Midwest Adventures and Attractions for 2025 and Beyond
The Midwest is gearing up for an unforgettable lineup of new attractions, cultural celebrations, and major developments that showcase the region’s unique blend of history, innovation, and entertainment. From Illinois to Wisconsin, travelers can experience the charm of Route 66, the excitement of new casinos and theaters, and the cultural depth of groundbreaking museums. Highlights include Chicago’s Obama Presidential Center, the restoration of Missouri’s iconic Old Courthouse, and Wisconsin’s hosting of the 2025 NFL Draft at Lambeau Field. Whether you’re drawn to Broadway-caliber performances, vibrant festivals, or historic milestones, this guide covers the must-see destinations and events shaping the Midwest for years to come.
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Hiking in Southern Illinois
Illinois
ATLANTA – The new American Giants Museum tells the story of the 20-foot-tall fiberglass “Muffler Man” statues that once towered over automotive and other highway business. Exhibits in a replica 1960s Texaco gas station enlighten visitors about the California company that made them. Installed outside are several of the rescued and restored advertising characters. Atlanta, located on Historic Route 66, will be a focal point of Route 66 Centennial celebrations in 2026. americangiantsmuseum.com
CHICAGO – Broadway in Chicago promises a robust 2025 schedule at its four downtown theaters—James M. Nederlander Theatre, CIBC Theater, Cadillac Palace Theatre and Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place. Included are Come From Away, Jan. 21-26; Clue Live on Stage!, Feb. 18-March 2; Beetlejuice, March 11-16; Titanique, March 25-May 18; Moulin Rouge! The Musical, April 12-20; Riverdance 30 – The New Generation, April 22-27; Ali, April 22-May 18; Hadestown, May 6-18; Tina – The Tina Turner Musical, June 3-8; Kimberly Akimbo, June 10-22; Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, July 9-Aug. 2; and Parade, Aug. 5-17. broadwayinchicago.com
The Obama Presidential Center, after many construction delays, is expected to open in spring 2026. The campus, with the eight-story museum building at its heart, occupies 19 acres in Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side. The tower’s stone facade will be engraved with Barack Obama’s speech marking the 50th anniversary of the civil rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. Its top-floor Sky Room will offer sweeping views of the city. The center will feature a library offering access to Obama’s presidential papers in digital form, plus a public library branch, athletic center, test kitchen, restaurant, picnic areas and children’s play area. obama.org
EAST HAZEL CREST – Wind Creek Chicago Southland, a new 70,000-square-foot casino and resort, is the first AAA Diamond-rated casino in the state, offering 1,400 slot machines, 56 gaming tables, a state-of-the-art sportsbook and poker room. Amenities include an entertainment center, three restaurants, two bars, a pool, fitness center, luxurious spa and banquet facility. windcreek.com
AURORA – Hollywood Casino Aurora’s parent company, PENN Entertainment, Inc., is building a new land-based casino and hotel adjacent to the Chicago Premium Outlets mall, near exit 119 off I-88. Replacing the current Hollywood Casino Aurora riverboat property, the development, with an estimated budget of $360 million, is expected to include about 900 slots and 50 live table games, a state-of-the-art retail sportsbook and about 200 hotel rooms. hollywoodcasinoaurora,com
ROCK ISLAND – Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse begins 2025 with Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, Jan. 17-March 8. Also scheduled are Heartbreak Hotel, March 14-May 3; Chicago: The Musical, May 9-July 5; Mary Poppins, July 11-Sept. 6; and Come From Away, Sept. 12-Nov. 1. circa21.com
SPRINGFIELD – The new Route 66 Mural Trail tells the tales of the Mother Road in Illinois, one colorful wall at a time. Adding to the Route 66 journey in and around Springfield are 12 new wayside exhibits installed in 2024. Several have audio stories that allow travelers to hear from the legends of the road or current proprietors and their story.
Springfield will also be celebrating several milestone anniversaries in 2025 including the 125th Anniversary of the Springfield Park District, the 75th Anniversary of the Muni, the 90th Anniversary of Lake Springfield, and the 100th Year of Robin Roberts Stadium, home of the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes.
Indiana Dunes – photo Adam Asar
Indiana
INDIANAPOLIS – Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre has announced its 2025 playlist. Jersey Boys (Feb. 14-April 13) is followed by Church Basement Ladies, April 17-May 18; Disney’s The Little Mermaid, May 22-July 13; Waitress, July 17-Aug. 31; Heartbreak Hotel, Sept. 4-Oct. 12; Tootsie, Oct. 16-Nov. 23 and A Beef & Boards Christmas, Nov. 28-Dec. 31. beefandboards.com
The historic Stutz Building, a 110-year-old former auto manufacturing site in downtown Indy, is undergoing a major transformation. Spanning a 3.8-acre, seven-building complex, the space is becoming the home of restaurant and retail tenants, including an outpost of a beloved local bakery, a restaurant from an award-winning chef, plant shops, artist galleries, a retail incubator and more. A boutique car museum showcases rare classic cars like the Stutz Bearcat and Black Hawk. thestutz.com
SANTA CLAUS – Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari in 2024 added a new attraction, the first of its kind in North America. Located in the park’s Thanksgiving section, the Good Gravy! Rollercoaster is a train shaped like a giant gravy boat launched on a cranberry-colored track through a giant can of cranberries while dodging giant kitchenware. holidayworld.com
WEST LAFAYETTE – Cason Family Park is West Lafayette’s newest regional park that is opening in 2025. Cason Family Park exemplifies how community generosity makes a lasting impact for generations. Thanks to community member Lynn Cason, a 14-acre parcel was donated to the Foundation to preserve the Morris Schoolhouse and develop future park space. Located on Cumberland Avenue, near US 231, the nearly 30-acre designated park is currently being constructed. The park is set to open in May of 2025. wlprfoundation.org/projects/cason-family-park
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Iowa
BETTENDORF – Experience three levels of cutting-edge interactive golf in climate-controlled hitting bays at Iron Tee Golf, which opened in 2024. Powered by the advanced TrackMan tracking technology, the venue includes 58 bays, chef-inspired food options, and multiple bar and lounge areas. It also includes a state-of-the-art video gaming space with an immersive virtual reality platform. golfirontee.com
PELLA – Pella will be celebrating the 90th annual Tulip Time Festival from May 1-3, 2025. The beloved springtime celebration will feature parades, Dutch dancing, delicious Dutch treats, and, of course, lots of tulips. visitpella.com
Kansas
Kansas City – An iconic bridge over the Kansas River, once used to transport cattle from nearby stockyards, is being redeveloped to create America’s first-ever entertainment district over a river. Suspended 40 feet above the water and rooted in the history of the Rock Island Railroad, Rock Island Bridge will include eateries, event spaces, ziplining, and kayak and paddle boarding docks. Dating from 1905, the renovated steel bridge also will serve as a trailhead for walkers and bikers. The 702-foot span, which sat abandoned for many years, crosses the Kansas and Missouri state lines and has a landing in each state. Completion of the project is set for spring 2025. rockislandkc.com
Michigan
MARSHALL – Cornwell’s Dinner Theatre will stage the following shows in 2025: Good Morning, Vietnam, Feb. 25-March 1; Almost, Maine, March 27-April 12; Nunsense, May 1-June 14; Hit Me With Your Best Shot, July 1-Aug. 9; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Aug. 28-Oct. 18; and The Naughty List, Nov. 6-Dec. 21. turkeyville.com
FRANKENMUTH – A major expansion is underway at Bavarian Inn Lodge, one of the biggest Bavarian-themed resorts in the U.S. When completed, the $80 million project will make it Michigan’s largest indoor water park and family entertainment center, with more than 140,000 square feet of family fun. The project will add 20+ new attractions, including water slides, a wave pool and adult swim-up bar. bavarianinn.com
Minnesota
LITTLE FALLS – The new Minnesota Military Museum at Camp Ripley, replacing the outdated current facility, is set to open in spring 2026. mnvetmuseum.org
MINNEAPOLIS – Internationally beloved performer Prince brought fame to his hometown of Minneapolis when his album and film, “Purple Rain,” premiered 40 years ago. With the film and music still regarded as influential today, the pre-Broadway run of the first-ever “Purple Rain the Musical” will draw fans to Minneapolis’ State Theatre starting in October 2025. Also, Celebration 2025 will be June 5-9, 2025, where The Year of Purple Rain will wrap up in spectacular fashion.
Blues at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis
Missouri
ST. LOUIS – One of the most important historic sites in the U.S., the Old Courthouse will reopen in spring 2025 after a two-year, multimillion-dollar renovation focused on increased accessibility, structural improvements and new exhibitory. Topped by an Italian Renaissance-style, wrought-iron dome, the Old Courthouse was built between 1839 and 1862, and it heard more than 300 freedom suits, including the pivotal Dred and Harriet Scott cases, before the American Civil War. It’s also where Virginia Minor sued for her right to vote in Missouri in 1872 – the same year that Susan B. Anthony was arrested for trying to vote.
A thrilling new exhibition will run at the Saint Louis Art Museum from April 12 to July 27, 2025. Interwar France was a period of exceptional creativity, innovation and turbulence, and Roaring: Art, Fashion and the Automobile in France, 1918–1939 explores the role of the automobile as both subject and object from 1918 to 1939, untangling the impact of fashion, interiors, architecture, aviation and the avant-garde on French automobile design and production.
ST. ROBERT – Just in time for the nationwide Route 66 Centennial in 2026, the Route 66 Neon Park, now under construction, will feature 15 signs that once stood at motels and other businesses on Route 66 in Missouri. Each installation in the open-air museum will feature a storyboard and historical photo. Positioned among oak trees in an existing roadside park, the vintage neon artifacts will be lit at night. Located in the median of Route 66, the city-owned park lies just south of Interstate 44, the superhighway that replaced the Mother Road in Missouri. visitpulaskicounty.org
KANSAS CITY – The Kansas City Current, the city’s National Women’s Soccer League team, has unveiled their new stadium on the banks of the Missouri River. The 11,500-seat venue is the world’s first stadium purposely built for a women’s professional sports team. It is the anchor of the ongoing development project at Berkley Riverfront Park undertaken by Port KC. CPKC Stadium will host the 2025 Big 12 Soccer Championship and The Women’s Cup matches. cpkcr.com
ST. LOUIS – A Route 66 landmark has been spruced up with an attractive new greenspace on the Mississippi River. Chain of Rocks Park, located at the foot of Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, is managed by Great Rivers Greenway and features an event space, a pavilion, restrooms, plaza for food trucks and parking lot with spaces for cars and buses. Built as a private toll bridge in 1929, the mile-long bridge passes through wooded Chouteau Island and is now used for pedestrians and bicyclists, serving as a link to various trails in Missouri and Illinois. It started serving Route 66 travelers when the Mother Road was rerouted in 1936 and did so until 1965. greatriversgreenway.org
Baseball fans are flocking to the new Rawlings Experience in St. Louis’ Westport Plaza entertainment district. They can view the Gold Glove awards earned by star players past and present, design a cusmom glove with a master glove craftsman, and take pictures with the giant Rawlings Gold Glove statue and mega-sized Rawlings baseball. There are batting cages for trying out Rawlings baseball and softball bats. For sale are bats, gloves, helmets and other gear. Rawlings is the official supplier of balls, gloves and helmets for Major League Baseball. rawlings.com
The Broadway series at The Fabulous Fox begins in 2025 with Six, Jan. 21-Feb. 2, and Shucked, Feb. 11-23. Next are Some Like It Hot, Feb. 26-March 9; Mean Girls, March 14-16; Kimberly Akimbo, March 25-April 6; Riverdance 30th Anniversary Tour, May 2-4; Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations, May 9-11; and & Juliet, May 20-June 1. fabulousfox.com
BRANSON – Silver Dollar City theme park has announced plans to invest half a billion dollars over the next decade on the construction of new family adventures, including the development of an adjacent 1,200 acres. The strategic plan represents the largest investment in the company’s 65-year history and begins with the debut of the Silver Dollar City Resort, the first theme park resort in America’s heartland. Already under construction and set to open in late 2026, the 262-room resort will feature never-before-seen vistas of the Ozark Mountains and Table Rock Lake.
silverdollarcity.com/resort
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Ohio
PORT CLINTON – Lonz Mansion, once home to George Lonz, who operated what was one of the largest wineries in the country, is undergoing a $5 million restoration. It is expected to open in late summer 2025. Built in 1906, the house sits within Middle Bass Island State Park, and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources hopes to bring the house back to its former glory. The park comprises 124 acres at the southern end of the Middle Bass Island, a 40-minute ferry ride from Ohio’s mainland. The island is a short boat ride from South Bass Island, home to the bustling town of Put-in-Bay. In its heyday, Middele Bass Island was a true tourist destination – with two wineries, dance halls, hotels and the exclusive Middle Bass Club, a summer community that was visited by four U.S. presidents in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Wisconsin
BELOIT – Visit Beloit is excited to announce the upcoming opening of a brand-new event space on the Rock River, set to open in March 2025. The versatile event center will host a variety of events including comedy acts and small concerts, accommodating groups of up to 150 people. Guests will enjoy the stunning views through the large window facing the river, which will be a beautiful backdrop for all events, along with a bar offering a selection of beer and wine.
FORT ATKINSON – Offering dinner and a show, The Fireside Theatre starts its 61st year in 2025 with Back in the Building, an Elvis Presley tribute, Jan. 9-Feb. 23. Next are West Side Story, Feb. 27-April 13; Murder on the Orient Express, April 17-June 1; The Last Potluck Supper, June 5-July 20; Disney’s The Little Mermaid, July 24-Sept. 7; Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, Sept. 11-Oct. 26; and A Wonderful Life, Oct. 30-Dec. 28. firesidetheatre.com
GREEN BAY – In 2025, the NFL Draft travels to the most historical site in all professional sports. Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Green Bay is the smallest city in the U.S. to host a professional sports team. Where to Stay: The luxury Legacy Hotel opened in the Stadium District in Green Bay this past January – boasting 101 suites alongside a couple of restaurants, coffee shop and a spa. A Cambria Hotel & Suites is also under construction and slated to open before the 2025 Draft.
MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee Repertory Theater will open the Associated Bank Theater Center in fall 2025. It will become the standard of theater in Wisconsin with three unique performance spaces, a spacious lobby and an expanded offsite production center. milwaukeerep.com
FPC Live will open an indoor concert venue along State Street in Deer District just south of Fiserv Forum in fall 2025. The venue will have a capacity for 4,500 spectators and is expected to host about 55-60 events annually.
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