How To Plan A Fun Road Trip from Michigan To Chicago

Are you planning a trip to Chicago? Traveling from Michigan? Get tips on how to plan a Road Trip from Michigan To Chicago.

How To Plan A Fun Road Trip from Michigan To Chicago

Ever since I was a child, I’ve had a love of road trips. Now that I’m well into my adult years, the love of going on a road trip hasn’t faded, and I’ll take any opportunity to take an adventure to my next destination.

Most recently, I journeyed to the Windy City and was able to take in some of the sights and sounds of Chicago while we were there.

A road trip from Lansing to Chicago will only take about 3.5 hours if you drive straight through.

However, who wants to drive straight through?! I don’t, not if I have the time to stop and smell the roses. And smell the roses, we will!

Check out all these awesome stops on a road trip from Lansing to Chicago.

Lansing

Whether you’re starting your trip in Lansing or ending it here, it’s a great city! There are tons of things to do to keep the whole family entertained.

Find things for free/cheap to do in Lansing!

Go to Cooley Gardens and Fenner Nature Center if you want something outdoorsy.

Hungry? Get the best breakfast in Lansing at The People’s Kitchen. Dusty’s Cellar has breakfast and lunch (takeout). Scope other spots out on Yelp!

Battle Creek

Planning your road trip has a lot to do with answering the question, “How much time do we have?”.

You want to figure out how much time you have for your entire trip and each stop! Knowing these things will help you decide where to make stops.

For example, if you have a few hours to enjoy, head to the Binder Park Zoo and spend some time with the beautiful animals and outdoors.

An hour or two would be sufficient to visit the Dr. John Harvey Kellogg Discovery Center and learn about the history of Battle Creek, but if you wanted to, you could spend an entire day there and in the Historic Adventist Village.

Where you stop also depends on the time of year! Are you visiting Battle Creek in the summer?

If so, you could spend some time at Full Blast Water Park.

Kalamazoo

You guys will not believe this, but I found a FREE list of 269 things to do in area code 269 (Kalamazoo)!

Spending an entire week wouldn’t mark all of these things off your list, so pick a few and run with it.

You might want to stop by Zooroona (featuring weekly belly dancing) or Cosmo’s Cucina for dinner.

Learn something and take a few photos at the Kalamazoo Nature Center. This stop is a great place to get out and stretch!

The Stetson Chapel on the KZOO Campus is the perfect photo opp if you’re nearby. It’s not something I’d drive around town for, but if you’re right there… why not?

If you decide to make a day of it in Kalamazoo, I think Hidden Kalamazoo Tours sounds fun.

Michigan City, Indiana

Shopping is the perfect cure if your legs are cramping and you’re ready to stretch them out!

While many shopping outlets exist between Lansing and Chicago, one of my favorites is the Lighthouse Premium Outlet Mall.

Some shops worth mentioning include Adidas, Coach, Gymboree, Hollister, Justice, and The Children’s Place.

Of course, if you’re not in the shopping mood, consider one of these attractions:

Barker Mansion
Great Lakes Museum of Military History (Bonus! It’s educational, too.)
Old Lighthouse Museum (Here’s a link to help plan your trip.)
Washington Park Zoo

While planning your road trip, map out your “wish list” stops first.

Then, call each spot to make sure it will be open on the day you arrive at that location.

If you can’t hit your wish list stops on the way there, you might be able to on the way back – so don’t forget to check hours and operations for both ways on your trip.

Best Tween Game Apps to Keep Busy

Plants VS Zombies
Jelly Crush
Best Fiends
Papa Louie (tons of games in this series)

Road Trip Games and Game Ideas

We like mixing it up between electronic games/apps, travel board games, singing fun songs, and playing games like “I Spy”.

Road Trip Box of Questions
Mad Libs on the Road
Travel Scavenger Hunt for Kids
Spot It! On the Road
Games on the Go
Road Trip Games for Tweens
Ultimate Road Trip Atlas

Car for the Road Trip

My favorite part of the whole trip was the trip itself.

Not just because of my love for traveling but also for the fact that I was able to rent and test drive the 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe for the entire trip.

In my mind, and this is just my personal opinion, this was the perfect road-tripping mid-sized SUV.

Everything from the exterior to the interior just screamed road trip material, not to mention luxury.

Able to seat up to 7 passengers, the Hyundai Santa Fe 2016 boasts an impressive amount of interior room.

With such a spacious inside, this was the perfect car for our road trip.

Even more impressive was the good gas mileage we got on our trip.

We got an impressive 18 MPG in city mileage and an even better 25 MPG on the highway, so we didn’t have to stop to fill up again all the time.

Available in 7 stellar colors, this vehicle is a great option if you’re looking for a mid-sized SUV that is comfortable, stylish, and good on gas.

Some of the key features that we loved while test-driving the Santa Fe include:

• 8-inch touchscreen
• Leather seats
• Panoramic Sunroof {I have to have this in our next vehicle! I LOVED this feature!}
• Dual front automatic temperature control with CleanAir ionizer
• YES Essentials Stain Resistant Cloth
• Integrated Memory system for driver-side seat and mirrors
• Heated seats {comes in handy on a cold Michigan morning!}
• 40/20/40 split-folding 2nd-row bench seat
• Split-row folding 3rd-row bench seat {and I loved all of the trunk space!!}
• Center Armrest with Storage Compartment
• Power Lock doors
• Power Windows
• Roof rack side rails
• Heated Side Mirrors
• Side Mirror turn signal indicators
• Chrome door handles

And be sure to check out all of the things you can do once you get to Chicago:

Disclosure: Thank you to Hyundai and Drive Shop for loaning us this 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe. While I did receive this SUV to review, you are reading 100% my own and honest opinion.