Spring break with kids

Travel time can easily double, especially on your return trip. Neighbors discover this coming home for FL spring break. I-75 northbound was wall to wall from Orlando to Atlanta.

If you are going to do this, seriously consider driving at night, after 9PM, until you get fairly far north.

Orlando is 1200 miles from Detroit, so that is a lot of range. My sister likes to drive from Flint to the Outer Banks at that time of year. My daughter prefers the Mississippi Gulf Coast in April, but keep in mind any warm beach locations will be drawing the college Spring Break crowds so facilities can be quite crowded and possibly noisy.

Much closer, Nashville can be nice in April, with much to see and do. However, it is at the latitude that can get heavy storms March through May.

Consider also Great Smoky Mountains NP (or Dollywood in the Smokies) which are one long day's drive from Lansing or Detroit.

St. Louis is a great city in the Midwest. The zoo is one of the top-ranked zoos in the nation, and it has free admission. The art museum and science museum are great--and free! I think it's like a mini-Chicago where all of the great museums are free.

Our favorite thing in St. Louis is the City Museum, which is not a museum at all. Your kids would love it! It's a crazy indoor play area designed by super creative artists. It's like nothing we've ever seen. Check it out here.

You could head south from there and see a scenic park of the state with a visit to Johnson's Shut Ins and Elephant Rocks, both of which have really unique natural rock formations.

He started another post with definite plans of New Orleans.

This may sound weird, but the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in southern Georgia is absolutely amazing. Specifically, stay at Stephen C Foster State Park and base your activities from there. They offer boat rentals or take your own kayak to explore the swamp, the fishing is great, and you are literally in the middle of nowhere. It's so far out in the sticks that the rangers have to live there on a rotating basis. After a few days there head over to Hilton Head or Savannah..... Or on the way to the Swamp stop for a day or two at Stone Mountain, explore that and all that Atlanta has to offer before heading on south.

Myrtle Beach, SC
touristy and then not so depending on the season, Spring break fills up quick at the 4-5 major campgrounds. Book SOON.
my pick in order:
Ocean Lakes, Pirateland, Lakewood (these 3 Southend), Myrtle Beach Travel Park, Apache(these 2 Northend), KOA(middle)
randy

russkerri wrote:
St. Louis is a great city in the Midwest. The zoo is one of the top-ranked zoos in the nation, and it has free admission. The art museum and science museum are great--and free! I think it's like a mini-Chicago where all of the great museums are free.

Our favorite thing in St. Louis is the City Museum, which is not a museum at all. Your kids would love it! It's a crazy indoor play area designed by super creative artists. It's like nothing we've ever seen. Check it out here.

You could head south from there and see a scenic park of the state with a visit to Johnson's Shut Ins and Elephant Rocks, both of which have really unique natural rock formations.

WOW! City Museum looks amazing.

We had decided to go to the New Orleans area for spring break.
I was considering stopping in St Louis on the way home to go visit the arch. We'd only have a couple of hours to visit in the area which would not be sufficient for the City Museum.
We might have to make another trip out to experience that separately, or revise the current trip plans. My kids would like that, even the older ones.

michigansandzilla wrote:

tragusa3 wrote:
A few thoughts:

I was born and raised in New Orleans for 30 years. It is the most incredible city I've been to and is certainly a blast for kids. IF you look broader than Bourbon.

1. Paddle boat cruise from FQ to Audubon Park for the Zoo. There is an Aquarium/Zoo/Cruise package.
2. FQ and French Market are a lot of fun in the daytime and relatively safe. Start your morning at sunrise having beignets at Cafe' Du Monde and spend the day walking the streets. You can spend hours in Jackson Square alone watching the street performers.
3. Cemetery and Ghost tours
4. Take the streetcar from the FQ all the way down St. Charles and have breakfast at Camellia Grill
5. Go out of the city for a canoe tour of the Atchafalaya Basin. Massive Cypress trees, alligator and the cajun culture all around.
6. Do a charter fishing trip out of Plaquemines Parish (I know people) to fish for redfish in the shallow water marsh. I grew up doing this, and there are few other fishing experiences that match it.

Thank you! This is great!
We're not party type people so Bourbon street was never the appeal. It's more the bayou, canoeing, alligators, air boats, plantation visit, and the FQ seems interesting as well. We've never seen the Mississippi River or a bayou either. We'd have 5 days to spend there with three kids. They like to do pretty much anything and we hit any aquarium we're near, so that's a definite stop. The fishing charter is a great idea, we've never done that either!

We like NO and think that is a great choice if that is what you would like to do. The itinerary that is above is great but you could add the WWII museum which is on Magazine Street. You will also find the food is fantastic. When there we like to stay at Pontchatrain Landing.(SP?) It is a nice place and is safe. The French Quarter is okay for the kids during the day as there is so much history there. Enjoy

WOW! City Museum looks amazing.

We had decided to go to the New Orleans area for spring break.
I was considering stopping in St Louis on the way home to go visit the arch. We'd only have a couple of hours to visit in the area which would not be sufficient for the City Museum.
We might have to make another trip out to experience that separately, or revise the current trip plans. My kids would like that, even the older ones.

Hope you make it there someday! It is really fun.