Printable View
Hello. My family is traveling to Chicago (road trip from Somerset, NJ) on Thursday (April 20) to attend a special event. We are staying there until Sunday and will be heading out by Monday morning. On our way back, we want to experience some attractions, especially those that the kids would enjoy especially nature attractions.
Our kids are 11, 8 and 5 years old.
Sunday, we want to explore Chicago. We plan to be back in NJ by Thursday.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Welcome to RTA!
With three children, the trip will take 2 days travel in each direction by the fastest method. So what you might do is grab a map of the Eastern US, then plan a loop trip, going to Chicago by one set of routes, and returning via a different set of routes. A real map, or a road atlas, is invaluable in this type of planning. Were you planning to drive directly to Chicago first, without sightseeing stops (but taking one overnight)? That was a bit unclear.
In Chicago, there are probably two big-name attractions that children enjoy. One is the Museum of Science and Industry. I loved that place when I was a kid, and our kids loved it too when we brought them there. The other place is the Brookfield Zoo.
Donna
Despite being a fairly industrialized part of the country, the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic offer a surprising number of "nature attractions". And with three or four days for the return drive, you'll actually have a little time to visit and explore them. Since it seems that you'll have more time available on your return trip, I'll list a few of them in west-to-east order: Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Bass Islands, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, US-6 across northern Pennsylvania, the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania, and Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, along with numerous other state parks, national forests, and wildlife refuges.
AZBuck
Thank you for your suggestions Donna. We are going straight to Chicago on Thursday. We plan to experience some of the attractions on our way back.
Thank you AZBuck. This will really help us in planning our itinerary.��
Somerset to Chicago is nearly 800 miles! That will require at least 14 hours of driving with no time for anything other than the briefest of stops for food, fuel and bathroom breaks. Trying to make that drive in a single day would at best be uncomfortable and extremely taxing on the children, but it would also exceed (by a wide margin) what professional long-haul drivers are allowed to do because of safety concerns. It would, in fact, border on reckless child endangerment. And no, having two drivers will not help. Neither of the adults will get any meaningful rest while sitting up in a noisy, moving car. And even trying to robs the driver of critically needed resources: navigator, referee for those in the back seat, any chance to listen to the radio, etc., etc. You need a full day and a half, at minimum, to make the drive to Chicago. If you can't leave until Thursday, then you can NOT be in Chicago until Friday afternoon. If you need to be in Chicago on Friday morning, you need to leave Somerset by early afternoon on Wednesday. In either case, the ONLY safe option is to make at least one overnight stop on that leg to get a good night's sleep.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bda1215
AZBuck
Sorry AZBuck. I didn't explain it quite well. Lol. What I meant was, we will leave NJ direct to Chicago from Thursday. I understand we need to stop some places for rest, dining and bathroom breaks. We just have to be there by Saturday.
We will do our sight-seeing stops on our way back to NJ so we can go at our own pace. Sorry about the confusion.
If you want to divide the trip to Chicago in equal halves, then Youngstown, OH would be your overnight stopping point. Stay on the west side of it to avoid Friday morning rush hour traffic. This assumes that you'll get yourselves up to I-80 and cross PA on that to save on at least that portion of the tolls. This would mean about 400 miles per day.
When I was a child, and even now as an adult, a pool at the overnight spot was a "plus" that made the day's drive a lot more fun. Our kids always did better, too, if there was a promise of a pool at the motel or RV park (depending on how we were traveling) on the other end. You may have to look for a place that has an indoor pool, but it will probably be worthwhile.
Donna
Youngstown traffic on I-80 in rush hour is busy but not bad. When I stay there, I usually get off at Exit 223 - OH-46 Niles exit. There are several hotels at the exit along with plenty of other services. If you get a later start on Thursday, look at Brookville PA for an overnight, that's Exit 78, PA-36. It has a few hotels and a couple of truck stops.
If you have an EZ-Pass, it works in PA, OH, IN, and IL.
Awesome! Thank you for all your suggestions guys. They are really helpful.
By the way, the quickest way to I-80 from Somerset is I-287 to I-78 to PA-33. That's about 10 miles longer than taking US-206 from I-287 to I-80, but it's quicker.
Thank you glc.