Oso planning to go pro
It really depends what type of vacation you are looking for. The Great Smoky Mountains are beautiful that time of year. I would recommend the Townsend area in Tennessee (avoid nearby Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge; they are very crowded).
Shenandoah is also extremely beautiful. You can find some remote areas; we've stayed along some creeks in that area and you could really hide from the world, without being too far away from civilization.Be sure to take a ride down Skyline Drive. There are some great hikes along that route and a nice campground. I've never done the others. What is your goal? Are you taking girlfriend/wife/kids? What is your ideal vacation?
As someone who has traveled on holiday weekends before, expect traffic to be much worse than you thought. Especially if you go out east. If I were you, I would consider going the weekend after Labor Day.
Wade, you also may want to consider Voyagers National Park in Northern Minnesota. It's part of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and extremely rugged and very beautiful. The NPS, State of Minnesota and the regional governments have deliberately worked to keep this area very rugged/primitive to preserve something of what Midwest once was. Voyagers is not especially well known
Wow, I'm very concerned for Benny. Being able to mimic Myron Medcalf's writing so closely implies an oncoming case of dementia.
As a kid, our family vacations mostly rotated between the Smoky Mountains and Dinney World. I would not recommend the former unless - as Brandy mentioned - you want the southern version of a Wisconsin Dells vacation; however, if tourist traps are your cup of tea, my recommendation is to go off grid and visit the Canadian Dells, a/k/a Niagara Falls. Seriously, the Smoky Mountains are simply Wisconsin Dells with a Waffle House, and Niagara Falls is Wisconsin Dells with a Tim Horton's. And we all know that Tim Horton's >>>>>>> Waffle House.
Since you are leaving from Milwaukee, on the Friday of Labor Day weekend, and returning on Labor Day, I would avoid the Chicago area traffic and simply head west.
As a kid, our family vacations mostly rotated between the Smoky Mountains and Dinney World. I would not recommend the former unless - as Brandy mentioned - you want the southern version of a Wisconsin Dells vacation; however, if tourist traps are your cup of tea, my recommendation is to go off grid and visit the Canadian Dells, a/k/a Niagara Falls. Seriously, the Smoky Mountains are simply Wisconsin Dells with a Waffle House, and Niagara Falls is Wisconsin Dells with a Tim Horton's. And we all know that Tim Horton's >>>>>>> Waffle House.Seriously though... if you've never been, it will take you less time to drive to Buffalo than eastern Tennessee (about 9 hours), and Niagara Falls is a national park (well, a "National Heritage Area," whatever that means) though with the caveat that the "good" part is on Canadian soil... which by the way the exchange rate, though slightly recovered from it's February trough, still has the USD trading very favorably to the CAD. And did I mention they have Tim Horton's? Do the touristy thing for half a day, then drive north into Niagara wine country... sure it's no Napa or Sonoma, but it's beautiful country with decent wineries (and craft breweries). Best part... Labor Day ain't no thang north of the border... you'll pretty much have the place to yourself on Sunday. Stay at the Sheraton downtown and get a room that faces the falls (with a window that opens or "balcony"). Take in the only 100% non-smoking casino (and sportsbook) in North America outside of Chicago. Grab a dozen at Tim Horton's. Drink the beer (it's like moonshine).
I have been to Shenandoah recently after a visit to Charlottesville and it was beautiful, but did not have the time to spend really exploring it.My Seton Halls friend and his family, just drove the Skyline Drive (a very slow drive) 2 weeks ago, and took a picture of a bear right on the side of the road minding his own business.
As a kid, our family vacations mostly rotated between the Smoky Mountains and Dinney World. I would not recommend the former unless - as Brandy mentioned - you want the southern version of a Wisconsin Dells vacation; however, if tourist traps are your cup of tea, my recommendation is to go off grid and visit the Canadian Dells, a/k/a Niagara Falls. Seriously, the Smoky Mountains are simply Wisconsin Dells with a Waffle House, and Niagara Falls is Wisconsin Dells with a Tim Horton's. And we all know that Tim Horton's >>>>>>> Waffle House.Seriously though... if you've never been, it will take you less time to drive to Buffalo than eastern Tennessee (about 9 hours), and Niagara Falls is a national park (well, a "National Heritage Area," whatever that means) though with the caveat that the "good" part is on Canadian soil... which by the way the exchange rate, though slightly recovered from it's February trough, still has the USD trading very favorably to the CAD. And did I mention they have Tim Horton's? Do the touristy thing for half a day, then drive north into Niagara wine country... sure it's no Napa or Sonoma, but it's beautiful country with decent wineries (and craft breweries). Best part... Labor Day ain't no thang north of the border... you'll pretty much have the place to yourself on Sunday. Stay at the Sheraton downtown and get a room that faces the falls (with a window that opens or "balcony"). Take in the only 100% non-smoking casino (and sportsbook) in North America outside of Chicago. Grab a dozen at Tim Horton's. Drink the beer (it's like moonshine).And if you do take my advice, don't cross in Detroit... the 403 can be spotty on Friday afternoons until you're well past Hamilton and you'll lose an hour trying to decide between bridge and tunnel. Actually, if you want to give yourself a small break and really take the road less traveled (literally), take the 6:00a Lake Express Ferry across to Muskegon, cross at Sarnia, and you'll make it through Hamilton just before 4:00p when things start getting squirrely.
If you are talking National Parks, I would also consider Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. They have a lot of great tours, including one where they turn all the lights off and all the participants carry oil lanterns - just like they did in the 19th Century when tours first started. If you have the time (and a reservation), the Wild Cave Tour is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. They only take a handful of folks at a time for a 6-hour trip through part of the cave the general public doesn't get to see - a lot of crawling on your belly, wriggling through tight spaces, etc. It requires some advance planning (you have to have hiking boots, gloves, etc.), but it is so worth it.
Yeah, I was going to mention Mammoth Caves as an honorable mention. These other parks probably offer better views and scenery, but Mammoth Caves is a great weekend trip without a lot of fuss. If you leave super early Friday and miss the Chicago traffic, the trip is easily less than 7 hours. It's close to the highway and has decent facilities. It has a lot of Devil's lake-type views with bluffs over looking a river.When ever I travel south (either to Nashville or to the gulf coast) I try to break up the drive and stop here for a quick run and hike. They have showers so you can hop back in the car 2 hours later and feel refreshed.How was the Wild Cave Tour? Was it hard or can anyone who is in decent shape do it? Is it a type of thing you can show up solo, or is it better to have a partner?
Glow and I did back when we were much younger, and yes it is hard. I wound up with huge bruises on my legs. Fortunately, our next stop was a B&B that had huge clawfoot tubs in the rooms, and I had a nice soak. There is a requirement that you can't be more than 42" in the hips or chest, or else you will get stuck - even though Glow met the requirements, we still had to unwedge him from a particularly tight spot. It is not for the casual tourist.There will a group of you (I believe the normal group size is around 8), so going solo is fine.