Guys weekend in middle America

I need to plan a bachelor party for sometime between now and July '17. No strip clubs or casinos please. I’m thinking something outdoorsy, maybe tent camping or a cabin with some epic activities, but I’m open to suggestions. General restrictions:

  1. Needs to be roughly halfway between Portland, OR and Columbus, OH
  2. Prefer if Southwest flies there
  3. Should be doable in a long weekend
  4. Budget friendly, target of $500 per person

TIA for your ideas.

Every few years a buddy of mine hosts “Men’s Town”, a three day weekend involving camping, alcohol, drugs, guns, explosives, chainsaws, wood splitting, campfires, etc.

It is held on wilderness property he owns. His only rule is to leave your site pristine when you pull up camp. Trash is divided among participants when we leave.

Cheyenne, Fort Collins and Denver are all large cities not too far from the mid-point (Kimball, NE)

I’d start by looking for fun stuff to do in those places.

How about heading to the Wisconsin Dells? Official Site For Wisconsin Dells - Deals & Information You can stay at one of the resort hotels swimming all day, hit up a casino or go to one of the many amusement parks.

Hmmmmm

Chicago has tons to do. Southwest flies into Midway airport, which is closer to downtown.

Go to a Cubs or White Sox game
Top-Golf
Thousands of restaurants
Lake Michigan…

How about a dude ranch in Nebraska or Wyoming? Cabins and/or tent camping, outdoors and epic activities virtually guaranteed!

You can fly into Kansas City and camp at a number of state parks within a two-hour drive. A couple of the more interesting ones are Van Meter State Park (north of Marshall, MO) and Prairie State Park (west of Lamar, MO).

Van Meter has old Indian mounds that can be hiked to, and the Van Meter family cemetery with largely 19th century dates. Go into Marshall and see the Jim the Wonder Dog memorial.

Prairie State Park has a resident bison herd, with ranger-guide bison hikes on the first Saturday of the month, and a resident elk herd (harder to find). Pop into Lamar to see Harry Truman’s birthplace.

Missouri state parks are some of the best in the nation and have reasonable rules (e.g., adults may have alcohol in camp). Van Meter’s campground is smallish (22 sites) but I’ve never seen it full. The park is largely woodland. Prairie’s campground is unusual with only four sites, but up to 20 people can be accommodated at one site. We’ve often been the only group camping there, but call to reserve a site if you plan to go. The campground is trees and grass surrounded by a creek*, the rest of the park is tallgrass prairie.

*The creek has to be forded to access the campground, and if it rains really hard is impassable. Check the weather forecast and have a plan B.

Colorado has great camping in the summer.

http://www.tripleblaze.com/best/?c=60

Looks like Southwest flies into Denver. There’s the Money Museum in Colorado Springs.

There’s also the Coor’s Brewery in Golden and the Budweiser Brewery in Fort Collins. I thought the Budweiser one was the better tour.

There’s also Pike’s Peak also in Colorado Springs.

There’s also the Depot Museum in the old Union Pacific Depot in Cheyenne, WY

And the Wyoming Territorial Prison Museum in Laramie.

I’ll propose one that might not be for everyone, but it is cool. Wind Cave National park has guided tours that are pretty cool. Including one that is nearly a real caving tour, where you crawl through narrow passages.

And it’s close to Mt Rushmore, the Badlands, and Wall Drug. :slight_smile:

The closest city to the midpoint that has direct flights on Southwest from both Portland and Columbus is Denver. Plenty of outdoorsy stuff near there to do. Other cities with direct flights from both CMH and PDX include Phoenix, Oakland, and Las Vegas.

Perhaps a whitewater raft trip?

  • as adventurous as the guys can stand
  • by river is a great way to see the countryside
  • no Herculean feats of strength or endurance required, you can paddle or not depending on the outfit
  • you’re on rafts so you can bring tons of food and hooch
  • depending on the outfit, meals will be prepared for you

The only problem is it’s a lot to squeeze into a weekend. You might want to add a day or two.
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Oh, July of 2017! Here I was checking back, thinking that we’re less than two months from July 17, and you’d be posting reactions to suggestions.

Mine? I’d want to be near some good bars/food, so I’d go with Kansas City or Denver or Chicago (flying into O’hare might be cheaper than Donaskya, Nebraska).

Spend one of the days paintballing. It’s outdoor/woody. You can shoot your ‘enemy’ then have a beer with them afterwards.

There’s some great Mexican food and margaritas, along with some interesting history and culture, in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, and Southwest flies into the former.

Swarming with kids. Stay very far away from here, unless you want to remind the future husband of the future he’s sentencing himself to.