Geocacher's Travel Agency

[+cachew nut]

Not sure what this will yield, but I thought I would give it a try. I want to do a road trip this summer, I'm thinking Chicago to Niagara Falls and back. Probably Chicago to Detroit, through Canada to the Falls, and then back across to the US side and return passing through Buffalo and Cleveland. I might as well see Toronto too as long as I'm in the neighborhood.

 

This would be a family excursion, my wife and I and two young kids, I'm thinking in a large van with a DVD player to keep some sanity. Naturally I know how to find caches already, but I'm wondering what suggestions the community might have on any "must see" type of things or suggestions on campgrounds, or festivals or similar type stuff. I'm curious as to what kind of itinerary you guys could come up with. The timetable I'm thinking about is a week for the whole trip.

 

If possible, I'd like to keep my normal awake and sleep schedules, especially because of the kids. I'm not a cheapskate, but frugal would be nice, if possible Camping is not a problem, and I think I would like to prepare my own meals rather than eating out, for the most part. Let's see what this turns into, it might pan out into something big. My hope is a realistic itinerary jam packed with excitement

[+cachew nut]

Ok, I'll start.

 

When leaving the city, take the Skyway instead of I-94. Sure, you will have to pay the toll, but you will save a few miles, be able to see the lake, and the view from the top of the bridge is awesome!

[+cachew nut]

When leaving the city, take the Skyway instead of I-94. Sure, you will have to pay the toll, but you will save a few miles, be able to see the lake, and the view from the top of the bridge is awesome!

Nice, thanks! These are the kinds of things I'm looking for. It's nice to see things along the way, I never really thought about the view from the top of the bridge.

[+Team Tecmage]

Okay, I'll give it a shot. Since you are passing through the area, check out the Indiana Sand Dunes. The state park has a few caches as well. You can detour off 90 or 94, and travel Hwy 20, which parallels I-94, plucking some caches along the way.

[+cachew nut]

The Dunes are always a favorite, thanks for the reminder! If it's hot a nice dip in the lake should cool things off.

Edited May 30, 2005 by cachew nut

[+Corp Of Discovery]

We took a vacation in 2003 and went to the falls. We stopped at a few places on the way back including: Rock 'n' Roll HOF in Cleveland, OH, Pro Football HOF in Canton, OH and the USAF Museum in Dayton, OH (awesome, a must see is the concept/Air Force 1 special exhibit- and it's all FREE!). Depending on which way you'd like to come from there I could also recommend seeing the Indy 500 Speedway in Indianapolis, IN or the American Heritage Village and other associated places in Auburn, IN (just a bit north of Ft. Wayne). Hope some of this helps.

[+Bjorn74]

I know I'm known as the GeoBash guy, by now, but if you can work a big event into the mix, that would probably help out. It looks like we'll have a huge event in the area between Lakes Michigan and Erie each summer.

 

Scook is working on area Bookmark lists for I-75 that might be helpful in such a trip, as well. Look at MiGO or GeocacheOhio for those. Maybe someone could start the same initiative for 80/90 and through Ontario.

[+cachew nut]

Anybody ever stay at KOA or Jellystone campgrounds? They seem conveniently located along the route I'm planning. Anything to be aware of?

Edited May 30, 2005 by cachew nut

[+maleki]

Always wanted to do a loop like that myself. Perhaps in conjunction with a Sox game in Toronto. In addition I'd want to stop at the R&R HOF in Cleveland and Cedar Point in/near Sandusky, OH. They seem to have some of the best roller coasters in existence.

 

For something completly different, take the local route and cache along the way. Pick up US Route 20 anywhere in the Chicago area and see how long you can handle it going east. End of the line eastbound is Boston but it does pass thru Buffalo near Niagara Falls. Route 20 is the longest road in the US at 3365 miles. probably about a third of that east of the Chicago area.

 

As we have done the complete western stretch of Route 20(in two different trips) , from the Pacific Ocean at Newport Oregon back thru the Chicago area, we hope to someday complete the route to Boston. Two summers ago we cached along 20 from the Chicago area to Boise, ID. There actually is a somewhat wacky website devoted to Rt. 20

 

www.usroute20.com

 

that lists some points of interest along the way.

 

Have a good trip!

Edited May 31, 2005 by maleki

[+Gary and Mary Adventurers]

I have had very good luck with KOA campgrounds, and have also used Jellystone campgrounds with success. Both of them have strong organizations that make sure that affiliated campgrounds are kept in good shape.

 

A little personal note for you, the QEW in Ontario is a very good highway untill, but when you get in the Toronto area, and from Toronto to the falls it is very busy, and you might want to find local smaller roads if you want to stay sane.

[+cachew nut]

Thanks, I have absolutely no maps for Ontario, and my Mapsend is only for the USA. Maybe someone with Mapsend Canada could send me Ontario to evaluate. In the mean time I guess I'll have to use Yahoo maps Canada.

 

Thanks for the info about KOA and Jellystone, from the websites both look inviting and economical for all you get.

Edited June 1, 2005 by cachew nut

[+cachew nut]

It looks like Cooperstown and Hershey may get added to the tour.

 

...developing