's worth a visit at night, even if you aren't an astronomy junkie.

Driving over Mighty Mac is certainly an experience, too. There are also a lot of great state parks in the area, some that don't require hiking to see pretty. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is another must-see, IMO. You could also go to the beaches around the Petoskey area and hunt for Petoskey stones. They can be polished by hand (it's not hard, just takes some time) so that they look really cool, even when dry. There are a lot of very good wineries on the Leelanau and Old Mission Peninsulas. Hartwick Pines state park in the north central part of the state has some old growth forest and you can see a good deal of that from a short paved trail.

Are you going to go into the UP at all? You could go from WI to MI that way. If you do, the big must-see there is Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. A lot of the impressive overlooks are easy to access, plus there are boat and kayak tours.

If you want more details about anything that I mentioned, LMK!

[jeaniebueller]

Through Michigan's UP--Pictured Rocks National lakeshore--you can book a pictured rocks cruise, which is awesome--book in advance as they fill up during the summer, Tahquamenon Falls State Park, its a short walk on a trail to the upper falls, if you hit the southern end of the UP on your way to the bridge--Kitch-iti-kipi (Palms Brooks State Park), is a fun stop, its a natural spring, you get on a raft and can look to the bottom of the crystal clear lake (google it, its really neat). After Mackinac Island, you could drive to Glen Arbor and Sleeping Bear Dunes, the scenic drive isn't a ton of walking or hiking but its worth seeing. If you drive through Traverse City at all, please be aware that its construction season and a portion of Front Street is closed with detours, traffic will be a nightmare.

[fernweh]

I assume you will be passing through the U.P. Since you are starting in MN? Normally I would recommend stopping in Marquette but most of my recs there are hiking based so I’ll skip that.

Stop at Pictured Rocks in Munising and take a boat tour. I also recommend Tahquamenon Falls. It’s been years since I have been but according to the internet you can reach it by car with a short walk on a paved trail.

[waverly]

I agree with others the big things in the UP is Pictured Rocks and Tahquamenon Falls. Be aware that cell service is spotty in the park. Parking at trailheads can get tricky and it seems to take a long time to drive from place to place. You can do as much or as little as you want at Pictured Rocks, so that advice is more for doing multiple hikes/ drives.

I don't think teens are too old for Wisconsin Dells. Do they like water parks? There are some for older kids and adults and some for younger kids, so just make sure you are booking at a place that is more aimed for teens.

I prefer Mackinac Island over Door County. I think people view them as having the same vibe, but being a Michigander, Door County was just OK for me.

[brooklyn]

Lake Geneva in WI is great! My grandmother lives very close to it. Nice beach and scenic tours around the lake. Kitschy shopping.

[nuggetbrain]

If anybody wants to go shopping, go to the Mall of America before you leave the Minneapolis area.

[snowflurry]

These are all great suggestions! Thank you so much!

I will look into all these ideas and start making a game plan

[lucybrown]

If you decide to go to the Dells area, check out Devil’s Lake State park. It’s incredible. There are also so many other gems in that area.

La Crosse, WI is also worth a visit. The Great River Road winds along the Missisippi River between La Crosse and Minneapolis/St.Paul. It’s usually on lists of most scenic drives in America.

[Tacocat]

If you opt to go the northern WI route and thru the UP, I would start your trip by going north from Minneapolis and spend a couple days in Duluth/Lake Superior/North shore. It is absolutely the prettiest part of MN in my opinion (native MN here). There are easy hiking areas and canal park is a great way to see the lake, easy food food and there’s touristy stuff to do. Then you can continue your trip along the northern part of WI. Personally, I would prefer to do that over the Dells. There’s plenty to do there but it’s a total tourist trap and overpriced IMO.

Have fun!

[bbdoll]

I know you said no museums, but the Spam Museum in Austin, MN was a lot of fun. Really interactive and you get free samples.

[snowflurry]

Apr 10, 2024 13:40:02 GMT -5 bbdoll said:

I know you said no museums, but the Spam Museum in Austin, MN was a lot of fun. Really interactive and you get free samples.

These types (including the mustard one mentioned above) of museums are more up our alley!  

Kids are just not into art or history and have been maxed out on air, space and science museums at this point.  But fun or silly museums are a yes

[nicolewi]

Why starting in Minneapolis and ending in Grand Rapids? I am excited for you b/c I live in WI, vacation often in Northern Wisconsin, and we did an awesome UP Michigan trip/Mackinac Island a few years ago. But, your route is weird. The shortest drive would be to go south through Madison and via Chicago up to Grand Rapids...which could also be super cool but is a totally different trip (could do the Dells which does have something for everyone, Madison, Chicago stuff, Indiana Dunes, etc). If you want to do Mackinac, you will do a lot of extra driving to go the longer way, and if you want to make the most of that trip, you really should add MORE driving and go up to the Munising area as well (Pictured Rocks).

We love Northern Wisconsin--like Minocqua area, roughly--and you get the most out of it if you rent a cabin on a lake, but most are going to rent only by a full week in summer. That said, you could find hotel rooms and visit lakes/bike trails/etc. Where we go, there's a long bike trail system so if you like biking, that's fun. There's a lot of fishing, cute towns, great but CASUAL dining. State parks with great lake beaches and also just some really nice public access lake beaches. So you'd also have to figure out if that area is something you want to incorporate.

Loved our Michigan trip, too. We did things like Kitchitikipi Spring, St. Ignace and to Mackinac from there, a night on Mackinac, then drove down to Petoskey for a day, to Tahquamenon Falls (very fun on a hot summer day!) and to Munising for Lake Superior Shipwreck Cruise, beaches, and visiting various waterfalls/short hikes. Also stayed a nigth on the way back at a little cabin place on the beach in Escanaba.

I think it would be easier to help you plan if you figure out a bit more of how much driving you want to do and where you want to go. There are tons of great things to do in summer, it just depends on where.

[snowflurry]

nicolewi

We are trying to hit all 50 states.  I actually just changed out plane reservation to fly into Des Moines, IA so that we can hit Iowa on this trip as well.  We don't mind lots of driving.  A few years ago we did KS, NE, SD, ND, MT, WY and ID in one trip.  Kids are really easy going about it.

I'm starting to lean toward going the northern route so that we can see Duluth area, northern WI (which everyone has made sound beautiful!) and Mackinaw.  

Your trips to northern WI and MI sounds awesome!  I'm definitely adding those spots to the list.  Thanks! 

[RoxMonster]

From Mackinac Island, I agree with others to drive north to the UP and at least check out the Munising area and Pictured Rocks. We really enjoyed the lake cruise that takes you past the formations - go in mid to late afternoon for the best lighting on the rocks and try to get a seat on the right side of the upper deck. We also enjoyed driving out to the cute town of Grand Marais, MI. Lots of hikes (some are pretty short) and viewpoints along the way.

It’s a bit of a drive (another couple hours) but Copper Harbor on the Keweenaw Peninsula was an adorable little town and the entire peninsula is gorgeous! It’s right on Lake Superior. If you stay there for an overnight, definitely do sunset from the top of Brockway Mountain. Stunning! You could then drive down the opposite side of the peninsula en route to MN and visit the Porcupine Mnts. Lake in the Clouds is an easy walk to an extravagant view and is easy to do if you’re just passing through the area.

[Mrs.Syntax]

People have mentioned the Pictured Rocks coastline in the UP. We took a glass bottom boat tour of a shipwreck in this area - it was pretty cool and we were also able to see the coastline.

The last time we were in the Dells, my family wanted to check out the Rick Wilcox magic show. I was incredibly skeptical but it ended up being really entertaining. My kids (10 and 13 at the time) absolutely loved it!

[sparty04]

I love Mackinac Island. We go every year and it's our favorite family trip. Pictured Rocks is neat, we did a tour around Grand Island with Riptide Ride and it was so fun because you were basically in a large speedboat doing donuts in Lake Superior. I was worried that the Pictured Rocks cruise would be boring for my kids. We also went to Tahquamenon Falls. The Upper Falls are a shorter walk but the Lower so amazing and you can play in the falls there if you want. I know you said no museums but the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum on Whitefish Point is pretty small and interesting. There's also a great rock hunting beach there.

I'd also ditto the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The views are incredible.

There's so many great beachy towns down the Lake Michigan coast. It's my favorite part of the state.

[DotAndBuzz]

In Michigan, I'd skip Mackinac Island (*ducks*), and just focus on Sleeping Bear Dunes, Leelenau County (towns would be Glen Arbor, Suttons Bay, Leland, Northport), Petosky, Pictured Rocks, the falls, etc

Also, just know it can be cold AF up north that time of year. Like, 50's and WIND. Now, to be clear, you'll still see people in the water, lol, but I have a picture of me in mid June, bundled in a fleece and a blanket sitting on the shore of Lake Michigan in Leelanau county, and in the background people are in swimsuits in the lake. It may be warm-ish, but you won't need to plan on swimming in the lake at that time of year unless you want to be *really* adventurous.

OH! In the Sleeping bear Dunes park, there's the dune climb, which you can do to any level, including sitting at the bottom and letting your kids run up. There's also Pierce Stocking Drive, which is like 7 miles with a bunch of places to pull off and get pictures, and/or go for a little hike. But you don't *have* to hike anywhere. There are mostly paved paths to the major overlook points, and it's not meant to be strenuous at all. But it's gorgeous.  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierce_Stocking_Scenic_Drive

You can also kayak the Crystal River in Glen Arbor (there's a company that runs it). And by "river" I mean a shallow trail of water that has a slight current if you look at it the right way. Very gentle, lovely views, nice 3 hours to chill and relax in a kayak. 

[midwestmama]

I love to watch a sunset in the summer on the beach of Lake Michigan (on the Michigan side). As sparty04 mentioned, there are a lot of nice beach towns along the Lake Michigan coast.

Frederik Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids, MI is great. I believe they have a tram option for driving around the sculpture park, so you wouldn't have to walk the whole thing. I think the John Ball Zoo in GR may also have the lantern festival going on in late May/early June. You want to get tickets ahead, and go at night. It will be busy, but we went last year and it was really cool.

I agree with others on suggestions for stops in the UP and Northern Michigan.

[jeaniebueller]

DotAndBuzz, i’m kind of meh on Mackinac Island too, but for them given that they’ve never been there and it’s one of theirinterests, I do think it’s worth them going once. If anything, going up to the grand hotel and having a drink on the balcony with a picturesque view is worth the “cost“ of admission.

OP, if you go to Mackinac Island, you’ll no doubt want to spend some time at the grand hotel. Be aware that they do have a dress code, take a look at their website for what’s required. It’s really not that big of a deal, but you might just want to be prepared for that.

[callmekd]

Apr 10, 2024 15:05:03 GMT -5 snowflurry said:

nicolewi

We are trying to hit all 50 states.  I actually just changed out plane reservation to fly into Des Moines, IA so that we can hit Iowa on this trip as well.  We don't mind lots of driving.  A few years ago we did KS, NE, SD, ND, MT, WY and ID in one trip.  Kids are really easy going about it.

I'm starting to lean toward going the northern route so that we can see Duluth area, northern WI (which everyone has made sound beautiful!) and Mackinaw.  

Your trips to northern WI and MI sounds awesome!  I'm definitely adding those spots to the list.  Thanks! 

Duluth (and Lake Superior) is amazing! I grew up there.
Be prepared for cold weather even in late May and June. Also be sure you’re avoiding Grandma’s marathon weekend.

[lilac05]

Some additions since you're now adding Iowa:

There's not much out that direction to see in Iowa. Our prettiest areas, in my opinion, are along the Mississippi River. That won't help if you need to hit MN, too.

However, you could drive through one of the Bridges of Madison County, if that's of interest to you! www.madisoncounty.com/the-covered-bridges/

The Spam Museum would then be super convenient to to stop at since you'll likely be driving up 35.

Honestly, my favorite thing to do in Iowa is pull off at a random town and find a small mom & pop diner/restaurant to eat at. Unless you live in a small town, it's a unique experience and opens your eyes to a different speed of life.

Another fun road trip thing is to look up "World's Largest" and whatever state you're in...see what's along your route!

And YES! to whoever warned that it could be cold! The weather is SO unpredictable and can vary a LOT between IA and N WI during that time of year. Last year, my H was in WI in May and they got snow...but we also get 80-90+ degree days during that time of year, too. (More in Iowa than WI/MN.)

I think with the right mindset, this could be a really fantastic trip! There are no picturesque mountains or ocean, but there's also beauty in rolling hills of farmland as far as the eye can see. Or standing amidst the tiny trunked, super straight and tall trees of the Northwoods of WI. If you're used to being in cities, there's a pleasant calm of spending time in sparsely populated rural areas, seeing how people there live, watching the sun set over the horizon instead of behind buildings or trees, etc.