Which of the U.S. national parks in this image do you think is the most worth visiting? There are three exceptions.
We're talking about a vacation this summer so we can plan ahead. My mother (who will pay for it) said she'd love to go to Yellowstone, but it looks like it's about a 24-hour drive for us. Still, I like the idea of going to a national park. We're in Indiana, so this image shows about the limits of where we're willing to drive. Maybe 14-15 hours at most, which puts most of the ones in the image in range.
However-
• We've already been to Indiana Dunes and Gateway Arch.
• My daughter is scared of caves, so Mammoth Cave is out.
Out of the rest, which would you most recommend so I can suggest it to my mother?
Is there anything not in Indiana that is within this area that you think is more worth visiting than a national park that also would take a decent amount of time to visit and see different things? (Not a city, obviously.)
Niagara Falls isn't too far out of your area, 9 hours for the American side, maybe 10 for Canadian. Walking on the pier under the Canadian side is incredible, if you are willing to pay for the ferry ride.
I was really disappointed that I didn't get to go a second time, during a maintenance a few years ago that had the entire Canadian side blocked dry. Would have been so cool to see how the rock has been shaped.