Planning a trip through Ohio/Indiana/Illinois

[Midnight]

Hello all:

We are looking for ideas. My wife and I have a family function to attend in late May in Bloomington Illinois. If weather looks half decent we hope to take the Venture. We live in Southern Ontario and hope to take the ferry ride across to Sandusky Ohio then work our way west to Bloomington Illinois. Has anyone ridden in this area and if so do you have any recomendations for scenic rides or must see spots. Thanks in advance. Jim and Karen

[Guest Popeye]

I've rode all through those areas since I'm from Michigan.

Not much different than Ontario for scenery...flat with corn on one side & cows on the other...then reverses.

 

Late May is the rainy/tornado season, so bring raingear & boot covers.

You can check with state tourist bureau for each state, depends what you like.

 

A great ride anyway.

[Jethroish]

I have not ridden in this area, but check out this link. Great pics, maps, and story to go with it, in south central Indiana.

 

http://www.pashnit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1283

[RoadKill]

Hello all:

We are looking for ideas. My wife and I have a family function to attend in late May in Bloomington Illinois. If weather looks half decent we hope to take the Venture. We live in Southern Ontario and hope to take the ferry ride across to Sandusky Ohio then work our way west to Bloomington Illinois. Has anyone ridden in this area and if so do you have any recomendations for scenic rides or must see spots. Thanks in advance. Jim and Karen

 

I live in Springfield and work in Bloomington. PM me when it gets closer and I might be able to meet up with you.

 

As far as rides, I would recommend heading down along the Mississippi River for some great riding. Might even be able to lead you down there if everything works out right.

[dynodon]

You should have a great trip.

 

If you like things automotive, you should NOT miss the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Musem in Auburn IN (far NE corner of state). Depending on your route, you should see Indianapolis, the Indy 500 museum and take a ride around the track on the busses.

 

If you take the Indy route, you should plan on great steak at a restaurant at exit 4 just before Illinois. Then as you come into Illinois, there is a wonderful Air Force museum at the old Rantoul Air Force Base just north of I-55. This is worth the side trip if you like airplanes/jets etc.

 

I live near Bloomington, and in that area, you might want to visit the Route 66 Museum at exit 145 off I-55 just south of Bloomington at the truck stop, not huge, but interesting.

 

Also, there is a neat winery, Mackinaw Valley Winery Just East of Mackinaw IL (West of Bloomington about 20 miles) and there are even a few hills and curves in the area (rare for central IL!) This winery is fun, has a good patio/view and good local wines. I think any fan of wine would enjoy this winery.

 

There is a really fun dinner theater in Goodfield, IL about a 30 minute ride from Bloomington on I-74 at exit 112. The Conklin Dinner Theater is just north of the interstate and a fun evening out. If you ride north to Eureka from there, you can visit the college of President Ronald Reagan in Eureka, they have a nice exhibit and it is a very scenic old campus.

 

I would also recommend you visit Starved Rock State park straight North of Bloomington near Interstate 80. There is a great leather shop for bikers called Stonehead in Utica and a couple of really good restaurants and Starved Rock makes a great overnight stay (get one of their cabins if you can) and a nice ride if you don't have the time to stay a night.

 

Of course, you MUST drive as much of old Route 66 as you can. There is quite a bit of the old four-lane still surviving in Illinois from Springfield on north to Chicago. Buy a route 66 map or two for Illinois and do as much as you can. Take every side trip possible to get the max benefit.

 

There is more, and I would love to meet up with you when you get in the area. Maybe Roadkill and I can join up and ride with you a while!

[pegscraper]

I see you live in Kincardine. We were right through there on our bike last May, as my mother lives in Owen Sound. We usually cross at Port Huron/Sarnia and head north on 21. Get up beside the lake up there, and there's about a 10* drop in temperature from whatever it is down here. We've learned to dress for that on the bike. Never noticed it in the car. Crossing via ferry at Sandusky sounds interesting. I didn't know there was one there. How much does that cost? Where is the other end of it in Canada?

 

Coming into Sandusky, you ought to go to Cedar Point, but I'm not sure they'd be open yet. I don't know exactly when they open.

 

There's not much for scenic rides in northern IN. It's pretty flat and boring here. There are a few interesting roads around, but they're few and far between. Southern IN would be more fun to ride, very hilly, but that's more out of your way.

 

In Auburn, IN, there is the Auburn Cord Duesenberg museum http://acdmuseum.org/, and the NATMUS museum right behind it, which has more musclecars in it. The international Kruse classic car auction happens in Auburn every year over Memorial Day weekend. There is also a Corvette museum there. My wife's parents live in Auburn, so we're up there quite a bit.

 

There used to be an Abe Lincoln museum here in Ft. Wayne, but that just recently closed, much to the chagrin of us locals. Much of the rest of the stuff around here, you about have to live here to have fun with it, like figuring out just where through town the Erie Canal ran. Riding the original Highway 30 might be fun. West of Ft. Wayne it ran a quite different route from what it is now. I have an old atlas from the '30s that shows it. Now, they are other two lane highways with different route names on them, and they meet up with today's 30 again somewhere just east of Chicago. Riding the old Lincoln Highway would also be fun, the States' first paved transcontinental highway. That runs through OH, IN, and IL, and more than that too. Google "Lincoln Highway" for tons of sites and information on that. I'd like to do that myself. One could spend a whole week seeing all the sites to see on that.

 

If your travels take you near Ft. Wayne, which is not very far south of Auburn, you'd be welcome to drop by for a visit. I could show you the one or two scenic roads we have around here, where a section of the Erie Canal is outside of town, and a house that is a historical landmark known for being part of the underground railroad. There are a couple of old covered bridges in the area if you'd like to see those. (Pics in my gallery of them.)

[old hippy]

We live about 20 miles south of Bloomington, and have lived around here all our lives. There is some good riding within 60 to 90 miles from Bloomington. Starved Rock State Park is some very pretty riding and you don't have to ride all day to get there. Just send me and my wife a message before you leave and we will see what we can do for you. There are a couple of us local around here. Keep us posted.

[Pappa Bear]

Hi Jim, My name is Ron, we live about 10 miles south of Sandusky in Castalia, lived around here all my life. One place you might want to check out is the Marblehead lighthouse and the Lake erie islands, preferably Put-n-bay, can't forget Cedar Point,argueably has the tallest fastest coasters in the world and great live shows. During that time of year ferrys run alot, and the island is just warming up for a hopping summer!( Verrrry Busy). Get ahold of me and I'll try to hook you up with some of the local brochures so you can get your trip started off on the right foot. Enjoy yourselves

[Midnight]

Thanks to all who replied to our post. We will look into your suggestions. Thanks too for the offers to meet up for a ride. We will see what our time in the area will allow. We will be in touch once our plans start coming together. Jim and Karen

[pegscraper]

I'd still like to know about that ferry that comes into Sandusky. Where does it land in Canada, and how much is it?

[Aimhigh]

You must stop by the Air Force Museum on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.

 

Lot of good history in Springfield IL regarding our 16th president, Abe Lincoln--His museum, home, burial sight, and child hood home in nearby New Salem IL.

 

Have a great time.

 

Jim Turner:lightbulb:

[Wizard765]

The ferry from Sandusky goes to Pelee Island as well as Leemington and Kingsville. Here is a link.

 

http://www.ontarioferries.com/jii/english/dest_pelee.html

[CrazyHorse]

Southern Illinois in the Shawnee National forest is very pretty with cliffs and such. Terain is hilly lots of lakes. Giant City State Park, Garden of the Gods, State route 127 from Murphysboro to Jonesboro is great about 30 mile trip near Carbondale Illinois but this might be out of your way. Along the Mississippi river is good the whole way. Northwest Illinois and North Eastern Iowa, Southwestern Wisconsin along the Mississippi river is pretty hilly with some cliffs along the river near you could then stop in Galena, Illinois (Galena is near the Mississippi) which is a nice little town if you like antiques and stuff and has some decent restaurants. Starved Rock is nice. The rest of the state is great if you like corn or concrete.