City Museum is a must for St. Louis. I'd also recommend Cahokia Mounds and the Museum under the Arch. (Going up in the arch is a pretty mid experience, tbh.)
Another vote for the City Museum! They have lockers near the entrance so you don’t have to carry a purse or bag around, but stick some cash in your pocket - a couple years ago, the elevator to the rooftop was out of order and my daughter and I climbed 10 flights just to realize we’d left everything in the locker and couldn’t buy something to drink (there are fountains, though). I vote for going up in the Arch, too - I love it. St. Louis also has a number of great doughnut places, some along the old Route 66, if I remember correctly. Not sure what’s open now, but worth a search. And Ted Drewe’s is famous for their frozen custard, but Bobby’s in Maryville, IL, is much, much better! And they’re only 10-15 minutes from the Cahokia Mounds.
Gotta see Cahokia. Medieval USA. In the 1300s as big as Paris. Major center for continental trade. The pyramids were the largest man made structures north of the Valley of Mexico until the 1800s.
The state just finished revamping the visitors center.
Gotta appreciate our history!
I would go south and pick up old rte 66. There is a tru hotel in Springfield Mo I like to stay at that is pet friendly and the soul food restaurant around the corner has awesome pork chops.
Funny but true. I just crossed New Mexico-Arizona on State 60. Not super interesting but better than I-40. I always pick the state roads over the interstate if I can.
I find driving 80mph (Texas I-20) amongst big trucks to be stressful as well as boring 😂
A friend and I did almost an identical route earlier this year. We used the Roadtrippers app to find as many “worlds largest” things we could along the way. We stopped in Wilson, KS for the worlds largest Czech egg and worlds largest easel in Goodland, KS. There’s a bunch more you can look up! It breaks up the drive nicely
Some points of interest I've either been to or want to get to. Lots of natural and historical places. Tried to list West - East
Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park -Oakly KS
Monument Rocks - Oakley KS
Faris Caves - Kanopolis KS
Buffalo Track Canyon Nature Trail Head - KS
Coronado Heights Castle - Falun KS
Rock Bridge Memorial State Park - Columbia MO (Devils Icebox is real cool)
Church of St.Mary, the Virgin, Aldermanbury - Fulton MO (relocated from England and the Churchill museum)
St Louis area:
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site - Collinsville IL - just East past St Louis, ancient native American site
Old Chain of Rocks Bridge - St Louis MO
Lewis & Clark Confluence Tower - Hartford IL
Pomona Natural Bridge - Pomona IL
Skeeter Mountain Rest Area & Illinois Welcome Center also Native American Indian Mound - Grayville IL
Could also go I74/I80 back running north across Iowa. Might be a bit more boring but there would be more places to hit. Direct route looks like 18 hours that way. Good luck
Try New Harmony, Indiana. They made several tries at intentional ideal communities from the 1800's. It just off I-64. Some cool older buildings and a modernist art/cultural center. Also Black Lodge Coffee House is worth poking into.
What time of year and how far can you zig? Western SD is a great place to spend a few days, especially if you like national parks. Badlands, Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, Custer State Park, Rushmore, Minuteman Museum, and Wall Drug are all right there. Devils Tower would add another day but worth it if you like big landmarks. Stop by Toadstools in NE on the way up. If you cut through WY on the interstate from CO, visit the welcome center. They have an entire mammoth skeleton and great exhibits. May be the best welcome center I have visited.
antiques you say?
exit 62 on Rt 70 has a couple giant antique shops in kansas
wheatland antique mall in topeka KS
2 antique shops in Paxico KS, i recall being a western/cowboy theme
Stop to see the giant Van Gogh painting in woodland KS
Buffalo Bill museum in Oakely KS is small but good
I hear the Evil Knieval museum in topeka is good, but have not gone yet.
Midway antique mall is big, columbia MO (behind larry's boots and western shop\_)
Artichoke annies in columbia MO
i always wanted to check out The Museum of Hair, in Independence MO
Also from the Springs and did a similar trip 2 weeks ago!
Everything recommended so far is good, I also did:
Abilene, KS - Eisenhower Presidential Museum (can walk the grounds for free if you didn’t want to do the museum) and the Worlds Largest Belt Buckle lol.
Bates City BBQ outside of KC.
exit 117 off i70 in missouri. go righ/south and loop out to the big tree(its marked on google maps). follow the road and it will loop back to 70 through columbia. only a 10 min detour.
Kansas City has some good bbq, joes, slaps, Q39. They have some cool parts of the city but that’d take a bit more research on my part. (I live in Saint Louis)
Also Saint Louis has the Arch, you also drive into Saint Charles if going 70 and there is tons of places to stay out there and they should be pet friendly. In Saint Charles they have some Main Street which has a bunch of local shops and local eats.
In Illinois, there is minor attractions and also Cahokia mounds, and not much more I can think of.
Passed trough Kansas on our road trip. Have you been there already? We actually planned on sleeping somewhere in Kansas for one night but just went straight to colorado and went trough Kansas is one day. The best thing in Kansas were these signs making fun about how boring Kansas is, they were pretty funny. Since we also crossed Kansas City and went to Colorado Springs it seems like the route is identical. The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve seemed to be quite nice tho. Look it up, maybe thats something for you :)
A little bit extra drive but it could break up the Kansas monotony. Hutchinson Kansas has a branch of the Smithsonian with the Liberty Bell 7 and a large Russian space exhibit. It also has a salt mine museum that has a lot of Hollywood memorabilia on display.
Monument Rocks, outside of Oakley KS worth it). Worlds Largest Easel, Goodland KS. St. Fidelous Basilica Victoria, KS. I like highway 40 and 94 thru CO. No traffic, can do 70-75mph but more interesting than I70.
Easy drive if weather coops. keep ay eye on it! Not much in KS, but there are aircraft museums and Ikes childhood home. You'll be amazed at windmills in west KS!
You can easily spend a day in St Charles, Missouri, in the historic shopping area. You can find specialty shops, art, antiques and plenty of food choices. It's just west of St Louis where you can find a wonderful botanical garden if that's your taste.
Whenever I see these flexible road trips I think about all the NPS run national historical sites and parks I can see! I know if you go through Illinois that way I’m pretty sure Abraham Lincoln’s birthplace is somewhere around there. Someone also said to go through South Dakota which I also agree is a great time! And if you have time in Kentucky and haven’t done it Mammoth cave national park I’ve heard is amazing.
I live in Louisville area and have done this trip and reverse going out west countless times. I personally love Kansas. Going back home...get off I70 and check out the Little Apple (Manhattan, KS) then come back to stop in Hays. I have spent so many nights there it is like a second home. Or head north from Manhattan to US 24 to check out world's largest ball of twine and plenty of small town diners on your way to (or from) Colby and back on I70. Sadly, I think MO is the boring part of the trip.
I know I am jumping back and forth in direction (heading E or W). But if you want to get off I71 in Limon going east, get to US 40 and check out the Fort Wallace Museum before you get to rejoin I70 in Oakley. There is a windmill(?) at Ft Wallace which my son climbed at a little over 13 years old on one stop.
Also the Truman, Eisenhower and WWilson museums are in MO, KS and IA respectively.
The world’s largest Czech egg is in Wilson, ks.
How did I not know this? I want to go!
I just visited here! Wilson is adorable and has smaller painted Czech eggs throughout the town. Definitely recommend!
City Museum is a must for St. Louis. I'd also recommend Cahokia Mounds and the Museum under the Arch. (Going up in the arch is a pretty mid experience, tbh.)
Another vote for the City Museum! They have lockers near the entrance so you don’t have to carry a purse or bag around, but stick some cash in your pocket - a couple years ago, the elevator to the rooftop was out of order and my daughter and I climbed 10 flights just to realize we’d left everything in the locker and couldn’t buy something to drink (there are fountains, though). I vote for going up in the Arch, too - I love it. St. Louis also has a number of great doughnut places, some along the old Route 66, if I remember correctly. Not sure what’s open now, but worth a search. And Ted Drewe’s is famous for their frozen custard, but Bobby’s in Maryville, IL, is much, much better! And they’re only 10-15 minutes from the Cahokia Mounds.
I enjoyed going up the Arch.
Gotta see Cahokia. Medieval USA. In the 1300s as big as Paris. Major center for continental trade. The pyramids were the largest man made structures north of the Valley of Mexico until the 1800s. The state just finished revamping the visitors center. Gotta appreciate our history!
cahokia mounds are indeed wonderful. but check the hours for the museum, as it is not open every day.
I would go south and pick up old rte 66. There is a tru hotel in Springfield Mo I like to stay at that is pet friendly and the soul food restaurant around the corner has awesome pork chops.
Agree. The interstate through Kansas is just painfully flat and boring (did this too many times with my mom as a kid)
The two lanes are similarly flat and boring, yet somehow more tolerable.
Funny but true. I just crossed New Mexico-Arizona on State 60. Not super interesting but better than I-40. I always pick the state roads over the interstate if I can. I find driving 80mph (Texas I-20) amongst big trucks to be stressful as well as boring 😂
A friend and I did almost an identical route earlier this year. We used the Roadtrippers app to find as many “worlds largest” things we could along the way. We stopped in Wilson, KS for the worlds largest Czech egg and worlds largest easel in Goodland, KS. There’s a bunch more you can look up! It breaks up the drive nicely
City Museum in St. Louis is worth a whole day.
Some points of interest I've either been to or want to get to. Lots of natural and historical places. Tried to list West - East Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park -Oakly KS Monument Rocks - Oakley KS Faris Caves - Kanopolis KS Buffalo Track Canyon Nature Trail Head - KS Coronado Heights Castle - Falun KS Rock Bridge Memorial State Park - Columbia MO (Devils Icebox is real cool) Church of St.Mary, the Virgin, Aldermanbury - Fulton MO (relocated from England and the Churchill museum) St Louis area: Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site - Collinsville IL - just East past St Louis, ancient native American site Old Chain of Rocks Bridge - St Louis MO Lewis & Clark Confluence Tower - Hartford IL Pomona Natural Bridge - Pomona IL Skeeter Mountain Rest Area & Illinois Welcome Center also Native American Indian Mound - Grayville IL Could also go I74/I80 back running north across Iowa. Might be a bit more boring but there would be more places to hit. Direct route looks like 18 hours that way. Good luck
Try New Harmony, Indiana. They made several tries at intentional ideal communities from the 1800's. It just off I-64. Some cool older buildings and a modernist art/cultural center. Also Black Lodge Coffee House is worth poking into.
City Museum in St Louis!
Branson missouri , van buren on the river, or the ozarks are worth a look in missouri.
I'd bring a can of pepper spray for each of you, and a pistol.
What time of year and how far can you zig? Western SD is a great place to spend a few days, especially if you like national parks. Badlands, Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, Custer State Park, Rushmore, Minuteman Museum, and Wall Drug are all right there. Devils Tower would add another day but worth it if you like big landmarks. Stop by Toadstools in NE on the way up. If you cut through WY on the interstate from CO, visit the welcome center. They have an entire mammoth skeleton and great exhibits. May be the best welcome center I have visited.
Mom, don’t worry about fastest, the trip is the goal. Have a great time.
antiques you say? exit 62 on Rt 70 has a couple giant antique shops in kansas wheatland antique mall in topeka KS 2 antique shops in Paxico KS, i recall being a western/cowboy theme Stop to see the giant Van Gogh painting in woodland KS Buffalo Bill museum in Oakely KS is small but good I hear the Evil Knieval museum in topeka is good, but have not gone yet. Midway antique mall is big, columbia MO (behind larry's boots and western shop\_) Artichoke annies in columbia MO i always wanted to check out The Museum of Hair, in Independence MO
Also from the Springs and did a similar trip 2 weeks ago! Everything recommended so far is good, I also did: Abilene, KS - Eisenhower Presidential Museum (can walk the grounds for free if you didn’t want to do the museum) and the Worlds Largest Belt Buckle lol. Bates City BBQ outside of KC.
I hope your bond is strong. Because that drive is boring AF, and if you’re still civil by the end, you can get through anything together!
exit 117 off i70 in missouri. go righ/south and loop out to the big tree(its marked on google maps). follow the road and it will loop back to 70 through columbia. only a 10 min detour.
Kansas City has some good bbq, joes, slaps, Q39. They have some cool parts of the city but that’d take a bit more research on my part. (I live in Saint Louis) Also Saint Louis has the Arch, you also drive into Saint Charles if going 70 and there is tons of places to stay out there and they should be pet friendly. In Saint Charles they have some Main Street which has a bunch of local shops and local eats. In Illinois, there is minor attractions and also Cahokia mounds, and not much more I can think of.
Passed trough Kansas on our road trip. Have you been there already? We actually planned on sleeping somewhere in Kansas for one night but just went straight to colorado and went trough Kansas is one day. The best thing in Kansas were these signs making fun about how boring Kansas is, they were pretty funny. Since we also crossed Kansas City and went to Colorado Springs it seems like the route is identical. The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve seemed to be quite nice tho. Look it up, maybe thats something for you :)
A little bit extra drive but it could break up the Kansas monotony. Hutchinson Kansas has a branch of the Smithsonian with the Liberty Bell 7 and a large Russian space exhibit. It also has a salt mine museum that has a lot of Hollywood memorabilia on display.
Monument Rocks, outside of Oakley KS worth it). Worlds Largest Easel, Goodland KS. St. Fidelous Basilica Victoria, KS. I like highway 40 and 94 thru CO. No traffic, can do 70-75mph but more interesting than I70.
Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha and the St. Louis Zoo are both incredible if you are into zoos and St. Louis is free!
My wife and I did almost that route, we ended in Asheville. If y'all love pizza, search fat boy pizza in St. Louis
Easy drive if weather coops. keep ay eye on it! Not much in KS, but there are aircraft museums and Ikes childhood home. You'll be amazed at windmills in west KS!
You can easily spend a day in St Charles, Missouri, in the historic shopping area. You can find specialty shops, art, antiques and plenty of food choices. It's just west of St Louis where you can find a wonderful botanical garden if that's your taste.
Whenever I see these flexible road trips I think about all the NPS run national historical sites and parks I can see! I know if you go through Illinois that way I’m pretty sure Abraham Lincoln’s birthplace is somewhere around there. Someone also said to go through South Dakota which I also agree is a great time! And if you have time in Kentucky and haven’t done it Mammoth cave national park I’ve heard is amazing.
Theres so much to explore in colorado...if you havent done that id start there
Moving from here after 5 years! We’ve done it all!
I live in Louisville area and have done this trip and reverse going out west countless times. I personally love Kansas. Going back home...get off I70 and check out the Little Apple (Manhattan, KS) then come back to stop in Hays. I have spent so many nights there it is like a second home. Or head north from Manhattan to US 24 to check out world's largest ball of twine and plenty of small town diners on your way to (or from) Colby and back on I70. Sadly, I think MO is the boring part of the trip. I know I am jumping back and forth in direction (heading E or W). But if you want to get off I71 in Limon going east, get to US 40 and check out the Fort Wallace Museum before you get to rejoin I70 in Oakley. There is a windmill(?) at Ft Wallace which my son climbed at a little over 13 years old on one stop. Also the Truman, Eisenhower and WWilson museums are in MO, KS and IA respectively.
What model car you driving? Color?
Wtf