We are flying to Chicago, spending a few days in that immediate area, then driving up to Milwaukee, Madison, Appleton.

West. Just honest

From OR to UT and CO and the WY, ID, MT national parks. Don't forget NM, AZ. There are smaller cities in TX that don't get enough love. I'd skip E coast. Chicago on west is wheee you should see

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did a road trip that included Niagara Falls, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Milwaukee. Had a fantastic time

Not OP, but this sounds like a good road trip for us since we need to go to Chicago to visit friends at some point, but I hadn't thought to link it to Pittsburgh or Milwaukee. How long was this road trip?

I think we only spent 8-9 days on the road due to work. We have a high tolerance for driving 6+ hours in a day though. I think a few extra days would be awesome. We really only did Milwaukee because we are trying to visit every baseball stadium.

Anonymous wrote:We did a road trip that included Niagara Falls, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Milwaukee. Had a fantastic time

+1

There is so much to see. We've enjoyed driving down the coast in CA, NPs and state parks and road trips in Utah, Colorado, MT, Idaho, Wyoming, AZ, NM...Personally do not like the SE part of the US as much. Tennessee I think is just ok and same with Georgia, SC and NC. Not that they are "bad" at all, but if you want to see something different I'd head west.

I was blown away by the beauty of South Dakota. I didn't love Mt. Rushmore, but Badlands, Black Hills, and Custer State Park were amazing. Highly recommend!

Not lesser know, but for cities, Los Angeles and San Francisco are always fantastic. Each has so much to do. I probably give the nod to SF. Fantastic city (no matter how much Fox News tries to tell you it's a dystopian wasteland) and close to so many other beautiful places.

The Great Lakes and surrounding areas are just lovely parts of the US - especially in the summer. The long stretches of beach on the Michigan side of Lake Michigan, along with the hiking and activities, are well worth a visit. We have enjoyed the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the Wisconsin Dells. West coast San Diego has a lot to offer as well - beaches are just as beautiful as Lake Michigan, and there is a lot to do with kids - hiking, Legoland, Zoo and Wild Animal Park, and renting bikes on Coronado Island.

We have family throughout the US and while it might not be as exciting to plan as a European vacation - we try to find activities nearby that met our interests and low and behold our Kids seem to like it as much if not more, than some of the "forced marches" through museums and sites in European capitals.

Anonymous wrote:In not sure why so many people only recommend national parks when recommending US locations. The nature is beautiful, but not for everybody. Here are some cities that are good places to visit:

Chicago
Savannah, Charleston. Hilton Head (we like to combine these into a roadntrip)
San Diego
Nashville
Vegas (yes, really)
Los Angeles
Not the US, but Montreal, Toronto, Niagara Falls

I agree with these- Probably our favorite family trips are a three way tie- hilton head, savannah over spring break, 5 nights in chicago over the summer, spring break in arizona (tucson, scottsdale and grand canyon). We also loved a week in LA and Orange county, Utah national parks ending in Las Vegas, NYC in the fall, long weekend in Asheville, a long weekend family renioun in blue ridge lake, GA. in October.

Thank you for all the non-snarky replies. My reason for asking for "lesser known" places is I figure I know the "known" places and have thought of them, trying to cast a wide net and make sure we're aware of options. Again, thank you for the kind suggestions.

In not sure why so many people only recommend national parks when recommending US locations. The nature is beautiful, but not for everybody. Here are some cities that are good places to visit:

Chicago
Savannah, Charleston. Hilton Head (we like to combine these into a roadntrip)
San Diego
Nashville
Vegas (yes, really)
Los Angeles
Not the US, but Montreal, Toronto, Niagara Falls

Mount Rushmore, Badlands.
Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Yosemite
Niagara Falls, Buffalo, Letchworth, Watkins Glen
Any National or State Park

Anonymous wrote:We did a road trip that included Niagara Falls, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Milwaukee. Had a fantastic time

Not OP, but this sounds like a good road trip for us since we need to go to Chicago to visit friends at some point, but I hadn't thought to link it to Pittsburgh or Milwaukee. How long was this road trip?

If all the stuff you’ve done is East Coast, I would definitely head somewhere further West. Northern California or Pacific NW would be my choices, but the upper Midwest could be nice too.

I have friends who set out to take their kids to all 50 states before they turned 18. And they did it! But it meant going somewhere for every break and long weekend. And, probably cost a lot of money…In any event, they made a point to go to several places in every state, even the boring ones, and to eat local food and visit local museums. They said it was really fun and a great way to explore America.

Anonymous wrote:If you call it "San Fran" I stop listening to everything you say.

Plus it's super fun for the kids to jump over all the needles and homeless.