Ultimate Winter Weekend Getaway

(Hint: It’s just 3 hours from Chicago)

After being cooped up at home for several winter months, my kids were already over their presents from Christmas, and the bickering was neverending- I knew my family and I needed a change of scenery, so I decided to plan a weekend getaway for the end of January.

When a picture of Pokagon State Park Tobogganing Run popped up on Pinterest, I knew we HAD to go! Then I saw it was only 3 hours away from us and I was pumped we could do this in a weekend! I started to plot out other fun, hidden gems along that would make the trip extra fun and worth the drive.

The Plan:

Saturday:

• Drive one hour to the Mascot Hall of Fame in Whiting Indiana.

• Drive 45 minutes to Valparaiso and grab dinner at the Industrial Revolution Eatery and Grill.

• Drive the rest of the way ( 2 hours ) to Angola, Indiana and spend the night at an affordable hotel.

Sunday:

• Get up, enjoy a swim and breakfast.

• Drive 5 minutes down the street to Pokagon State park and enjoy tobogganing.

• Drive 1 hour 20 minutes to the Air Zoo Aerospace and Science Museum in Portage, Michigan.

• Drive exactly 3 hours home.

Stop #1: Mascot Hall of Fame

Whiting, Indiana

We decided to leave on Saturday and headed to our first stop: the Mascot Hall of Fame in Whiting, Indiana. I knew we had to hit this first on our trip because it is not open on Sundays, so keep that in mind! The Mascot Hall of Fame was just one hour drive away from us in the Northwest Chicago Suburbs, so I was surprised I hadn’t heard of it before this. When we arrived I was happy to see that there was plenty of free parking in the adjacent parking lot.

Being that The Mascot Hall of Fame is a children’s museum, I wasn’t sure how engaged my kids would be (ages 12 and 9). On their site, The Mascot Hall of Fame is described as a learning environment that is equally rooted in S.T.E.A.M. educational principles and sport mascot entertainment. My son likes sports, but my daughter doesn’t as much. Either way they were up for the adventure and all the fun colors and textures really intrigued them from the moment we stepped inside.

I was really impressed at how fun and imaginative the different exhibits were and how many of them creatively demonstrated what it would be like to be an actual mascot for a professional team. Some of our favorites: Helmets to show you just how heavy they are and a viewfinder to show you what the mascot sees along with a button you can push that blows heat on you to depict just how hot those costumes can be! They also had a fun game where you can check your heart rate doing activities with weighted mascot bellies. My kids thought this was hilarious.

Another favorite for the kids was the giant green screen and closet full of different animal mascots that you could dress up as and mix and match your creation. You could then perform your own mascot audition on the green screen and see yourself appear in front of crowds. It was super unique!

Some other really unique highlights were the mini sports arena and a game where your goal is to “shoot t-shirts” to various fans in the ‘crowd.” This is also a great place for parents to take a rest in the comfy leather chairs of the “Parent Penalty Box.”

As far as exhibits that showed off actual sports mascots, I felt that these were lacking. Its clear that the Mascot Hall of Fame had limited partnerships with actual sports teams and because of this, had very few of those types of exhibits, which left my son a bit disappointed. This was also apparent at their version of “Build a Bear” because there were no licensed sports gear to dress the bears in. If this were the case I would have probably been suckered into getting one!

We ended up spending about an hour and 20 minutes at The Mascot Hall of Fame but I feel like my kids were definitely on the top end of being able to enjoy this children’s museum (my son is 9 and my daughter is 12). Children around 5 to 8 years old would be able to spend 3 hours here easily. It was definitely a fun and quick stop along our trip and the kids were glad they went.

Stop # 2: Industrial Revolution Eatery and Grille

Valparaiso, Indiana

Next we drove about 45 minutes to Valparaiso to check out the Industrial Revolution Eatery and Grille to grab some dinner. This place is about 25 minutes out of the way, so you can skip this if you’d like but we really loved this place! If you love good home cooking and your kids love trains, you will love it too!

The decor of this restaurant is seriously so freaking cool. Everywhere you look there are railroad track beams, old photographs, and there’s even a train that goes around the tracks and bridges through the entire restaurant.

The menu is full of American classics “favored by the American worker.” They offer a menu of classic burgers, woodfired pizzas, and staples like Chicken Pot Pie, Meatloaf, and Pot Roast. I ordered a variety of mini burgers, one of which was their famous “Pot Roast Burger”, which was absolutely delicious. They also had fantastic cheese curds and mashed potatoes.

The children’s meals came with ice cream for dessert, and unfortunately I didn’t leave room for anything because they have a fabulous dessert menu with items like the red, white and blue cheesecake and warm apple pie. We really loved this restaurant! I’m so glad we went a little out of our way to stop here!

At this point we could have stayed the night in Valparaiso as there are many hotels there. However my kids were wide awake so we decided to make the 2 hour and 15 minute drive to Angola, Indiana so we would be 5 minutes away from the tobogganing run when we woke up!

Where we Stayed

Quality Inn, Freemont, Indiana

There are many hotels near Pokagon State Park. We just stayed at the Quality Inn which was actually in Freemont, but is still just a 7 minute drive from Pokagon State Park. It was 120.00 a night and had free breakfast and a pool. That was enough for us!

Where we SHOULD have stayed

Potawatomi Inn Resort in Pokagon State Park

Since I had never heard of Pokagon State Park before this trip, I had no idea there was a resort located on the State Park property, right by the tobogganing run. Not only would this have made things a little nicer for changing back into warmer clothes and things, but it was only 150.00 a night with the breakfast package and had a pool AND jacuzzi. I was definitely kicking myself when I found this out.

The resort is a bit outdated honestly, which is why the prices are the way they are. They have some outdated looking rooms with the double queen set up but they also have heated cabins! Not sure on the pricing of those but that sounds fun doesn’t it?

Definitely see if there is availability to stay here when you go!

Pokagon State Park Tobogganing Run

Angola, Indiana

Stop #3: Pokagon State Park Tobogganing Run

Angola, Indiana

We arrived at Pokagon State Park around 11 am and were super excited to give this thing a try! (Well, my son and I were, but my daughter wasn’t sold on it.) Entrance to the park was 9 dollars for our vehicle because of our out of state license plate.

Pokagon State Park's Toboggan Run is refrigerated which means that it can operate with out without snow. With the 30-foot tower and dips and valleys, the total vertical drop is 90 feet over the course of a quarter-mile. The top recorded speed is 42 mph.

Rental

If you go down the path around the warming center, the rental window is located in the back. You need to bring your license in order to rent a toboggan and you must use the park’s toboggans. You can fit 4 people on a toboggan believe it or not! All the toboggans cost the same (20 dollars for an hour) but there are a couple of different options. The basic toboggan fits 4 and is 35 pounds. There is another 4 person toboggan that is 65 pounds so it can go much faster!

BUT before you jump on the idea of getting the heavier sled, keep in mind that the lighter one is already PLENTY fast (my son and I hit 28 mph with just 2 of us on the toboggan.) And MOST IMPORTANTLY don’t forget you have to carry this toboggan back up the 1/4 of a mile to the top!! I’ll be honest, I could barely get the 35 lb one back up. The path back up is paved which is easier to walk, but you can’t slide or pull the toboggan.

As it turned out, my daughter was much too scared to go with us, but she was able to play on her phone and watch us out the giant windows of the warming center which offer a perfect view of the toboggan runs. My son and I headed up with our toboggan and climbed a tall set of stairs to the tower where there are two runs (both exactly the same). There are two employees up at the top to monitor your safety and to help you into your toboggan. They also help you get it onto the track which I was worried about because they are pretty heavy.

There are straps on the sides of the toboggan to hold onto and you are ready to go! Your view should look something like this:

Pretty scary right? My son and I were nervous, I’m not going to lie! However after seeing small children as young as 4, I was determined we could do this! And it was SO. MUCH. FUN.

We hit 26 mph and they felt plenty fast for us even though the top recorded speed is 42 mph! Next came the not so fun part: walking the toboggan back up 1/4 of a mile to the top!

We headed back the 1/4 mile up the hill and took many breaks to rest, including at the fire pit they have set up outside. Families were roasting marshmallows and making snowmen, it was like out of a movie.

After taking many breaks to rest, we made it toe top again: completely out of breath and very aware of just how out of shape I am. Keep in mind, the older the kids you have or if traveling with 2 adults, this will be easier between the 2 of you! My son is strong but I suspect he was slacking and he was carrying the lighter end of the toboggan which I can promise you makes a big difference!

We had one more wonderful run and I knew for certain I did NOT have the energy for a 3rd time. Had we been staying a Saturday evening into a Sunday, we could have rested and come back for more runs but for today, 2 times was great!

We returned our toboggan and I got my license back (wouldn’t want to leave without that!) We grabbed some quick snacks and hot cococoa at the concession stand inside the warming center and used the restrooms before we headed out.

This. Place. Was. Amazing. You have to check it out!! It’s unlike anything I’ve done before. Its definitely a different feeling than sledding.

Stop #4: Air Zoo Aerospace & Science Museum

Portage, Michigan

After grabbing some fast food, we drove about 1 hour and 20 minutes to the Air Zoo, Aerospace and Science Museum which is just across the Michigan border. Although this was a cool stop and I’m glad we did, this was probably the least fun of all that we did. I only say that because we aren’t that into history or planes, and a lot of the activities were either geared toward younger kids like (5 to 8) or adults.

The Air Zoo’s mission is to tell the significant World War II stories through their 1940s aircraft displays . They also have displays that feature Early Flight, the Golden Age of Flight, the Cold War/Jet Age, and Space. There is an entire room of Amusement park-style rides for younger children. My kids felt they were too old for these but would have loved them once upon a time!

There are filight simulators that give you the feeling you are on a plane. Two people can ride this at a time, and you are strapped in and can flip around in 360 degree angles. This looked like great fun to me, but my kids were too scared to go on it. So someone they felt too old for the kid rides and too young for the simulators. If you have daredevils and tweens/teens I bet they would love this!

There were a variety of hands-on exhibits my children liked, and my son especially enjoyed the pop-culture exhibits that were intertwined here and there.

There was am entire other building of fighter jets that we just didn’t have time for. The kids hit me up for some items in the gift shop and we headed home.

From the Space Museum to our house it was exactly a 3 hour drive back. With breaking everything up here and there, they never felt too bored during the car ride except maybe the last 30 minutes. We had such a great time and I think we made the most of the weekend and opportunities that we had available in the winter time. Let me know if you all give it a try!