Road Trip Ideas - Olathe,KS

If you are into floating. Bass River Resort (Steelville, MO) has some nice cabins and the floating is gorgeous. The property also has a pool and horseback riding. It's a very enjoyable time.

The Springs and Rushmore are 2 of our most memorable vacations with our children.

We spent a very action packed 4 days in the Mt Rushmore area. Crazy Horse and the Mammoth Dig were big highlights.

I lived in the Springs for 5 years and we just went back on vacation last summer. Must sees include Garden of the Gods, Ft. Carson and Air Force Academy, and Manitou Springs and Pikes Peak. A short drive from the Springs will take you to Canon City where you can visit the Royal Gorge. Skip the amusement rides (the Gorge and the Funicular (sp?) are amazing enough and use the savings to go white water rafting. Also a short drive from the Springs is the Comanche National Grasslands (Picketwire Canyon) where you can spend a great day hiking/biking to look at old ruins and dinosaur tracks. Look into bike rentals in nearby Pueblo.

Have fun!

How about Cedar Point in Ohio? Number 1 ride park for years now and the ages of your kids would be great for that. It would be about 11 hours for you.

Go to Groupon and see what deals are out there. Maybe something will tickle you travel spirit :)

My kids loved the Badlands and Black Hills when they were about those ages. There is SO much more to do in that area than just Mt. Rushmore. Is that really only a one day drive for you?

I live 10 minutes from the MOA. That can be fun too, but a very different experience. It has an indoor amusement park and although it is not affiliated with the Mall, there is the Waterpark of America just a few blocks away. Weather permitting, we also have a fun, newer baseball stadium and a lot of outdoor activities in the area.

PM me if you decide on one of those locations and need more information. I was also going to suggest St. Louis, but is that too close for a road trip? St. Louis has Six Flags and a relatively new baseball stadium, in addition to a variety of other activities.

ETA: Of course, always lots to do in Chicago. A former home and favorite destination of mine.

My boys were 11 and 13 when we did a road trip that included some sightseeing out your way. We drove from Oregon to Wisconsin and Missouri to see friends. On the way out we stopped at Mt. Rushmore. We spent time doing the hike and visitor center, both worth the time. From Wisconsin to Missouri we spent a couple days in Wisconsin Dells and made a quick stop at the House on the Rock and found the Lincoln stuff in Springfield interesting. On our way home from Missouri to Oregon, we followed the Oregon Trail. There were historic sites along the way, some good for a photo, others kept us busy for hours. The best were forts that had been restored, with a living history or interpretive program like Ft. Laramie.

Katy Station park is just a couple hours from you; it is a rails-to-trail park that has a asphalt trail goes along the Missouri River Valley going from just outside St. Charles (by St. Louis) to just short of KC. You can rent bicycles, and there are restaurants at certain trail heads along the way. I stopped at it on my way back from St. Louis. I ran into a family who came from KC. It's gorgeous and has good wildlife and beautiful tall bluffs! A good and close-by nature trip to a hidden treasure in Missouri. Just look it up online to find where to get on it.
You may combine Katy Station trail park with many other things in Missouri. One of my favorite family vacations was exploring parks in Missouri. Kids enjoy nature more than you may expect. The Science museum and Shaws Garden, and the Art Museum all in St. Louis are also wonderful and Shaws garden is internationally known.
E.

Mount Rushmore is looking at rocks. You can see every bit of it on the history channel. You don't even have to pay to see the monument. You can see it from the road.

I did find the story behind Crazy Horse much more interesting.

We did not see the benefit of paying all that money to go on a closer tour of either of the destinations. It would have easily been over $100 each to do them both if we bought any souvenirs.

We went to Branson in September and it was awesome. We got "buy one day get the 2nd day free". We rode all the rides several times and we didn't even get off the ride between due to no one being in line.

It was nice to let the kids go and play in the kids areas without having to stress about not being able to see them. I could see or hear them from every spot. We sat in a shaded area and visited while the kids ran amok and played for about 30-45 minutes. Then we went back to ride more.

Colorado Springs is nice but the entire thing to do is Pikes Peak. There are some nice restaurants that are unique of course but nothing more exciting. I think if you look for things to do in the general area to have something else to do that trip would be pretty exciting for them since they'll be on top of a mountain.

I would not take the kids there myself though. Not unless I had them on a harness. It is too easy to slip, tumble, roll, etc...off the side of the mountain. So I worry too much....lol.

I just went last year to Mt Rushmore with my 4 y/o (had not been there since i was a teenager) had a blast going there. There are alot of fun things to do around the area. I have been to all the places that you mentioned and like all of them. Colorado is awesome for the scenery and the hiking, Mall of America is fun for the adventure at the mall, Branson is full of adventure as well, and so is South Dakota. Good luck in what you decide

Would not waste my time at Mall of America. It is a mall. Mt. rush,ore is awesome. Love love love Colorado!!!!! That is where I would head.

We love Branson. We are going this summer and we love it. Silver Dollar City is fun, there's the Ripley's Believe it or Not museum...fun for everyone!

Smoky Mountians.- lots to do with out a lot of cost.
Blue Ridge Parkway- drive enjoy the sceene it is beautiful

How about the Wisconsin Dells. It would be 8 hours. Not too bad. I have heard wonderful things about the water parks and the amusement parks.

Have fun whatever you decide!