Favorite roadtrip stops in the southeast
March 28, 2022 11:07 AM Subscribe
The family (including a 6 and 5 year old) is driving from Indianapolis down to Orlando next weekend, and we have some extra time to stop along the way due to our current schedule. What are your favorite (and preferably off the wall) options for us to get out and review / stretch our legs?
Notes:
* the 5 year old stated he wanted to see mountains and a museum with dinosaur bones. The 6 year old was non-committal.
* My wife would like to swing through Savannah, Georgia, but that's not a requirement if there's something cool otherwise.
* Ideally this would be at least a few hours out of Indianapolis since we could hit those as a normal day trip (thus my labelling the question as "southeast" US), but if you have something of mind closer to Indy, feel free to suggest it.
* I suggest off the wall since I imagine there are many people traveling for spring break after Covid fun, and so I would imagine more touristy places are going to be slammed.
Notes:
* the 5 year old stated he wanted to see mountains and a museum with dinosaur bones. The 6 year old was non-committal.
* My wife would like to swing through Savannah, Georgia, but that's not a requirement if there's something cool otherwise.
* Ideally this would be at least a few hours out of Indianapolis since we could hit those as a normal day trip (thus my labelling the question as "southeast" US), but if you have something of mind closer to Indy, feel free to suggest it.
* I suggest off the wall since I imagine there are many people traveling for spring break after Covid fun, and so I would imagine more touristy places are going to be slammed.
My family swung by the Florida Museum of Natural History on a road trip a few years ago and it was worth the stop.
posted by eelgrassman at 11:31 AM on March 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by eelgrassman at 11:31 AM on March 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
Oh and this may not be far enough outside Indiana for you but I'm duty bound to recommend Berea Kentucky to anyone driving near the area. Berea is just a real neat place with a history you can feel good about, which is rare for most places in the south.
posted by phunniemee at 11:31 AM on March 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by phunniemee at 11:31 AM on March 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
Opryland, outside of Nashville is, well, something.
posted by Windopaene at 11:59 AM on March 28, 2022
posted by Windopaene at 11:59 AM on March 28, 2022
There's Dinosaur World in Kentucky (about an hour and a half from Louisville so really right on the edge of day trip) and apparently there's also another one in Florida, but it's a couple hours from Orlando.
posted by deezil at 12:28 PM on March 28, 2022
posted by deezil at 12:28 PM on March 28, 2022
Swinging through Savannah adds a couple hours but you'll get to see the Atlantic coast. It's another extra hour or two but the drive from Jacksonville Beach to St. Augustine is very nice, and there's a gator farm if you like prehistoric reptiles (warning: they stink)
I'm trying to think of a place that won't be crowded but coming up short. Maybe you could stop at one of the picnic areas along that drive like South Ponte Vedra Beach and have lunch.
posted by credulous at 1:22 PM on March 28, 2022
I'm trying to think of a place that won't be crowded but coming up short. Maybe you could stop at one of the picnic areas along that drive like South Ponte Vedra Beach and have lunch.
posted by credulous at 1:22 PM on March 28, 2022
Best answer: Chattanooga has several interesting things, including Ruby Falls & Rock City.
Howard Finster's Paradise Gardens is an amazing outdoor outsider artist, uh, installation, in northwest Georgia, which is nearly on your way.
AtlasObscura's map is helpful too.
posted by gregr at 1:27 PM on March 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
Howard Finster's Paradise Gardens is an amazing outdoor outsider artist, uh, installation, in northwest Georgia, which is nearly on your way.
AtlasObscura's map is helpful too.
posted by gregr at 1:27 PM on March 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
There are six historic villages in Minnesota: Dakota City, Village of Yesteryear, Freeborn County Historical Museum and Village, The Landing, Historic Forestville and Little Log House Pioneer Village. There is also the Mantorville Historic Days in June. There is also the Snake River Fur Post in Pine City.
There are several places to go apple picking. You could also try the Dodge Nature Centre and Farm, or several other farms set up for kid friendly tours.
I have never been to any of the places I named, but they are the genre that makes great places to bring kids who can scamper around and get muddy and climb on fences and entirely overlook the educational aspects of the experience. Seeing cows in person to get an idea of the scale, and the smell and the sounds is a very different experience than seeing them in a video. They won't remember the video but they will remember the mud.
posted by Jane the Brown at 1:28 PM on March 28, 2022
There are several places to go apple picking. You could also try the Dodge Nature Centre and Farm, or several other farms set up for kid friendly tours.
I have never been to any of the places I named, but they are the genre that makes great places to bring kids who can scamper around and get muddy and climb on fences and entirely overlook the educational aspects of the experience. Seeing cows in person to get an idea of the scale, and the smell and the sounds is a very different experience than seeing them in a video. They won't remember the video but they will remember the mud.
posted by Jane the Brown at 1:28 PM on March 28, 2022
Best answer: A museum with dinosaur bones that's literally right on your route if you take I-75: the Tellus Museum in Cartersville, Georgia (northwest of Atlanta). I keep meaning to take my kid there. Don't be tempted to stop at the Fernbank Museum, in Atlanta, they really only have like two dinosaurs. My three-year-old likes it but she has no taste.
On the same route, the Nashville-to-Chattanooga stretch of I-24 is pretty mountainous.
posted by madcaptenor at 1:37 PM on March 28, 2022
On the same route, the Nashville-to-Chattanooga stretch of I-24 is pretty mountainous.
posted by madcaptenor at 1:37 PM on March 28, 2022
South of the Border Is still there! A monument to tacky American roadside kitsch, it was always the sign that the NY-FL road trip was half-over.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:49 PM on March 28, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:49 PM on March 28, 2022 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Georgia has several interesting Muscogee sites. On the way from seeing the dinosaurs in Cartersville to seeing Savannah (both of which are awesome), you could stop at Ocmulgee Mounds National Historic Park and see the Earth Lodge, which is partially a recreation and partially ancient and really neat. It's also just a cool place to stretch your legs, climb some mounds, and see the river.
For an authentic Georgia experience, stop at Fresh Air Barbecue in Macon right next to the park, get a bunch of pulled pork and Brunswick stew to go, and then have a picnic at the park. Best bbq in Georgia.
Or stay farther north and go to Paradise Gardens.
posted by hydropsyche at 2:57 PM on March 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
For an authentic Georgia experience, stop at Fresh Air Barbecue in Macon right next to the park, get a bunch of pulled pork and Brunswick stew to go, and then have a picnic at the park. Best bbq in Georgia.
Or stay farther north and go to Paradise Gardens.
posted by hydropsyche at 2:57 PM on March 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: The area around Blue Ridge, Georgia is right along your route, with lots of natural beauty, with several nice spots that could be potentially good stops for you.
-- The town of Blue Ridge itself, which has a quaint downtown shopping area as well as a scenic train (check schedule and book in advance) which you may or may not have time for on your schedule but would definitely be fun for the kiddos.
-- if you're up for a little hike with a nice payoff at the end, there's an easily doable half-mile hike to Fall Branch Falls. I did it last year with a couple other out-of-shape ladies of a certain age and we did fine, and saw plenty of families with young children on the trail. Here's a quick view I found on YouTube of the falls themselves. There are longer videos on YouTube where you can see more of the hike itself if you're interested (just search Falls Branch Falls). [Bonus: There's a restaurant nearby situated nicely on the river which is a good stop for a decent lunch.)
-- A more offbeat option is to stop for a bit more of an immediate interaction with the Toccoa River. There's a spot called the Toccoa River Rapids on Aska Road, where the road comes right up against the river and there's a little gravel pull-off/parking area at a rocky spot in the river. You can step out of the car and do a little river wading. (Stick to the riverbank, maybe bring wading shoes or sneakers you don't mind getting wet for the kids). Here's another YouTube video that shows the exact spot. At the end you can see where you step down from the gravel parking area down to the river. (This video ends with the driver stopping right at the parking area) [neither of these are my videos] You can see the location described in this tourist guide/map from the Fannin County Vistors' Center, which is how I found out about it (it's stop #3 on that map).
-- For something really different and whimsical, check out Helen, GA, a town that in the late 60s decided to turn redesign itself to look like a Bavarian village, and it's a visual treat, with the requisite shops and restaurants to explore.
-- And if you're into waterfalls, I wouldn't miss the granddaddy of northern GA waterfalls, Amicalola Falls. A trail in the park leads to Springer Mountain, where the Appalachian Trail begins at the southern end, but you can enjoy the grandest view of the falls with very little effort at Amicalola Falls State Park. You can drive up to a parking area at the very top of the falls, and walk 50? yards to stand on a (nice, safe, solid) bridge over the top of the falls and watch as the water tumbles over. Then you can drive back down the park road a bit to the next parking area down where there is a trailhead to a paved, quarter-mile walking path, that is only gently sloped, that leads to a platform lower down, across the falls, where you can gape in equal awe at the absolutely gorgeous falls and the unbelievably interpid folks who have hiked/climbed up hundreds of steps to get to where you are from the trail side.
posted by leticia at 11:56 AM on March 29, 2022 [4 favorites]
-- The town of Blue Ridge itself, which has a quaint downtown shopping area as well as a scenic train (check schedule and book in advance) which you may or may not have time for on your schedule but would definitely be fun for the kiddos.
-- if you're up for a little hike with a nice payoff at the end, there's an easily doable half-mile hike to Fall Branch Falls. I did it last year with a couple other out-of-shape ladies of a certain age and we did fine, and saw plenty of families with young children on the trail. Here's a quick view I found on YouTube of the falls themselves. There are longer videos on YouTube where you can see more of the hike itself if you're interested (just search Falls Branch Falls). [Bonus: There's a restaurant nearby situated nicely on the river which is a good stop for a decent lunch.)
-- A more offbeat option is to stop for a bit more of an immediate interaction with the Toccoa River. There's a spot called the Toccoa River Rapids on Aska Road, where the road comes right up against the river and there's a little gravel pull-off/parking area at a rocky spot in the river. You can step out of the car and do a little river wading. (Stick to the riverbank, maybe bring wading shoes or sneakers you don't mind getting wet for the kids). Here's another YouTube video that shows the exact spot. At the end you can see where you step down from the gravel parking area down to the river. (This video ends with the driver stopping right at the parking area) [neither of these are my videos] You can see the location described in this tourist guide/map from the Fannin County Vistors' Center, which is how I found out about it (it's stop #3 on that map).
-- For something really different and whimsical, check out Helen, GA, a town that in the late 60s decided to turn redesign itself to look like a Bavarian village, and it's a visual treat, with the requisite shops and restaurants to explore.
-- And if you're into waterfalls, I wouldn't miss the granddaddy of northern GA waterfalls, Amicalola Falls. A trail in the park leads to Springer Mountain, where the Appalachian Trail begins at the southern end, but you can enjoy the grandest view of the falls with very little effort at Amicalola Falls State Park. You can drive up to a parking area at the very top of the falls, and walk 50? yards to stand on a (nice, safe, solid) bridge over the top of the falls and watch as the water tumbles over. Then you can drive back down the park road a bit to the next parking area down where there is a trailhead to a paved, quarter-mile walking path, that is only gently sloped, that leads to a platform lower down, across the falls, where you can gape in equal awe at the absolutely gorgeous falls and the unbelievably interpid folks who have hiked/climbed up hundreds of steps to get to where you are from the trail side.
posted by leticia at 11:56 AM on March 29, 2022 [4 favorites]
Kentucky Down Under is a fun place to spend a day if you are heading down I65.
posted by tman99 at 12:00 PM on March 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by tman99 at 12:00 PM on March 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Etowah Indian Mounds just north of Atlanta.
Museum of Aviation in Warner-Robbins, Ga.
UF Bat Houses and Butterfly Rainforest in Gainesville, FL.
posted by Ochre,Hugh at 2:16 PM on March 30, 2022
Museum of Aviation in Warner-Robbins, Ga.
UF Bat Houses and Butterfly Rainforest in Gainesville, FL.
posted by Ochre,Hugh at 2:16 PM on March 30, 2022
Response by poster: Thanks for all of the suggestions! We're at least going to check out the Tellus Science Museum and some areas around there, and we'll see where else we're at when the kids want to stop. :)
posted by RyanAdams at 4:01 AM on April 1, 2022
posted by RyanAdams at 4:01 AM on April 1, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by phunniemee at 11:30 AM on March 28, 2022