Omaha, NE - places to stop within a day of there

[midwestmama]

We will be going to Omaha, Nebraska for a travel baseball tournament in June 2024.  The tournament is a long weekend (Thursday-Sunday), so DH and I were talking about potential places to stop while we are out that way.  We'll be coming from Michigan, so the most direct route takes us through IL and IA.  We've been to IA already, so we're considering a few other options, which will take us out of the way, but it would be nice to see places we haven't been to before.  So far, we've talked about:  St. Louis, Kansas City, and Denver.  My first choice would be Denver, as I love to see the mountains and everyone says how beautiful CO is.  The main downside is that it would add about 2 days of driving, as Denver appears to be 7.5 hours west of Omaha, so we would drive out to Denver first and then come back to Omaha.

Interested to hear some suggestions/recommendations.  TIA!

[lynn07]

I don't think I'd make the extra drive to Denver for just one night. We're just too far away from Omaha. Of your two remaining places, I'd probably pick St. Louis. There's enough to do there to fill up a day. I'm guessing you've done Chicago before?

[midwestmama]

lynn07 , thank you for the feedback! We could probably do 2 nights in Denver, but it would be either 1 super long day of driving from MI to get there, or 1 longer and 1 shorter day of driving. I'm sure the kids would not love all of the driving (then to have drive 7.5 hours to Omaha). I will check into St. Louis, as we have been to Chicago.

[gardengal]

Sioux Falls, SD is just 2.5hrs from Omaha. It looks like there’s loads to fill a day or 2: www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/sioux-falls-us-sd-sf.htm

[Pibs]

I think Omaha is really fun. I feel like it's worked hard on its art and museum scene. It's got an amazing zoo that I'd love to go back and visit with my niece & nephew sometime. The botanical gardens are nice. I'd find plenty to do for a long weekend there.

My husband is from St. Loui - I don't know how old your kids are but City Museum is super fun. They also have a great zoo, which is free and botanical gardens, where we got engaged and butterfly garden that I make husband take me to pretty much each time we visit. You'd have to eat frozen custard somewhere along the way. Budweiser has a fun tour, in the past you could see the Clydesdales.

We were in Kansas City last year for a wedding and it was a really cool city. We were only there for a couple of days and I don't remember anywhere specific that we ate or went, aside from a fantastic crepe place with Swan in the name. I don't think you can go wrong with any of those options.

I love Denver, but it would add a lot of driving to your trip. I have a lot of family, some with small humans, who live in Sioux Falls. When we went it was always to visit family so I don't really know much about the city but I'm happy to ask for ideas if you'd like.

[midwestmama]

gardengal, thank you! We spent a few days in SD a couple of years ago on our way to Yellowstone. I absolutely loved it (the Spearfish Canyon scenic drive between Keystone and Spearfish is so beautiful), but we would like to see somewhere new.

Pibs, thank you! My son loves crepes, so maybe I will try to find this amazing crepe place that you went to in Kansas City. I will look more into Omaha - the zoo would be fun and I enjoy walking through botanical gardens.

My kids will be 13 (DD) and almost 15 (DS) when we go, so I'm sure they'll be surly teenagers about anything I suggest, ha ha.