Hello fellow RVers, and welcome to Gr8LakesCamper!
Gr8LakesCamper celebrates the world of RV camping in the Midwest — you know, that mostly flat part of the U.S. with a three-week camping season.
Actually, if that’s your impression of the Midwest, then hopefully Gr8LakesCamper will enlighten you on all the Midwest has to offer.
First and foremost, there’s the Great Lakes and its miles and miles of gorgeous shoreline. The sand dunes in Michigan and Indiana are spectacular, and Door County, Wisconsin is a not-to-be-missed destination. Minnesota is known for its lakes, and the wooded hills of Pennsylvania makes for some jaw-dropping vistas.
Want more? How about white-water rafting in West Virginia or spelunking in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, which just so happens to be where my family and I are camping at the end of June.
The Midwest also is home to some great man-made attractions as well, such as the Baseball Hall of Fame in New York and the big-city-style-minus-the-attitude of Chicago, Illinois. There’s also Cedar Point Amusement Park in Ohio, which is once again on our camping plans this summer.
It’s not all going to be about camping destinations, though. We’ll also talk about camping with kids, camping with dogs, camping with noisy kids and barking dogs at the neighboring campsite … basically, anything and everything that we love — and love to hate — about camping.
That’s quite a bit to pack into a three-week camping season, don’tcha think!
Gr8LakesCamper celebrates the world of RV camping in the Midwest. Gather around the campfire and share tips, ideas and stories on RVing, camping and travel destinations. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and the full-time blog.
Marilyn
My husband and I were born and raised in the midwest (Michigan & Iowa). We always considered the states from Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and states west to the rockies to be midwestern. Yes, we included Oklahoma but not Texas and north to the border. I’m not certain I would include West Virginia as a midwestern state but each to his own. There are thousands of fun and interesting things to see and do in the midwest – hundreds in each state. We are full timers now and spend most of our time in the midwest. We look forward to ideas and places we haven’t yet found.
Gr8LakesCamper
Hey everyone, thanks for the comments. Just so you know, for that first post, I was just getting some ideas out there and wasn’t excluding anyone. And, of course, Ontario is very much in play for this blog.
But you bring up great question: what states constitute the Midwest? Originally, because the name of this is Gr8LakesCamper, I was thinking it should be just those states (and Canadian provinces) that have shoreline on the Great Lakes.
But of course the Midwest is much more than that. West Virginia, Kentucky, Iowa and Missouri would certainly be a part of the Midwest in most people’s definitions. But New York? Maybe, maybe not.
I guess we’ll just have to see where this little blog takes us…
TallGuy
Hello Gr8LakesCamper, It’s good to have a contributor to this site with a new perspective! If you’ll permit me, can I suggest that you focus on your screen name as the inspiration and theme for your initial months or years of contributions?
I spent my first 40 years growing up in and camping and touring and exploring in Ohio and Michigan, and I’ll go so far as to say that one could spend a lifetime writing about the adventures to be found in just those states and the province contiguous to the Great Lakes. That would be New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Ontario. You don’t need to venture farther than that at first. (It’s not at all universally flat, by the way, sir! There are actual mountains, valleys, gorges and high, scenic places!) There are fairs, festivals, monuments, amusements, historical sites, interesting cities, towns and villages all over the place. There are thousands of interesting natural resources, fisheries, streams and rivers, liveries, bicycle paths, boat and canoe rentals, golf, bird watching and other outdoor draws. There are hundreds of municipal and state and national parks and preserves. Cover the Great Lakes region first, and later, when you burn through all the touring and camping and exploring ideas in those those geographies, you could add West-By-Gawd, Kentucky, Missouri, Iowa, and all the rest of the ‘Midwest’.
What do y’all think?
Chris C
Isn’t Iowa, Missouri and Oklahoma considered the Midwest? I never quite understood that term. In regards to the Canadian side of the Great Lakes, I’d much rather drive that northern rim than the along the US shores. Yes, there are nice places but having to drive through Gary Indiana and the sky-way into Illinois is white knuckle. I will say, stopping at Chicago’s Navy Pier on a Sunday afternoon was FUN.
butterbean carpenter
Howdy,
How far south does your Mid-America go??? Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma???
Just curious????
John Hinbest
How can you have the great lakes without Ontario? From the grante shore line of Superior to the big city of Toronto.