After spending several years flying west and visiting incredible National Parks with the kids, my wife asked if we can "take a break" this summer. We had a relative making a simcha in South Bend, Indiana that my wife wanted us to go to. So we figured we'd make a trip out of it and spend a week stopping at places along the way back.
My first go-to resource was DansDeals Forums, but not much was written on some of those parts of PA, and Indiana. I also spoke to people from there that currently live in New Jersey about what they do when they drive to Cleveland, South Bend, or Chicago for that matter. The general consensus was that they go in and go out and they were not so helpful with ideas.
Reality was setting in on why there was a lack of feedback and enthusiasm about our road trip idea. Nothing personal about Ohio or Indiana. I'm from South Florida...live in NJ and I don't think there is much to do either for a whole family in the summer after 2 days...especially in comparison to Arizona, Utah, and Montana.
But I was determined to make it a fun trip with the kids, and I think we put together a nice itinerary. I hope this will be helpful for someone making a similar trip.
Our group consisted of 8: My wife (AKA expert packer, food coordinator, superhero) and I with our 6 kids (aged 7-22).
Rental Car -With our group of 8, I love renting those Ford Transits which are basically the 15 seater with the last row removed for luggage. In my experience, only Budget or Avis rent those. Enterprise has the extra back bench and minimal luggage space. My trip planning actually starts where I can find an Avis or Budget location with good rates on a full size van. I like using Costco Travel for car reservations. They include an extra driver for free, usually give me great rates, 2% back for Costco Executive card plus allow me to add FastBreak to my Budget reservation so I can skip the counter. In this case, I found a Budget like 40 minutes from home on CostcoTravel.com for $635 for 8 day rental. I should add that the Transit averaged 16 miles per gallon and we drove 1900 miles, which was pricier than anticipated.
Lodging- Usually the best bet for our group is Hyatt House @ 8K points for a suite with a full size kitchen and eating area. But being that we were on a road trip, we were very grateful to find 2 Hyatt Places in Pittsburgh and Cleveland which were probably second best for point value at 5-8K points per night. No kitchen, just a mini fridge, but a pull out sofa sleeper. Free breakfast got us some dry cereals and fruit. We needed 3 rooms for each night. I also found a pair of nice 2 bedroom suites.
Thursday night - Hyatt Place Pittsburgh Airport / Robinson Mall (5K points)
https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/pennsylvania/hyatt-place-pittsburgh-airport-robinson-mall/pitza This place was okay. They put us on the first floor and it was a bit noisy, but for 5K a night I might return for just a night's sleep.
Friday/Sunday - South Bend by relatives.
Sunday/Monday - Staybridge Suites Toledo - Rossford - Perrysburg (2 bedroom suite - $297. Booked with Capital One $300 travel credit)
https://www.ihg.com/staybridge/hotels/us/en/rossford/tolsb/hoteldetailTuesday/Wednesday Night Hyatt Place Cleveland/Lyndhurst/Legacy Village (8K points per suite).
https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/ohio/hyatt-place-cleveland-lyndhurst-legacy-village/clezl This place was really nice, being in the Jewish community and so close to shopping.
Wednesday Night - Homewood Suites by Hilton DuBois, PA (2 bedroom Suite with king in one bedroom and 2 kings in second - $250, or 20K Chase Points with Ink Preferred)
https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/dujidhw-homewood-suites-dubois-pa/ Nice place. They even gave a complimentary meal from 6-8PM at night which practically meant some snack bags, some fruit, and even complimentary beer.
Itinerary -
Thursday - We left Lakewood at 4PM - drove half the distance (5.5 hours) to Pittsburgh. I would have wanted to stop at Flight 93 National Memorial
https://www.nps.gov/flni/index.htm but the time of day didn’t allow it.
Friday - Drove from Pittsburgh to South Bend (5 hours). Stopped at
Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Nice stop to break up the drive, although the National Park status is a bit misleading. We did the Boston Mills Visitor Center and Brandywine Falls Boardwalk to falls. There was also Ledges Trail (2.6 miles RT), Bike Rentals -
https://www.eddys.com/about/peninsula-pg1187.htm, and a hike to Blue Hen Falls (2.8 miles) that are supposed to be nice but we were limited with time on a Friday going to South Bend.
https://www.earthtrekkers.com/best-things-to-do-in-cuyahoga-valley-national-park/ https://maps.app.goo.gl/jtxHJci4SDXUxHBa8 https://www.nps.gov/cuva/planyourvisit/things2do.htm,
Branyvine Falls
Shabbos - Spent with family in South Bend
Sunday - Indiana Dunes State Park (1 Hour from SB) - There’s a state park and national park right near each other. My findings were that if you are looking for a one stop shop where you park your car for the day and go on hikes and then hang at the beach, then do the state park.
https://www.in.gov/dnr/state-parks/files/dunes_trail.pdf,
https://www.in.gov/dnr/state-parks/parks-lakes/indiana-dunes-state-park/ If you are willing to drive around you will get access to more varying terrain and places to check out but none of them are as much of a one stop shop.
https://www.nps.gov/indu/planyourvisit/maps.htm,
https://www.nps.gov/indu/planyourvisit/index.htm We opted for the State Park and did the Trail 8 in State Park (Three Dune Challenge-1.5 miles). Nice fun hike. But nothing even close in comparison to Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado.
We heard Matthiessen state park
https://dnr.illinois.gov/parks/park.matthiessen.html is a beautiful place, but it's 2 hours West from Indiana Dunes which would have added 4 hours driving to our trip...so we opted out.
Water Rafting - In the heart of downtown South Bend. Open from June 1 through Labor Day, the
East Race is considered Class 2 rafting. That means there is some rough water and small drops that require maneuvering. You could fall out. We did as our raft flipped and I lost my glasses. They had plenty of lifeguards along the way, but gave absolutely no instruction at the beginning which could have helped. The course itself is 1,900 feet from start to finish. You'll be done in minutes — and ready to run it again. It's $5 a trip per person. They're open 12-5 on weekends only.
https://eastracewaterway.com/#explore This was loads of fun!
Monday - Put-in-Bay - is an island in the middle of Lake Erie only accessible by boat. The two ferry services are the Miller Ferry and the Jet Express. Both ferries leave from Port Clinton, Ohio, and arrive at the island in roughly 20 minutes. Once on the island, you will see golf carts riddle the streets. Golf cart rentals are the most popular and convenient way to get around the island.
https://putinbay.com/ - Miller Ferry to Island
https://millerferry.com/ , Rent Golf Carts and explore
https://erieislandcarts.com/ or
https://www.esputinbaygolfcarts.com/ (they do packages ferry/golf carts but not in the summer) , Parasailing
https://putinbay.com/pib-activites/put-bay-parasail/ https://www.putinbayparasail.com/ They had small craft advisory the week we were there so we skipped.
Tuesday -
Nelsons Ledges -
http://www.naturalohioadventures.com/nelson-ledges-state-park.html#google_vignette Read about this on DansDeals. This place was amazing and great fun for the kids. We spent like 2 hours here combining some of the trails.
Dinner in Mendel's KC BBQ. Great food. Make reservations as we barely made it in.
https://mendelskcbbq.com/cleveland-mendel-s-kansas-city-bbq-food-menuWhirlyball
https://whirlyballcleveland.com/ We had this in Miami growing up and would have loved to do it with the family here but it was only ages 9 and up which knocked out our 7 year old.
Wednesday - Geneva on the Lake - 1 hour Jet Ski (
https://bulacoastwatersports.com/). They offered us 30 minute pricing when we called for 3 person Seadoo ($90 I think). Great communication.
Presque Isle State Park - Nice state park on Lake Erie. Not sure if it was worth 45 minutes out of the way though compared to other Lake Erie stops.
Thursday - Knoebels https://www.knoebels.com/ride (opens at 12) This is a great amusement park where you don’t pay entrance fees. We did all inclusive bracelets for the kids but in hindsight should have just bought tickets as we needed them. Fun Day. Drive back home.
Final thoughts - Not having to pack luggage to check in on a plane and just being able to load the back of a van…was definitely a nice break and less stressful. 1900 miles though is a lot of driving in a week without a payoff in beauty like Bryce Canyon or Glacier National Park. The family simcha made it worthwhile, along with visiting some really nice communities in Cleveland and South Bend. But if you are like me, and you love sharing incredible nature on a hike with your family, then you’ll need to head further west.
Hope this helps.
