Sometimes the best adventures are off the beaten path. Certainly you can look in any travel guide for the top sightseeing spots, but we have dug a little deeper to find the hidden gems that maybe aren't so obvious. Check out our handful of Regional Road trips throughout the different parts of the US. Maybe you'll discover something new right in your own back yard!
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From the Michigan Peninsula to the great sand dunes of Wisconsin and across
the rolling plains of Iowa, you’ll soon discover why the Central Region
is known as America’s Heartland.
Illinois
Starved Rock State Park in Utica derives its name from a centuries-old Native American legend of injustice and retribution. After the slaying of Pontiac, the Ottawa tribal chief, by an Illiniwek, the Illiniwek tribe sought refuge atop a 125-foot sandstone butte. The Ottawa surrounded the bluff and held their ground until the Illiniwek died of starvation. Thus the name “Starved Rock.”The national park offers stunning vistas—from high bluff tops to more than a dozen winding canyons, plus waterfalls, and ice falls, Starved Rock is a natural geologic beauty. Camp out or stay at the famed Starved Rock Lodge.
Other attractions include the Dickson Mounds Museum, an on-site archaeological museum, and Indian Mounds Park, featuring prehistoric petroglyphs.
Links:
www.dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/parks/i&m/east/starve/park.htmwww.museum.state.il.us/ismsites/dickson
www.dnr.state.il.us/orep/nrrc/cultural/cultural.htm
Indiana
Indiana limestone has been used to build some of the world's most majestic buildings. The limestone is also used by Martinsville sculptor Charles Schiefer to create memorable works of art. In a shop adjacent to his country home at 5270 Low Gap Road (Martinsville), you can view the more than 150 sculptures that populate his 10-acre yard and surround his lake.
Links:
www.scican.net/~schiefer
Michigan
Visualize Michigan as a hand. The Lower Peninsula area, known as “the Thumb,” is shaped by Saginaw Bay to the west and Lake Huron to the east. The Thumb’s highways give way to country roads, distinct villages, and rural charm.
Be sure your travel partner has the camera ready as you drive across the “Mighty Mac” – the Mackinac Bridge that is, – the only link between the Lower and Upper Peninsulas and the third-longest bridge in the country. The Mighty Mac is a 360-degree panorama of shorelines, Great Lakes, and islands.
Links:
Go voyaging with Appledore Tallships—www.baysailbaycity.org
Charity Island Wildlife Sanctuary—www.charityisland.net
Minnesota
Travel nature’s own roller coaster—Superior National Forest and Kabetogama State Forest offers - a 72-mile ride on tight turns and steep slopes through the untrammeled wilderness. Portage your canoe through the Echo Trail to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness for unmatched views of rolling forest, lakes, wetlands, rivers, and granite crags.
Links:
www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/superior
www.kabetogama.com/lakearea.htm
Ohio
Feel the breeze as you travel the Covered Bridge Scenic Byway. Travel the 44-mile stretch down Route 26 in southeastern Ohio (between Marietta and Woodsfield), through the Wayne National Forest and along the Little Muskingum River.
In the mood for an ATV outing? Wayne National Forest, home of “The Wayne,” has three separate ATV riding areas: Monday Creek, Pine Creek, and Hanging Rock trail systems.
www.byways.org/explore/byways/2321
www.1800hocking.com/wayne_national_forest
www.atvaonline.com/ride/wayne.asp
Wisconsin
Sand dunes and submarines—that’s what a drive along the Wisconsin shores of Lake Michigan has in store for you! Start your day in Manitowoc and get up close and personal with the “sailors” aboard the World War II submarine USS COBIA.
End your day with a stop at the von Stiehl Winery in Algoma, Wisconsin’s oldest licensed winery. Tour arched limestone caverns dating back to the Civil War era and sample from over 30 varieties of carefully produced award-winning wines.
Other attractions include Pinecrest Historical Village, the Manitowoc Marina, the Hamilton Woodtype and Printing Museum, and the Lincoln Park Zoo.
www.vonstiehl.com
www.mchistsoc.org
www.manitowoc-marina.com
www.manitowoc.org/parkandrec/Zoo/zoo.htm#top
www.woodtype.org
Iowa
Does your household include an Amana appliance? Did you know that Amana appliances were originally manufactured by members of the Amana Colonies, one of the longest lasting communal societies in the world? This historic utopian society is located in the rolling hills of Iowa's River Valley. Established shortly before the Civil War by a group of German-speaking European settlers, they began a communal system of living divided into seven different villages, that still continues today.
Drive the Amana Colonies Trail which links the seven Amana villages via Highways 151, 6 and 220. Visit all seven villages, meet the locals and enjoy
traveling one of the most scenic and historical drives in the Midwest. Attractions include the Amana Woolen Mill, the Amana Furniture Shop, and the Coopershop Museum.
www.amanacolonies.org
www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/amana/mah.htm
Missouri
Missouri's 5,000 caves served as hiding places for Indians, housed Jesse James’ stolen treasure, and as an Underground Railroad for slaves seeking freedom. The caves are even a popular wedding stage for couples wishing to marry under their dripping stalactites.
Some caves offer true wilderness experiences, while others have been developed for tourism, featuring light and sound show spectacles. When visiting the caves, be sure to bring a light jacket. The average cave temperature is a chilly 55 degrees.
www.missouricaves.com
www.fantasticcaverns.com
www.talkingrockscavern.com
Please note: Web site links are listed as a convenience to our visitors. Dare Foods and its representatives take no responsibility and give no guarantees, warranties or representations, implied or otherwise, for the content or accuracy of these third-party sites.
