Midwest travel ideas: 12 under-the-radar destinations to visit in America’s Heartland

27.08.2024 - 20:33 / lonelyplanet.com

Aug 27, 2024 • 5 min read

Flyover Country, no more! The Midwestern United States may not be as flashy as their high-profile East or West Coast counterparts. Still, they prove their vacation value through accessibility, friendly hospitality, surprising attractions, natural beauty and affordability. Here are a few fantastic Midwest travel ideas you might want to consider for your next getaway in America’s Heartland.

Are you ready to rock? Multi-faceted Milwaukee is home to the world’s largest outdoor music festival. It also holds 88Nine Radio Milwaukee live studio sessions, a notable club scene and the historic Pabst and Riverside Theaters.

Summerfest comes to town for two weeks each June and July, attracting 800,000 attendees. There are more than a dozen stages, 800 performers and big-name headliners spanning a gamut of genres.

Music of a different tune, the throaty roar of Harley-Davidson motorcycles, is an iconic part of Milwaukee’s cultural soundtrack. Catch live musical performances during the Bike Nights summer concert series at the Harley-Davidson Museum.

Ohio’s trendy capital city has emerged as a fashion hub in recent years thanks to cutting-edge design schools, flashy showcase events, chic boutiques and major retail headquarters. Fun fact: Columbus is home to more resident fashion designers (including several Project Runway contestants) than any other city in the United States except New York and Los Angeles.

The open-air Easton Town Center is populated with high-end retailers, sophisticated restaurants and upscale entertainment venues. The eclectic Short North Arts District has fun boutiques and vintage shops to browse.

Traverse City’s bread-and-butter crop, sweet and tart cherries, pops up at farm stands across the Up North region through late summer. You can also find then in Traverse City Whiskey Co. cocktails, Grand Traverse Pie Company slices of pie and sweet and savory Cherry Republic products all year.

Acres of idyllic wineries and orchards dot the Leelanau and Old Mission peninsulas rolling hills, perfectly paired with the gorgeous Lake Michigan vistas from nearby Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

Summer is high season, but the Traverse City area also boasts enviable skiing terrain, fat-tire bike trails, and snowmobile routes, making it an attractive destination for winter recreation.

Read more on Traverse, Leelanau and Sleeping Bear Dunes

Wichita boasts a proud aviation heritage, producing 35 percent of the world’s general aircraft and home to one of just two known airworthy B29s left in the world. The Kansas Aviation Museum educates and entertains with B-47 and B-52 jet bombers on display, flight simulators and interactive exhibits. The Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum offers