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:
Needs to be roughly halfway between Portland, OR and Columbus, OH
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.