July/August Trip from Chicago

[mwarren83]

Every year, my boyfriend and I take about 10 days for a road trip. I am struggling to decide where to go this year. We both LOVE to hike and we aren't opposed to camping. We were originally considering heading to Montana and doing Glacier Nat'l Park and Yellowstone, with stops in ND, WY and SD along the loop, but it seems like it will be just too much driving for the time we have. I don't want to repeat previous trips so here is where we've gone in previous years:
2010 - South Dakota, stopped in Sioux Falls, few nights in Deadwood, did Spearfish Canyon, the Badlands, Custer State Park.
2011 - Nashville, The Smokies, and the KY Bourbon Trail.
We also make frequent trips to the UP and lower Michigan, so neither of those would be new for us. We also have several weekend trips planned for this year: Mackinac Island in May, the Smokies (again) in June, a Wisconsin camping trip in July, and a camping trip to the Mississippi Palisades in Illinois in the fall.

I guess you could say I need fun things planned in order to get me through my work weeks! ... gives me something to look forward to in the human rat race :P

Any ideas on new destinations?

Thanks for all of your help!
-Michelle-

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

Have you ever been up to the Boundary Waters in Minnesota? What about Canada? Perhaps the Georgian Bay area (NE side of Lake Huron).

I agree that both Yellowstone and Glacier would be pretty rushed in 10 days, but you could think about doing one or the other.

[AZBuck]

In addition to looking at Canada, there are several places in the US that are within an easy 1½ day drive from Chicago, allowing plenty of on-site time even within a 10 day time frame. In addition to the one's Michael has listed, consider the Ozarks and Red River area of OK/MO/AR; the central Appalachians and historic areas around Chesapeake Bay; the northern Appalachians including the Poconos, Catskills and Adirondacks; Not much farther - still easily within a 2 day drive - are New England or the Outer Banks

AZBuck

[V Lemon]

You sound like the athletic types if you like to hike, consider along with your hiking how about white water rafting. The New River Gorge in West Virginia will give you quite a thrill...and plenty of hiking in the area. We had a blast when we went there years ago. I copied this from a web site about the area:

"West Virginia's New River Gorge has some of the best and most unique hiking trails on the East Coast. You can explore dozens of old ghost town ruins, explore miles of cliff lines offering incredable panoramic views of a mile-wide, 1,000-foot deep gorge. You can hike along the river, on the rim of the gorge or explore the many canyons coming into the gorge".

Have fun planning your trip. And next time you head west, be sure to go hiking at Zion National Park - We've been there twice and are considering going again in April. Jaw dropping beauty and not too harsh of an environment. July/Aug is the perfect time to hike the narrows!

Vera

[Lifemagician]

Hi Vera, Welcome to the The Great American RoadTrip Forum.

How nice of you to drop in and share your experience. It is in the sharing of experiences on this forum that great road trips are made. And to have a new member dropping in to share experiences is especially appreciated.

Lifey