Costs run about the national average, though resorts on Lake Michigan and in Minnesota and Wisconsin tend to charge surplus fees in July and August.
Weather
All over this area, the period from late spring through early fall is best, with summer temperatures ranging from an average of mid 70s to mid 80s.
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Ohio each has its best weather between mid April and mid October, although August in particular can be quite hot and humid.
Michigan and Wisconsin are at their best from between late April and early October.
Minnesota enjoys its best weather between early May and late September, unless you are going snowmobiling, when mid December through late March is the time to be there.
Midwest Activities
In Illinois, much outdoor activity takes place on the state's rivers, lakes and streams. On Lake Michigan, you can go sailing in summer, ice boating in winter, and on the many flowing waters, throw in your fishing line almost anywhere. Canoes and kayaks are popular here, too. For indoor activities, hie thee to a Chicago museum (such as the world-famous Art Institute and Museum of Science and Industry) or gallery (there are dozens of the latter), or take in a baseball game or other pro sports event, such as basketball or football. Don't miss the Sears Tower (at 103 floors, America's tallest building since the World Trade Center disaster), the Magnificent Mile (of shops and the like) or the splendid Lakefront, with beaches, kite flying and flirting in full glory.
Indiana spells cozy home-based activities to many visitors, and yes, you can go on picnics and join church suppers in small towns, but you can also attend a Notre Dame football game or rent a canoe along the Wabash if that is your wont. Indoor activities take place in bigger cities such as Indianapolis, where museums and a few galleries share the limelight.
In Iowa, you have two rivers on which to display your outdoor love of sports, the Missouri on the west and the Mississippi on the east. All kinds of watercraft can be rented and used on both bodies, as well as fishing. Look for little charming entities, such as the place in Spilville where Anton Dvorak composed his New World Symphony, or Snake Alley in Burlington, said by Robert Ripley to be the "crookedest street in the world." If you want to go indoors, you need look no farther than the floating casinos on both rivers, which have brought money into their owners' pockets while encouraging bankruptcy in nearby counties on both sides of the state.
Up in Michigan, a lot of fishing goes on, as well as duck hunting. Nearly surrounded (on three sides) by lakes Michigan, Superior, Huron and Erie, this two-peninsula state enjoys some of the coolest summer weather around. Get out on the water on your own in canoe, kayak or sailboat, or take a cruise on one of the lakes in a vintage steamboat. Indoor activities could include visits to Detroit and Dearborn, where magnificent museums abide. Their interests range as far as from a splendid African-American History Museum in Detroit to the awesome complex of buildings and exhibits at the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village.
In Ohio, the industrial complexes of the cities have encroached upon much of the countryside, but you can still get out onto the waters of Lake Erie or the Ohio River itself. Fishing and hunting are the usual sports activities here, as in so much of the country, For indoor delights, try some of Cleveland's famous museums, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, or go to Seaworld.
Wisconsin is famous for its rivers and small lakes, but it also fronts onto Lake Michigan, so that there is plenty of room to get out on the water. In Milwaukee, lovers of the outdoors should take a boat trip on the Iroquois Line and indoor types should head straight for the Miller Brewing Company's daily tours. At the Wisconsin Dells, several boating lines want to get you out on the river, and down in Door County, they want you to come shopping or at least to eat some of their famous local food (largely Scandinavian). You can even visit Frank Lloyd Wright's home for 40 years, Taliesin, in the south central part of the state.
