Anonymous
Post 05/07/2025 20:46     Subject: Days per Midwest city
Anonymous wrote:I love the midwest, but these are not the cities I would visit. Chicago and Cleveland and Pittsburgh and Madison and St Paul would be my list instead. With, for sure, a stop in St. Joseph's Michigan or maybe South Bend.


Pennsylvania is not the Midwest.
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2025 15:37     Subject: Days per Midwest city
Anonymous wrote:
Arabia Steamboat Museum


This was more interesting than I thought it would be. Good combo with the city market on a Saturday morning.
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2025 11:35     Subject: Re:Days per Midwest city
I haven't been to any of these cities except KC, and that was too long ago to be helpful, but a flight attendant I follow on tiktok literally picked up a layover in Omaha to eat at a restaurant and it's been stuck in my brain for ages. I looked it up, it's Block 16. https://block16omaha.com/menu/
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2025 09:15     Subject: Days per Midwest city
Anonymous wrote:If we have 11 nights, is this a good breakdown by location?

Kansas City 3 - including day of midday arrival
Des Moines 2
Omaha 3 - we're pretty set on 3 nights in Omaha
Lincoln 1
Topeka 2 - but will also go to Wizard of Oz museum and maybe also Manhattan in this time

We want to go to all of these locations but I'm mostly wondering if the Kansas City portion is too long. I've been there a long time ago but don't remember much.

Any other thoughts? We generally like to stay downtown and/or riverfront if applicable.


OP - I think it's great that you want to see the country. Before you set your number of days, decide what you want to do in each place.
Some suggestions... (I'm from Iowa, so a bit more familiar and my list is longer there)

In Des Moines:
Living History Farms;
State Capitol
Salisbury House
?do you want to spend time in nature? - High Trestle Trail near Boone
Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad; Ledges State Park
Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge - prairie restoration with bison
depending when you'll be there - Indianola Balloon Classic or the State Fair!

During transit - St. Joseph, Missouri - Pony Express Museum
https://www.ponyexpress.org

Kansas City:
WWI Museum is great
Eat barbecue
Arabia Steamboat Museum

Omaha:
Zoo
Old Market

Topeka:
Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park
Great Overland Station

Anonymous
Post 05/07/2025 07:59     Subject: Days per Midwest city
Anonymous wrote:Do you have kids? How old are they?

For KC- union station has a great kids museum there and they have special exhibits. It’s worth checking out. There is a botanical garden in Overland Park which is pretty close to KC

if you have kids, Deanna Rose Children’s farmstead is a blast. It’s between Overland Park and KC. My kids (7&5) still talk about the farmstead.
We enjoy “Joe’s KC BBQ”. It’s a small restaurant, but it’s good. It’s always busy on game days.


Yes, kids. That farmstead looks really cool with something for everyone, thank you!
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2025 07:51     Subject: Days per Midwest city
Do you have kids? How old are they?

For KC- union station has a great kids museum there and they have special exhibits. It’s worth checking out. There is a botanical garden in Overland Park which is pretty close to KC

if you have kids, Deanna Rose Children’s farmstead is a blast. It’s between Overland Park and KC. My kids (7&5) still talk about the farmstead.
We enjoy “Joe’s KC BBQ”. It’s a small restaurant, but it’s good. It’s always busy on game days.
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2025 07:46     Subject: Days per Midwest city
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I love the midwest, but these are not the cities I would visit. Chicago and Cleveland and Pittsburgh and Madison and St Paul would be my list instead. With, for sure, a stop in St. Joseph's Michigan or maybe South Bend.


I've heard Madison is really nice and for sure I will get there at some point. I regret not going to St. Paul when I went to Minneapolis, but I didn't know better way back then and also only had 2-3 days. I've been to Chicago and Pittsburgh multiple times and Cleveland I think only once pre-kids, but I know there's way more to see there.


St. Joseph looks nice, too. I'd love to drive around Lake Michigan.
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2025 07:41     Subject: Days per Midwest city
Anonymous wrote:I love the midwest, but these are not the cities I would visit. Chicago and Cleveland and Pittsburgh and Madison and St Paul would be my list instead. With, for sure, a stop in St. Joseph's Michigan or maybe South Bend.


I've heard Madison is really nice and for sure I will get there at some point. I regret not going to St. Paul when I went to Minneapolis, but I didn't know better way back then and also only had 2-3 days. I've been to Chicago and Pittsburgh multiple times and Cleveland I think only once pre-kids, but I know there's way more to see there.
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2025 07:33     Subject: Days per Midwest city
Anonymous wrote:You couldn't pay me to go to a couple these places and I have no prob going to see small cities, rural places, hole in the walls, etc. I just would pick specific places in different states to visit v every "major" city like KC, mainstream and identifiable places. It's not that I'm a snob and don't want to see Kansas as much as I really do not see anything but flyover country culturally in KC. Seeing a baseball game in KC does not actually mean I got to know KC in other words. It's not the size of a place rather the culture and sights. There's gotta be something interesting and different - unique - for me to want to be there. Otherwise seeing a baseball game in every town with a team is more meaningful! I mean I've been to Buffalo. So what? I mean there's a zoo in many cities. Why does it matter I see the KC zoo? Unless there's something meaningful about it making it unique. That's what I mean.

But I do hope you have fun!


I'm sure I will enjoy it. Just seeing the skyline and driving around will be great -- the old industrial buildings, monuments, parks, and waterfronts. I love Union Stations. Apparently KC is the City of Fountains, which is cool. It's not exactly that I set out to see "major cities," it's that I've been to a lot of major and much smaller ones already and enjoyed almost all of them, so when I look at a list of the top 50, I've already wished I could to go to most of the rest.

I might not be interested in few like Bakersville, CA, just at seeing the name, but I'd be able to find plenty to do there. I'm not systematically working through a list or even sticking to cities and excluding rural areas (we stop interesting places between cities), but on the other hand, I really do think every place is different. I'm very happy going to downtown Portsmouth or Louisville or Charlotte or you name it.
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2025 07:18     Subject: Days per Midwest city
I love the midwest, but these are not the cities I would visit. Chicago and Cleveland and Pittsburgh and Madison and St Paul would be my list instead. With, for sure, a stop in St. Joseph's Michigan or maybe South Bend.
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2025 03:50     Subject: Days per Midwest city
You couldn't pay me to go to a couple these places and I have no prob going to see small cities, rural places, hole in the walls, etc. I just would pick specific places in different states to visit v every "major" city like KC, mainstream and identifiable places. It's not that I'm a snob and don't want to see Kansas as much as I really do not see anything but flyover country culturally in KC. Seeing a baseball game in KC does not actually mean I got to know KC in other words. It's not the size of a place rather the culture and sights. There's gotta be something interesting and different - unique - for me to want to be there. Otherwise seeing a baseball game in every town with a team is more meaningful! I mean I've been to Buffalo. So what? I mean there's a zoo in many cities. Why does it matter I see the KC zoo? Unless there's something meaningful about it making it unique. That's what I mean.

But I do hope you have fun!
Anonymous
Post 05/06/2025 22:38     Subject: Days per Midwest city
Anonymous wrote:Just wanted to say I really applaud this, OP. It’s great to get out and see your own country. Not just the obvious but really getting off the beaten path.

Omaha is a fun city and the zoo is really worth a visit.

In Topeka make time for Brown v Board of Education. Really important landmark in civil rights history.

I like visiting presidential libraries and enjoyed Truman’s in Independence (in KC metro area).

Have a free trip and enjoy plenty of BBQ is KC. And great steaks in Omaha.


Thank you and thank you for your suggestions. I agree about civil rights landmarks. We've done some other important ones on other trips.
Anonymous
Post 05/06/2025 22:35     Subject: Days per Midwest city
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If we have 11 nights, is this a good breakdown by location?

Kansas City 3 - including day of midday arrival
Des Moines 2
Omaha 3 - we're pretty set on 3 nights in Omaha
Lincoln 1
Topeka 2 - but will also go to Wizard of Oz museum and maybe also Manhattan in this time

We want to go to all of these locations but I'm mostly wondering if the Kansas City portion is too long. I've been there a long time ago but don't remember much.

Any other thoughts? We generally like to stay downtown and/or riverfront if applicable.


What kinds of things do you like to do or hope to do on this vacation?

I’ve been to the first 3 cities you listed and these were the things we did in them (traveling kids so that obviously influenced what we chose to do):
Kansas City: Royals game, they have a beautiful stadium; Negro League Baseball Museum and the American jazz museum is also located in the same place, which was cool; WWII museum; some good BBQ restaurants
Des Moines: state capitol building was very cool; science center; sculpture park
Omaha: spent an entire day at the zoo, which was spectacular, up there w San Diego zoo as best zoo we’ve been to and we’ve been to a lot 😂; the old market; the Durham museum; and an amazing playground and park by the river front

So for us, 1 day in Des Moines was plenty and in fact we could’ve easily done just a half day there, and 2 days each in Omaha and KC were sufficient but we took 1 full day to do the Omaha zoo so if you’re not all day zoo people like we are then I think Omaha could be 1-1.5 days. But we’re pretty go-and-do travelers and not as much relaxing at the hotel time built in to our trips so YMMV.


This is really helpful. We don't hang out at the hotel, but we also don't rush or over schedule and we like to wander around walking or driving and see where we end up. In Omaha we'd definitely want a day at the zoo but then probably all of what you listed "the old market; the Durham museum; and an amazing playground and park by the river front" plus the pedestrian bridge to Iowa. I love stuff like that and would want to do it even if it didn't go to IA. We also like to do random little museums or local parks/nature centers, so I'm thinking 3 days is probably right for our pace because our mileage would vary.

Want to do similar stuff to your list in Kansas City also. Maybe not a baseball game.

We will probably drop Des Moines in favor of a longer Iowa trip in the future because I also forgot we probably only have 10 days available instead of 12.

Definitely want to do Brown v. Board of Education and maybe Truman Library mentioned by another poster(s).
Anonymous
Post 05/06/2025 22:05     Subject: Days per Midwest city
Anonymous wrote:If we have 11 nights, is this a good breakdown by location?

Kansas City 3 - including day of midday arrival
Des Moines 2
Omaha 3 - we're pretty set on 3 nights in Omaha
Lincoln 1
Topeka 2 - but will also go to Wizard of Oz museum and maybe also Manhattan in this time

We want to go to all of these locations but I'm mostly wondering if the Kansas City portion is too long. I've been there a long time ago but don't remember much.

Any other thoughts? We generally like to stay downtown and/or riverfront if applicable.


What kinds of things do you like to do or hope to do on this vacation?

I’ve been to the first 3 cities you listed and these were the things we did in them (traveling kids so that obviously influenced what we chose to do):
Kansas City: Royals game, they have a beautiful stadium; Negro League Baseball Museum and the American jazz museum is also located in the same place, which was cool; WWII museum; some good BBQ restaurants
Des Moines: state capitol building was very cool; science center; sculpture park
Omaha: spent an entire day at the zoo, which was spectacular, up there w San Diego zoo as best zoo we’ve been to and we’ve been to a lot 😂; the old market; the Durham museum; and an amazing playground and park by the river front

So for us, 1 day in Des Moines was plenty and in fact we could’ve easily done just a half day there, and 2 days each in Omaha and KC were sufficient but we took 1 full day to do the Omaha zoo so if you’re not all day zoo people like we are then I think Omaha could be 1-1.5 days. But we’re pretty go-and-do travelers and not as much relaxing at the hotel time built in to our trips so YMMV.
Anonymous
Post 05/06/2025 21:51     Subject: Days per Midwest city
Anonymous wrote:Excited for the poster who thought 2 days was too much in San Francisco and Seattle to weigh in.


Oh, I’m laughing!