The Dispatch
Some places are worth the drive even when flying is faster. The posts here cover the ones we've actually been to: lake towns that earn the detour, ridiculous roadside attractions, scenic byways that beat the interstate, state parks the guidebooks skip. Each post tells you what's there, how long to stay, and whether to bring the kids or pick the weekend without them. No "best of" listicles for places we haven't visited. No sponsored tourism board fluff. Just notes from the road, organized by what kind of trip you're planning.
5 posts tagged Travel Destinations. See all posts →
Six western drives, ranked by what they actually deliver between the trailheads: ocean cliffs, red rock, alpine switchbacks, and one road Charles Kuralt called the most beautiful in America.
Five weekend escapes within 3 hours of Chicago, priced down to the gas tank, with the math to prove they're actually cheap.
Groceries are up, rent's up, and a "normal" family vacation now runs close to eight grand. Cheap road trips from Chicago are the workaround, especially since Illinois happens to be one of seven states where state park admission is free. Here's where to point the car.
Here's a season-by-season guide to the best road trips from Chicago, with real drive times, what each spot does best in that window, and the stuff worth spotting out the window along the way.
A record 60.6 million Americans hit the road for July 4th 2024, and a huge chunk of them were families staring down two-to-six hours in the car. This is a rundown of the best family road trips from Chicago, with real drive times, two or three concrete kid hits per stop, and an honest take on the part most posts skip: what to do between mile zero and the parking lot.
