Anonymous
Post 05/23/2026 11:20     Subject: Lesser known gems in the USA
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:what do they like to do? we just came back from Oregon coast, crater lake, mt hood trip. beautiful out there.


Second this. Fly into Portland and spend at least a day there...fun, quirky city that your kids will love. From Portland, you can visit Multnomah Falls and the Columbia River Gorge area, including Mount Hood. Then, leave the Portland area and drive an hour or so to the coast...the coastal drive is gorgeous in both directions. If you go north, stop at Neskowin, Rockaway Beach, Cannon Beach, Ecola, and up to Astoria..an adorable town. You could continue on to Olympia National Park in Washington from here, or head back to Portland. There are some wonderful vineyards in the Williamette Valley also. Oregon is just stunning.


+1. Eugene is probably the most underarted college town in the US. Just an awesome place. My wife and I are seriously considering retiring there.
Anonymous
Post 05/23/2026 10:53     Subject: Lesser known gems in the USA
California. Hands down. Especially if you want a mix of outdoors and city experiences. Just go all in with tourist destinations.
Anonymous
Post 05/16/2026 10:36     Subject: Re:Lesser known gems in the USA
OP - this would not meet your time constraints, but we had a fantastic, real "lessor known gem" trip (me and three teen sons) following the Lewis & Clark Trail from St. Joseph, MO all of the way to Astoria, OR. You could do a piece. North Dakota had some amazing scenery, with interesting natl and state parks focused on L&C and Native Americans, Montana was great. We did Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site (right on the border with ND), Little Bighorn, Grant-Kohrs Ranch, dropped down to Gardiner to do white water rafting and go to Yellowstone, etc. Of course, coastal OR is amazing too.
Anonymous
Post 05/16/2026 09:35     Subject: Lesser known gems in the USA
Anonymous wrote:If you call it "San Fran" I stop listening to everything you say.


Hey they didn’t say Frisco!
Anonymous
Post 05/16/2026 09:34     Subject: Re:Lesser known gems in the USA
Anonymous wrote:How about Cincinnati, OH and Louisville, KY? They're about 90 minutes apart.

Cincinnati has some areas of revival, cute shops, a zoo and aquarium. Louisville has the Muhammad Ali museum, Kentucky Science Center, art museums. There is nature, hiking, rivers - plenty to do.


I posted above about cities, but Cincinnati fits the bill as lesser known. In addition to all PP mentioned, it has a great amusement park and you can always go watch a baseball game
Anonymous
Post 05/16/2026 08:46     Subject: Lesser known gems in the USA
Not “hidden” but one of the best family trips we took was to Hawaii.
Anonymous
Post 05/16/2026 08:35     Subject: Lesser known gems in the USA
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If you call it "San Fran" I stop listening to everything you say.


Oh please I’m typing with two thumbs and was waiting in line while I wrote that. I’ve been there probably a dozen times including this month; my sibling’s spouse is an native, and my cousin has lived there for the past 40 years. I’m sorry if I offended you with an inauthentic abbreviation, SF, San Fra, Frisco, the city by the bay….
Some people on this site are so insufferable.


It's a trope on this site at this point I won't lie, I thought that when I initially read the comment only because so many people have responded that way. Anyways, back to the thread!

I love anywhere within a few hours of Madison early summer. Lots of great options and nice state parks.
Anonymous
Post 05/16/2026 08:31     Subject: Re:Lesser known gems in the USA
How about Cincinnati, OH and Louisville, KY? They're about 90 minutes apart.

Cincinnati has some areas of revival, cute shops, a zoo and aquarium. Louisville has the Muhammad Ali museum, Kentucky Science Center, art museums. There is nature, hiking, rivers - plenty to do.
Anonymous
Post 05/16/2026 07:57     Subject: Lesser known gems in the USA
Anonymous wrote:what do they like to do? we just came back from Oregon coast, crater lake, mt hood trip. beautiful out there.


Second this. Fly into Portland and spend at least a day there...fun, quirky city that your kids will love. From Portland, you can visit Multnomah Falls and the Columbia River Gorge area, including Mount Hood. Then, leave the Portland area and drive an hour or so to the coast...the coastal drive is gorgeous in both directions. If you go north, stop at Neskowin, Rockaway Beach, Cannon Beach, Ecola, and up to Astoria..an adorable town. You could continue on to Olympia National Park in Washington from here, or head back to Portland. There are some wonderful vineyards in the Williamette Valley also. Oregon is just stunning.
Anonymous
Post 05/15/2026 23:26     Subject: Lesser known gems in the USA
Anonymous wrote:
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.


I haven’t done it but I planned it out for a trip we didnt take. Pittsburgh is about 3-4 hours, so that’s a half day on road. Pittsburgh to Chicago is another 6 or so. Chicago to Milwaukee is another 1-2. The problem is then breaking it up on the way home. We thought about stopping in Cleveland. There are lots of colleges you can visit on this trip — Pitt, case western, notre dame, Chicago,, northwestern, Marquette are just some.
Anonymous
Post 05/15/2026 23:21     Subject: Lesser known gems in the USA
Anonymous wrote:If you call it "San Fran" I stop listening to everything you say.


Oh please I’m typing with two thumbs and was waiting in line while I wrote that. I’ve been there probably a dozen times including this month; my sibling’s spouse is an native, and my cousin has lived there for the past 40 years. I’m sorry if I offended you with an inauthentic abbreviation, SF, San Fra, Frisco, the city by the bay….
Some people on this site are so insufferable.