I grew up going to the Great Smoky Mountains fairly regularly as a kid, my favorite was always to go to Chattanooga. It’s like a mid sized town in the middle of the Smokies, so it’s super easy to drive out into very rural natural areas during the day and drive back to the amenities of town at night. There’s also a lot of fascinating Civil War history in the area if anyone is a history buff.
The aquarium is great, and I’m a sucker for the incline railway and Rock City (featured prominently in American Gods). Rock City is technically in Georgia, but it’s a 15 minute drive away from Chattanooga so it might as well be right there.
If any of the kids are 8 or under they’d probably enjoy the Creative Discovery Museum. It’s a pity caves aren’t an option, because Ruby Falls is an underground waterfall in the area and very beautiful. The other thing we always did was either go horse riding or zip lining.
Oh, and if you see people selling fruit or veg on the side of the road with hand written signs, stop and buy it. It will be some of the best you’ve had. Same rule for boiled peanuts and apple butter.
And it’s also not far from Pigeon Forge which is an absolute wild place that also has Dollywood in it (one of the most beautiful theme parks with tons of rides for kids)
I would suggest Shenandoah National Park. Partly for the beauty of the park itself, and partly because the drive from Indiana will go through some gorgeous terrain. I would suggest taking route 33 through Wayne National forest in Ohio. You can stop in Athens as a halfway point, it’s a picturesque little college town nestled in the hills.https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/eca18718-ceab-4a32-a505-877aac0bb4ed.jpeg
As a Michigander Hocking Hills literally changed my view on Ohio. Incredible place. We did an early spring trip with a cabin and hot tub. We want to go back in the summer during better hiking conditions.
My wife and I have been to Athens because my brother went to school at OU and I also know southern Ohio because I went to a training school in Chillicothe. We also just drove through northern Ohio to take a trip to Niagara Falls. I don’t know if we’ve had enough Ohio yet or not.
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