Ohio: Cleveland Rocks
Fourteen years after the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opened in this once blighted city, Cleveland has firmly established itself as a Midwestern find. After browsing the six floors of rock memorabilia in the iconic I. M. Pei building, tour the Cleveland Museum of Art's new east wing. Stroll the giant Glasshouse of the Cleveland Botanical Garden. Shop in the old Arcade,a five-story structure. Go clubbing in the Warehouse District. Hike the 22-mile towpath trail in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. "Cleveland's surrounding natural beauty is underrated," says local writer Sarah Jaquay. "Lake Erie, for example, is magnetic in all four seasons."
•Logistics: Cleveland is on the shores of Lake Erie. Lodging: J. Palen House B&B. Luxurious 19th-century mansion close to downtown attractions, from $125; www.jpalenhouse.com. Dining: Parallax. Sushi, seafood, American fusion, www.parallaxtremont.com. Best link: www.positivelycleveland.com.
Minnesota: The Allure of the Northern Shore
Highway 61 from Duluth to the Canadian border is a driver's delight, hugging the shoreline of Lake Superior, dipping into boreal forest, curving around dramatic bluffs. But the real pleasure of this 150-mile route are the stops along the way. "The velvet blue of Lake Superior can be seen from almost any pull-out," says writer Jeff Rennicke. Peer down the 200-foot cliff at Palisade Head. Watch ships hauling iron ore at Split Rock Lighthouse. Hike to Minnesota's highest waterfall in Tettegouche State Park. Learn about the North American fur trade at Grand Portage National Monument. Wait till late September, and you can enjoy it all with fall colors as well.
•Logistics: The North Shore Drive is in northeastern Minnesota. Lodging: Naniboujou Lodge, Grand Marais. Rustic, remote 1920s-era lodge with lake views, from $74; www.naniboujou.com. Dining: Bluefin Grille, Tofte. Burgers, steaks, and seafood, overlooking the lake, www.bluefinbay.com. Best link: www.northshorevisitor.com.
Iowa: Iowa's Great Lakes
Just below Iowa's northwest border with Minnesota lies a cluster of glacial lakes that form an old-fashioned vacation wonderland, little known outside the area. The main lakes are Spirit, West Okoboji, and East Okoboji, but the whole area is known as Lake Okoboji. "I love the atmosphere of a friendly beach community with small-town charm," says Iowa native Jessica Oeth, whose family returns to Okoboji every summer. Go boating or waterskiing. Camp and swim at Gull Point State Park. Fish at Westport Park. Hike, bike, or in-line skate the Spine Trail. Sunbathe at Orleans Beach, across from the fish hatchery. Dine—and watch the sunset—at lakeshore restaurants.
•Logistics: Lake Okoboji is a 21/2-hour drive northeast of Sioux City, Iowa. Lodging: Fillenwarth Beach Resort, Arnolds Park. Units with kitchenettes and complimentary waterskiing and cocktail cruises, from $144; www.fillenwarthbeach.com. Dining: Maxwell's Beach Café, Arnolds Park. Casual, withupscale menu featuring halibut and yellowfin tuna, www.lake-okoboji-restaurant.com. Best link: www.vacationokoboji.com.
South Dakota: Get Lost in the Black Hills and Badlands
Let Rapid City be your jumping off point to one of America's quirkiest and most scenic areas. Go deeper than the usual pilgrimage to Mount Rushmore and tourist trap extraordinaire Wall Drug. Check out the still unfinished Crazy Horse Memorial; visit the Wounded Knee museum, commemorating the 1890 massacre; drive the 20-mile Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway; join half a million bikers at the 69th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Aug. 3-9;arrange a backcountry horse-packing trip into the oddly eroded landscape of Badlands National Park. "The Badlands is peaceful looking, dotted with grazing buffalo, but there's something spooky about it, too," says writer Suzanne Bopp.
•Logistics: Rapid City is in southwestern South Dakota. Lodging: Executive Lodging of the Black Hills, Deadwood. Thirty-five vacation homes in scenic settings, from $275; http://blackhillsexecutivelodging.com. Dining: Flying T Chuckwagon Supper & Show, Rapid City. Barbecue and live music, www.flyingt.com. Best link: www.blackhillsbadlands.com.
Michigan: Leelanau Peninsula: The Summer Sublime
Traverse City is the gateway to summer escape in the northwest tip of Michigan's mitten-shaped Lower Peninsula. Stroll the grounds of the city's new Village at Grand Traverse Commons, an ongoing commercial redevelopment of a historic state hospital complex. Check out local taverns and farmers markets. Visit local wineries. Shop and browse galleries in the lakeside towns of Leland and Suttons Bay. Attend a concert at the historic City Opera House or a movie at the restored Bay or State Theatres. Drive the 7.4-mile Pierce Stocking scenic loop in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, or park the car and climb the dunes. "A summer weekend in Northern Michigan is sublime," says Traveler contributing editor and local resident Barton Lewis.
•Logistics: The Leelanau Peninsula is in northwestern Michigan. Lodging: Glen Arbor B&B. Rooms, suites, or cottages in a small village surrounded by national lakeshore, from $89; www.glenarborbnb.com. Dining: Boone's Long Lake Inn. Steaks, seafood, and prime rib in a rustic setting on an inland lake, www.booneslli.com. Best link: www.visittraversecity.com.
Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa: Drive the Mississippi River Valley
The upper-middle stretch of the Great River Road connects a bounty of family-friendly roadside attractions. Learn river lore at the Riverside Museum in La Crosse. Envy the splendor of Victorian America at Villa Louis, the former estate of one of Wisconsin's richest families. Discover an ancient Indian culture at Effigy Mounds National Monument, where you can "walk among 4,000-year-old effigies of birds and bears," says writer Frank Bures. Hike the native-prairie trail in Nelson Dewey State Park. Ride in a 1931 mine car at the Mining Museum in Platteville. Tour the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design in Galena. Most of the town is within a National Historic District.
•Logistics: This 135-mile stretch of the Great River Road runs from La Crosse, Wis., to Galena, Ill. Lodging: The Hancock House B&B Inn, Dubuque. Hilltop Victorian mansion overlooking the city, from $80. Dining: Vinny Vanucchi's Little Italy, Galena. Homemade Italian cuisine in the old downtown. Best link: www.experiencemississippiriver.com.
Missouri: Pedal the Katy Trail
The nation's longest developed rails-to-trails project, intended for hikers and cyclists, follows the Missouri River through some of the state's most picturesque countryside. Pedal west from St. Charles along the mostly flat former railbed, tunneling through forest canopy or along farm fields or scenic bluffs. Stop in the German community of Hermann, which has ten wineries, as well as B&Bs and restaurants. Use the mileage chart at the state park website to plan a trip lasting a day or two or a whole week. "The towns are at convenient intervals," says writer Mel White, who has biked much of the trail. "That makes a weekend ride possible without having to rough it."
•Logistics: The Katy Trail runs 225 miles west from St. Charles, Missouri (outside St. Louis) to Clinton. The entire route is within a state park. Lodging: B&Bs and motels are located in 24 communities along the route, for example, Meyer's Hilltop Farm B&B, Hermann. Comfortable rooms on 75 acres, from $80; www.meyerhilltopfarm.com. Dining: Restaurants can be found in 30 communities along the route, for example, Augusta Brewing Company, Augusta. Bratwurst and sauerkraut for lunch; chicken dishes for dinner, www.augustabrewing.com. Best link: www.mostateparks.com/katytrail.
Indiana: An Old Spa Town Rejuvenates Itself
French Lick, blessed with natural sulphur springs, was a hedonistic mid-20th-century resort town, frequented by Chicago gangsters and regular folk alike. After decades of decline, the resort properties reopened—consolidated, renovated, and more extravagant than ever. Today the resort encompasses the French Lick Springs Hotel and, a mile away, the West Baden Springs Hotel. "This is a resort that has done everything right," says a recent visitor from Indianapolis. Gamble at the casino. Soak in the Pluto mineral spring bath. Get a facial at the spa. Play golf on PGA championship courses. Feel pampered in an opulent setting.
•Logistics: French Lick is a 21/2-hour drive southeast of Indianapolis. Lodging: French Lick Springs Hotel. 443 restored guest rooms and suites and 24-hour casino, from $129. West Baden Springs Hotel. Six floors with a total of 243 luxury rooms rise around a domed atrium, from $199; www.frenchlick.com. Dining: At French Lick Springs Hotel: The Grand Colonnade Restaurant, buffet with rotisserie and seafood specialties. At West Baden Springs Hotel: Sinclair's Restaurant. Pricey but satisfying meat and seafood dishes. Best link: www.frenchlick.com.
Published in the May/June 2009 issue of National Geographic Traveler.