Day 4: Lake Michigan to Maquoketa Caves

Day 4 was Sunday, June 14, and we woke up at Indiana Dunes State Park with a plan to make it all the way to Iowa for our stay at Maquoketa Caves State Park.

After the late night before, we let the boys sleep in a little. Nothing too crazy, but enough time for everyone to recharge. We ended up leaving right around checkout time, close to 11 a.m., but before fully hitting the road, we made a point to drive down to the beach so the kids could see Lake Michigan.

We didn't really find an opportunity for beach time at Indiana Dunes. The weather was not exactly perfect beach weather, and we still had a long drive ahead of us, but I wanted the boys to at least see the scale of the Great Lakes.

This was their first time really getting to see one. Brian had technically been to Lake Erie when we went to Niagara Falls, but he was a baby then and obviously too young to appreciate it.

So we hopped out of the truck, and Connor, Brian and I ran full speed down to the water just so we could touch Lake Michigan.

We touched it, yelled "touched it!", turned around, and ran right back to the truck.

Not exactly a full beach day, but still a memorable little stop.

West to Iowa

From there, the day was mostly driving.

No major stops, just the usual road-trip detours, breaks, and trying to keep everyone moving in the same direction. But it was interesting to watch the landscape change as we kept heading west.

Things got flatter, more rural, and more open. And then came the cornfields.

Lots and lots of cornfields.

We rolled into Maquoketa Caves State Park around 5 p.m. We decided not to detach the trailer because we were not planning to go anywhere once we were settled. That ended up being the right call because it let us move pretty quickly from arrival mode into hiking mode.

We knew we were going into caves, so we geared everyone up carefully: long sleeves, long pants, headlamps, good shoes, water, and everything else we thought we might need for exploring underground.

Once we were ready, we headed down toward the cave trail. And holy cow — it was so much cooler than I expected.

Into the Caves

I expected Maquoketa Caves to be interesting, but photos really do not do a place like that justice.  

The main cave area was impressive right away. Maquoketa Caves has more caves than any other Iowa state park, and once you are there, that fact starts to make sense pretty quickly. There are trails, stairs, rock formations, bluffs, and cave entrances all connected in a way that makes the whole place feel like a real adventure.

It felt a little like we were on Expedition Unknown or some kind of family adventure show. The boys loved it. 

We had heard that when a drip of water falls on your head inside a cave, it is called a “cave kiss,” so naturally the boys wanted to collect as many cave kisses as possible. I got my fair share too.

We spent the evening exploring the caves and trails. We went through the main cave area and then continued on to some of the smaller caves, including Rainy Day Cave and Ice Cave. At one point, we crossed under the road to get to the other side of the park.

By then it was getting darker, and Owen was starting to get tired, so we knew it was time to stop and call it a night.

That was probably the right call. The cave routes are not exactly casual walking paths. Some parts are steep, uneven, slippery, or tight enough that you have to pay attention to what you are doing. It was fun, but it was also the kind of place where you want everyone to still have enough energy to make good decisions.

A Real State Park Campground

The campground itself was beautiful.

It felt tucked into tall pines, quiet and peaceful in a way that made it feel like we were really out in nature. Up to that point, it was probably the most scenic and natural campground we had stayed in on the trip, and maybe my favorite so far.

It also made me think we should prioritize more state parks when possible. Some RV parks and KOAs are convenient, and there is definitely a place for that on a trip like this. But they can also feel commercial, almost like camping in a parking lot. Maquoketa feels like real camping.

We also had groceries delivered by Instacart because we needed supplies and did not want to spend time driving to a store. The driver was incredibly friendly and even helped carry everything to the campsite. He told me about road trips he had taken with his son, and gave some helpful tips about places to see on our return stretch back to Connecticut.

The people around the campground were friendly too. One guy came up and asked if I had ever seen the show with the guy who drives around the country in an Airstream. He said he could have sworn I was him.

I had noticed him walking past our campsite several times and kind of staring, so apparently he had been trying to figure out if I was this TV guy.

I laughed and told him, no, definitely not me.

Pretty Epic

So that was Day 4: Lake Michigan in the morning, cornfields across the Midwest, caves in Iowa by evening, and a campground that made the trip feel like it was starting to find its rhythm.

At one point I asked Kelly what she thought of the trip so far. She said:

“It’s pretty epic.”

That pretty much sums it up.