Midwest Vacation Ideas?

I'd vote for Cincinnati. The weather should still be pleasant, and there is a ton of things to do there.

The Children's Museum is excellent. The Newport Aquarium (across the Ohio River) is wonderful. The Hamilton Co. parks are awesome and the children would love them. King's Island will still be open on the weekends and they have lots of kiddie rides.

We try to get down there every year for at least a few days. We always stay at a hotel with an indoor pool so the kids can swim. If you were thinking more along the lines of camping, there are wonderful campsites in the area, also. I recommend you get online and Goodsearch Cincinnati.

Have fun!

Why not pick an area you'd like to see and then find out what there is to do? It's a good time of year for fall color and harvest festivals. If you plan on going north, check to see what the weather's like. I've been in the UP in mid-October and there's been snow. It melts quick but brrrr. Although snow kinda sounds good right now...

We just did the dells last year for the first time and stayed at the wilderness with our at the time 5yr old 3yr old and 6mo old and it was a blast, that place is set up great for kids and adults. with three different water parks to choose from indoors for the kids to play at friendly even for the 6 mo old was awesome plus they have a great indoor dry play area also. Mini golf inside and a fun go cart section outside (we had decent weather for those when we were there)

I'm copying and pasting my answer to a previous question about vacation destinations in Michigan:

In Traverse City and the area, you can do the beach vacation but there are all kinds of other things to do. Check out the Traverse City website: www.traversecity.com We like to go there mostly to relax now, but there are a lot of things to do. There's a nice downtown area with lots of shopping and restaurants. There is a children's museum that my kids liked when they were your child's age. Sleeping Bear Dunes is a short drive away. You can visit the Grand Traverse lighthouse. There is a little tourist area in a town called Leland with a bunch of old fishing shanties that are now little shops and there's a restaurant with good food there. And there are a couple cute small towns between Traverse City and Leland whose names I can't think of at the moment. Other little towns that are within a nice distance for a day trip are: Charlevoix, Petoskey, and Harbor Springs. Mackinac City and Mackinac Island are a bit further away but my husband and I did a day trip there before we had kids. A friend of mine stays near Traverse City in a town called Glen Arbor at a place called the Homestead and they really like it there.

We've been to the Dells twice- once two weeks ago, and the first time the date after our twins turned 1 (with an almost 3 year old). The first time, since they weren't really big enough to be in the water parks, we stayed at the http://www.rhapsodyresort.com/ and it was FABULOUS! There's a small pool, it was newly renovated condos (we had 3 bedroom- one for us, one for son and one for twins' pack-n-plays). It was like home (full kitchen, patio, etc) and was absolutely heaven- and quiet! It's on Lake Delton and my husband would take our older son every night down to feed the ducks on the lake and he loved it! I stayed back when the twins napped, and my husband could take our older to whatever activities they wanted to partake in. I can't recommend it highly enough.

We took our 11 month old and 3 yr old on a road trip to Columbus, oh last summer and were blown away by the zoo. It was seriously the best zoo we have ever been too. We also went to the COSI museum and my kids loved that. They had a great kids area. German town was a lot of fun to walk around. Cincinatti is only about 2 hrs from Columbus so. Headed there next. We stayed at Coco Key waterpark and went to the Cincinatti zoo. You could try to catch a Reds game or ride the duck boats while there too. We had a fantastic time. My son still talks about the Columbus zoo and about Coco the parrot from the indoor waterpark. There is a great farm in IN that you pass on the way to Ohio if you are coming from the Chicago area which you could stop at for a small break from the car. Good luck and have a great vacation!

We just did a weekend trip on the west side of Michigan - stayed at the Double JJ Ranch in Rothbury and that was a lot of fun. Michigan Adventure is a theme park in Muskegon but I am not sure if they will still be open that time of year. Same thing for Mac Woods Dune Buggy rides in Silver Lake. Sleeping Bear Dunes, Traverse City area, and Mackinaw Island are very nice too.

Elkhart Lake, WI is our annual July vacation destination! We LOVE it there!

I grew up in MN, but my hubby is from Milwaukee. The summer before we had kids, we went to Door County Wisconsin. Which is 4 hours from Milwaukee. If memory serves me right, Chicago is only a couple of hours from Milwaukee right? Anyways, we found it to be a ton of fun in the summer. I would at least research it and see if there are appropriate activities for small kids there. My personal opinion is that you shouldn't purposely go anywhere that costs money with kids as small as yours, unless it is to visit family.
Mine are 14 months and just 3 and it would be pointless for mine. Little ones are still thrilled by stuff in your local area and enjoy naps and comforts of home. Why not do day drive stuff close to home like nature centers or zoos? You could still "plan" and make it special. Save the bucks and vacation time for "have-to" trips or for when they are both out of diapers and strollers? I don't know what your local area offers, but I bet there are things of interest. If the trip is more for you and your husband to get away, I think you'll find (and I speak from experience) it totally unrelaxing to vacation with little kids. You are better off just getting a sitter and doing date nights. Trust me.

Wisconsin is nice this time of year, usually! Both the Dells and Door County are good recomendations. We went to Door County last year and had a blast! All those little towns are cute and have unique things to offer. My kids loved the lake and the beach (they were almost 1 and almost 3 at the time), plus they really loved all the homemade ice cream and fudge shops! ;) Both are fairly touristy, which may or may not bother you.

St. Louis is only about 5 hours from Chicago and it's great too. There is TONS to do and a lot of their big stuff is free like the zoo and science center. Plus they have a great botanical garden (that has at least 1 day/week free) and an awesome Children's Museum called the Magic House.

Omaha also has a great zoo, I've heard. Plus they have a top rated Children's Museum and at least one hotel that houses a water park. We're actually thinking of taking a trip up to Omaha sometime soon too.

I do think it's a good idea to see what sort of festivals and such might be in those areas during that time. It's always a popular time for them and you could probably time it right to hit one!

GO to Southwest Colorado. LOL I

t's so pretty and lots to do. Sorry I know nothing of midwest.