If you are willing to add about 30-45 minutes to your driving, it might be worthwhile to make the slight detour to the Cincinnati area. There are a bunch of things that are fun in that area. You can spend a day at the Kings Island amusement park. Or you can spend a half day at the Newport Aquarium.

Total driving time is about 12:45 if you go direct, but about 13:20 if you detour to Cincinnati area, plus pit stops/food stops/overnight. It's about 8-8.5 hours of driving to get to Cincinnati and then another 5 hours to get from Cincinnati to St Louis, plus stops.

As for pit stops, we have gone to Cincinnati regularly for 18 years. We prefer going through Breezewood and the PA Turnpike because better cell service and better rest areas. Far less options if you take i=I-68 to Morgantown and head north on I-97). Decent pit stops between DC and Columbus, OH. We use a different set every trip, but have gotten so used to them, we know about where they are:

South Mountain rest area I-70 between Frederickand Hagerstown
Hagerstown Outlet Mall has food court and bathrooms
Breezewood (we usually stop at the Gateway Truck stop, but many options for food/gas/bathrooms)
Various rest areas on PA Turnpike
New Stanton, Sheetz is newish if you just need bathrooms, snacks, coffee
Washington, PA has most fast food, chain restaurant, gas options all with bathrooms
Cabela Drive, Triadelphia (just East of Wheeling), WV, lots of gas/fast food options
Ohio Valley Mall, St Clairsville, OH (food court, bathrooms, fast food around outside of mall, just off the highway)
Ohio has rest areas along I-70 between Wheeling WV and Columbus
Reynoldsburg, OH (east side of Columbus, near where I-70 meets the I-270 beltway) has various fast food, gas, bathroom options

After the I-270 beltway, we get on I-71 south to Cincinnati which will not help as much if you are going straight across I-70 to Indianpolis.

We leave at 7 or 8 pm and drive through the night in 3.5 hour shifts. Do it all in one go.

There is nothing good to see on the way. Just strip malls, opiods, churches and misery. At best the places you drive through are tedious, at worst, depressing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have done it a bit. There's really nothing good along the way. Do what you can to just get it over with.

STL, on the other hand, has a ton of good kids things. How old are your kids?

How many hours of driving?

It typical takes somewhere between 12.5 and 13.5.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have done it a bit. There's really nothing good along the way. Do what you can to just get it over with.

STL, on the other hand, has a ton of good kids things. How old are your kids?

How many hours of driving?

Done this many times and it's usually around 12-13 hours to do it in one day.

Anonymous wrote:We stopped in Casey, IL and had a picnic lunch at one of the parks.

They're a little town with giant crap. Good for photo ops. Should take you about an hour to walk down the strip and snap instagram photos.

LOL, yes, Casey is a fun kitschy stop. We tend to stop at antique stores along the way, there are a bunch in Ohio especially, but that's because DH is really into antiques. I agree that really it's a pretty bland trip but you can definitely do it in one day if you're willing to power through.

There are a couple ways you can go, if you want to mix it up. The most straightforward route is up I-270 to I-70 which will take you all the way. It's very boring, but does run through Columbus which can be a nice place for a stop. I always like going through the German Village (https://germanvillage.com/), which among other things has a great bookstore, the Book Loft (https://www.bookloft.com/).

I usually prefer to go the more southern route, though, which is I-270 to I-70 but hopping off at I-68 which via I-79 will get you to I-64 and winds through West Virginia and Kentucky. It's about 20-30 minutes longer but is a prettier drive IMO and given the overall length of the trip the extra time is negligible. Sometimes I go out one way and drive back the other.

In St. Louis, as others have mentioned the City Museum (https://www.citymuseum.org/) is great.

The Arch (https://www.gatewayarch.com/) is a pretty obvious thing to do, and definitely worth it. They have just renovated their museum, too.

Forest Park (https://www.forestparkforever.org/visit) is top-notch with a fantastic free zoo (so much better than DC's), art museum, history museum, outdoor theater (the Muni), and some 1904 World's Fair sites.

The Missouri Botanical Garden (https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/) is another place worth visiting.

Grant's Farm (https://www.grantsfarm.com/) is fun.

You can tour the Budweiser Brewery (https://www.budweisertours.com/).

St. Charles (one of the suburbs), which was the first state capitol, has a wonderful historic main street (https://www.discoverstcharles.com/things-to-do/main-street/).

South of the city are a Six Flags (https://www.sixflags.com/stlouis) which is pretty nice (and has a big waterpark which is great if it's hot, as St. Louis usually is) and also some cool state parks, like Mastodon (https://www.mostateparks.com/park/mastodon-state-historic-site) and Elephant Rocks (https://www.mostateparks.com/park/elephant-rocks-state-park).

And right across the river on the Illinois side is a great Native American site, Cahokia Mounds (https://cahokiamounds.org/).

I also recommend stopping by Crown Candy Kitchen (https://crowncandykitchen.net/) if you can. It is in a somewhat run-down neighborhood but don't let that put you off, it's a fun place with great ice cream and sandwiches that has been around forever. Another St. Louis tradition is Ted Drewes frozen custard (http://teddrewes.com/). Finally if you are up for it try the local thin-crust pizza and toasted ravioli. Imo's (https://www.imospizza.com/) is the classic chain but as much as I love it I have to admit the provel cheese on the pizza particularly is...not to everyone's taste.

Did a similar trip to Chicago. This might be obvious, but just look for green spots along or close to your route and figure out what they are. There are a lot of pleasant state and county parks and forest areas that aren't going to be on any lists of must-see destinations, but are great for an hour of hiking in nature to break up the drive.

Depending on your kids’ ages and interests, there’s a great interactive museum/play place downtown, a terrific science museum, and an awesome (and free) zoo. Going up in the Arch is also fun, although not for the seriously claustrophobic. Look up the Cardinals’ schedule and take in a home game.

The wealth of good BBQ is insane. Pappy’s is a family favorite, but we also had great meals in strip mall joints. (But avoid St. Louis-style pizza, which is an abomination.)

Anonymous wrote:Have done it a bit. There's really nothing good along the way. Do what you can to just get it over with.

STL, on the other hand, has a ton of good kids things. How old are your kids?

How many hours of driving?

Anonymous wrote:Its and easy drive, leave and 4 or 5 am and power through. Just stop at rest stops on 70 for food and bathroom.

This is what we do, too. Just get there.

City Museum is a fun activity once you’re there.

We stopped in Casey, IL and had a picnic lunch at one of the parks.

They're a little town with giant crap. Good for photo ops. Should take you about an hour to walk down the strip and snap instagram photos.

Its and easy drive, leave and 4 or 5 am and power through. Just stop at rest stops on 70 for food and bathroom.

OP here, our Kids are 13 and 10.

Have done it a bit. There's really nothing good along the way. Do what you can to just get it over with.

STL, on the other hand, has a ton of good kids things. How old are your kids?

We drove to just north of St Louis last summer. We stayed a night just west of Indianapolis and it really helped the second day to have a shorter trip. Didn't really do any fun stops along the way. St. Louis has lots of kid friendly places to visit depending on your kids ages. A great children's/science museum if i'm remembering correctly. Also I think there's a playground, maybe at the museum, that has been on my bucket list for the next time we can explore the city.

We are planning a round trip from dc to St. Louis in June. Can anyone give suggestions on where to make pit stops at and what to see in and around st, Louis. Thanks