• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Traveling Dad

TravelingMom

Traveling tips, deals, info from moms and families

  • Book a Trip
  • Destinations
  • Disney
    • Disneyland
    • Walt Disney World
    • Disney Worldwide
    • Disney Cruise
  • Tips & Products
  • Free Fun
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Our Writers
    • Ask a Traveling Mom
  • Search

Mobile Menu

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Book a Trip
  • Destinations
  • Disney
    • Disneyland
    • Walt Disney World
    • Disney Worldwide
    • Disney Cruise
  • Tips & Products
  • Free Fun
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Our Writers
    • Ask a Traveling Mom
  • Search
  • Traveling Dad
  • Media Kit
  • Write for TravelingMom
  • TMOM Travel Writers
  • Ask Us!
  • Privacy & Terms
  • Site Admin
You are here: Home / Family Vacation Destinations / Midwest Family Vacation Ideas / 4 Fabulous Fall Foliage Road Trips Close to Chicago
Fall foliage photo by Leslie Seaton via Wiki Commons

4 Fabulous Fall Foliage Road Trips Close to Chicago

September 24, 2019 //  by Cindy Richards

FacebookTweetPinLinkedIn

The leaves are changing and there’s no better time to witness the breathtaking beauty of the seasons. Brilliant reds, warm oranges, sunny yellows. But is a fleeting moment in time. So pack up the kids, hop in the car and head off in search of Mother Nature’s beauty with a fall foliage road trip. These four destinations are all within an easy drive of Chicago, so they make great spots for a long weekend getaway.

The fall colors of the Midwest as seen through the dramatic rock formations at Starved Rock State Park in Illinois.
The fall colors of the Midwest as seen through the dramatic rock formations at Starved Rock State Park in Illinois. Photo courtesy of Starved Rock State Park

4 Fabulous Fall Foliage Road Trips Close to Chicago

1. Starved Rock State Park and Ottawa
2. Galena, Quad Cities, and Iowa
3. Baraboo Hills, Wisconsin
4. The Covered Bridges of Parke County
  Fall Foliage Further from Chicago

Ah…the amazing colors of fall! Orange, red, yellow, purple, black, blue, orange, magenta, and brown – oh my! For those in the Windy City, plan some leaf-peeping of your own with these 4 fabulous fall foliage road trips close to Chicago.

Read More: Family Vacations in Chicago

1. Starved Rock State Park and Ottawa

Located along the south side of the Illinois River, one mile south of Utica, Starved Rock State Park has 13 miles of hiking trails and 18 canyons to explore.

The 2019 Fall Colors Weekend is Oct. 19-20. It features three free guided hikes to see the changing colors of the park. The hikes leave the State Park’s Visitor Center at 9:30 am, 10 am, 11 am and 1 pm.  The guides will explain why leaves change color, teach you how to tell an oak from an elm tree and share the fascinating story of the history and geology of Starved Rock, all while walking through the blazing colors of fall.

Or head to nearby Ottawa for a mule-drawn canal boat ride. You can drool over the fall colors while the kids watch the mule walking along the path, pulling the boat through the canal.

2. Galena, Quad Cities, and Iowa

Drive along the Great River Road to see the firey fall colors of the Midwest.
Drive along the Great River Road to see the fiery fall colors of the Midwest. Photo courtesy of Enjoy Illinois.

Nestled alongside the Mississippi River in the northwest corner of Illinois, the gently rolling hills of Jo Daviess County make this one of the prettiest parts of the state.

The Great River Road National Scenic Byway runs along both sides of the river from its headwaters up north all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico. But the 125 miles from Galena south to Muscatine, Iowa, on the bluffs above the Mississippi, offer some of the best glimpses of the river and the trees that border it.

Take Route 20 south of Galena to Fulton, pick up Route 84 to the Quad Cities, then take Route 92 into Muscatine. Consider a stop in Davenport or Moline to rent bikes and pedal the paths along the river.

For a more laid-back experience, hop on board the Celebration Belle, a non-gaming riverboat that offers Fall Foliage cruises in early October.

3. Baraboo Hills, Wisconsin

Take your train-crazy kids on this fall road trip to the home of the Mid-Continent Railway Museum. The museum runs seven-mile, 55-minute round-trip diesel-powered train rides through the wooded Baraboo Hills. Passengers ride in restored steel coaches built in 1915 and leave from a historic wooden depot built in 1894.

The depot is located in North Freedom, Wis., about an hour north of Madison. Autumn Color Weekend is Oct. 11-13, but there also are pumpkin train rides later in the month.

4. The Covered Bridges of Parke County

Midwest fall foliage road trips should include a visit to the covered bridges of Parke County Indiana.
Smith Covered Bridge photo by Nyttend via Wikimedia Commons

Home of the famous Covered Bridge Festival, Parke County, Ind., is about an hour west of Indianapolis, near the Illinois-Indiana state line. The festival runs from Oct. 11-20, 2019.

It honors the 31 covered bridges scattered throughout the heavily wooded county. Download the guide before you go to get driving directions for the county’s five covered bridge routes (color-coded black, brown, red, blue and yellow). Each route takes you in a different direction.

The blue route, for example, heads north from Rockville and includes a drive over two of the longest covered bridges—the 176-foot-long Cox Ford Bridge and the 102-foot Wilkens Mill Bridge.

Fall Foliage Further from Chicago

fall foliage in the Midwest
Visitors to the River Trail Nature Center can take in fall’s rich colors along the trails. Photo provided by Forest Preserves of Cook County.

The great thing about the changing colors of fall is if you miss the peak season in the north, you can head south to see it.

Start following the changing colors with a stop in Northern Michigan. Check out these spots to see fall colors in Nashville. Or head to Georgia and learn what autumn colors mean in the Deep South. City lovers can head to Philadelphia for fall colors.

Where is your favorite fall foliage road trip? Share with us in the comment section below.

We’ve been there and we want to help you get there too.

Sign up for our weekly newsletters!
FacebookTweetPinLinkedIn

Category: Midwest Family Vacation IdeasTag: Chicago, fall

You May Also Like

  • Fall colors in Philadelphia
    Fall Foliage in Philadelphia – Mostly for Free
  • best northeast road trips on TravelingMom
    5 Best Northeast Road Trips with Kids
  • Courtesy pixabay
    Road Trip Apps & Tips for Tweens and Teens
  • Where to See the Best Fall Colors in Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic US
  • Pumpkin patches are some of the best fall activities for families in the US.
    Best Fall Activities for Families in the US
  • best family road trips in the USA
    5 Of The USA's Best Family Road Trips
Previous Post: «universal studios halloween on TravelingMom Complete Guide to Halloween at Universal Studios Orlando
Next Post: Bring the Kids (Grandma Too!) : 17 Fun Things to Do in Grand Lake, Colorado View of Grand Lake from the Grand Lake Lodge above the mountain town»

8 Comments on “4 Fabulous Fall Foliage Road Trips Close to Chicago”

  1. Kalyan Panja says:
    October 5, 2019 at 3:14 am

    We love this region and these destinations close to Chicago are so gorgeous. That is a definite area that we will return to. I love Fall road trips, and your photos have captured it wonderfully. I love that first photo. You should frame it!

  2. Sharon says:
    September 27, 2019 at 7:31 pm

    These are some great suggestions for road trips. I hadn’t thought of most of these looking forward to exploring some of these options.

  3. Esther Harris says:
    September 24, 2019 at 6:03 pm

    The landscapes you can find in autumn are incomparable. I really liked your publication.

  4. Cindy Richards, Empty Nest TravelingMom says:
    August 16, 2018 at 5:17 pm

    5

  5. MeanMeosh says:
    September 29, 2017 at 10:02 am

    There’s actually a very nice fall foliage route in Oklahoma of all places. The Talimena Scenic Byway runs about 60 miles across far southeast Oklahoma and far southwest Arkansas. It’s about 2 hours from OKC and Tulsa, and 3 hours from Dallas. The road is constructed like the Blue Ridge Parkway through the Ouachita Mountains, and some of the views/color are just as spectacular, though the peak season is quite a bit later (mid-November). There’s also not nearly as much traffic as on the Blue Ridge. Nice secret weekend getaway from Dallas that you can even do as a day trip.

  6. Anonymous says:
    August 8, 2017 at 6:38 pm

    5

  7. Anonymous says:
    February 28, 2014 at 4:39 pm

    Status changed from Complete to Abandoned

  8. Anonymous says:
    February 7, 2014 at 4:40 pm

    Status changed from Complete to Abandoned

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

Trending Posts

Off Season at Walt Disney World: Does it Really Exist?
2828

Off Season at Disney World: Does it REALLY Exist?

2050

Getting To, From and Around Disney World: Essential Transportation Guide

The Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom night show.
1459

Disney’s Animal Kingdom After Dark: Complete Guide for Families

death valley
905

7 National Parks a Road Trip Away from LA

646

Places to Explore near Garner State Park

Footer

Categories

  • Media Kit
  • Write for TravelingMom
  • TMOM Travel Writers
  • Ask Us!
  • Privacy & Terms
  • Site Admin

Copyright © 2019 Traveling Mom · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc.