Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Pittsburgh is gorgeous and Penn and West Virginia have legit mountains on the lower height end. What the Midwest's various 'semi mountains' do have is great views of the lakes, which Penn doesn't have.
And yes Kansas City and for that matter STL both have some nice rolling hills.
I've been curious about checking out the Ozarks, but I'm not really sure where to start. The Ozark mountains seem quite far removed from the Lake of the Ozarks.
Many tourists seem to use Branzon MO as their base camp for a first trip to the Ozarks. It is just convenient. Not good if you hate tourist traps, but as a base camp, there are tons of people who can refer you to other places to explore the Ozarks for an extended stay or for future excursions.
I have been to Michigan and Illinois/Chicago. One thing that Chicago and Michigan offer are the Great Lakes which are really impressive. The Great Lakes make up 95% of North America's fresh water and 20% of the worlds fresh water and not to mention the lakes are beautiful. The UP of Michigan is supposedly beautiful I have never been there and Isle Royale is cool too with the isolated wolves and moose populations. I want to visit Mackinac Island in the future and Lake Superior.
Michigan is really pretty, in my opinion. Especially the Upper Peninsula. If I were to rank every state by natural beauty, I would put it in the 11-15 range, which is about where the best of the east coast would be.
Wisconsin is beautiful. Minnesota is close. Probably Michigan too but I have not seen it myself.
Comparisons to most east coast states probably ends there.
There is just nothing in the breadbasket of Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma. I like the rolling hills of Iowa, but it is not Vermont or the Blue Ridge Mountains or upstate New York.
They all have their highlights, like the Black Hills of South Dakota, or the Ozarks in Missouri.
New England just has a breathtaking amount of stunning beauty.
I take it you've never been through the Flint Hills or along the Missouri and Kansas river valleys in northeast Kansas.
I won’t say I prefer Minnesota to either coast, but its lakefront and riverfront areas are quite underrated from a scenery and recreation standpoint (quite underrated on the coasts, anyway).
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
