Places to go around Chicago (Springfield, Geneva: homes, college, mall)

[nvedia]

Can someone tell me good places to go around chicago?
Which are 3-7 hours drive
Like St Louis, La Crosse, Iowa etc
Are there any national parks nearby?
Thanks

[ToriaT]

What about Wisconsin or Michigan. Places like Door county, WI or the Kettle Morraine area of WI are close by and pretty. In SW Michigan there is Saugatuck and places like South Haven.

I can't think of any national parks real close but there are a lot of state parks. Also there is the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

[Steve-o]

There are a million things to do withing a 7 hour drive. Do a little research!

[Havasu]

Drive to a place called Lake Geneva,Wisconsin its real nice during any season. Be sure to have a map and drive all the way around the Lake.
Lake Geneva

[sgresident]

St Louis is about a 5 hour drive from Chicago and there is a lot to do there. A big plus is that there are a lot of "FREE" things to do. The zoo, museums etc in Forest Park are all free. The brewery tour, grants farm, the museum below the arch, the old courthouse, the old church downtown..free. The Arch is not too expensive either. Our son goes to college down there, so we have seen a lot of these things!

[cubssoxfan]

Can you be more specific about what you would like to do and during what time of year? There are literally hundreds if not thousands of options-help us narrow the focus down to a manageable size.

[rose125]

Wisconsin Dells, DevilsHeadPark in Wisconsin, 6/7 hours you could do Cedar Point in SanduskyOhio, Mall of America is a little bit longer, but within driving distance, Springfield, etc. there are lots of things to do just do some research.

[skipcromer]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

There are a million things to do withing a 7 hour drive. Do a little research!

I think thats what they're doing...

[ihynes]

In Wisconsin, Kettle Moraine State Park's Southern Unit is an easy drive from Chicago, and Devil's Lake near Baraboo is worth a visit. In Illinois, there's a bunch of state parks and Springfield also has the Illinois State Museum, in addition to the Lincoln stuff. There are some archaeological parks, too, if you're interested in the mound builder cultures; there's a famous site called Cahokia near St. Louis, and the Dickson Mounds Museum in Lewistown. If you're willing to drive a little bit longer, like 8 hours, the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness in the Upper Peninsula is fantastic.