Midwest
By Travelog Editorial Team ยท Updated August 8, 2026
The Midwest is one of the US Census Bureau's four official regions, made up of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. On Travelog it's anchored by Illinois, home to Cahokia Mounds, UNESCO-listed in 1982 as the largest pre-Columbian settlement north of Mexico, and Chicago's Robie House, part of Frank Lloyd Wright's 2019 UNESCO listing.
Illinois anchors this region with two genuinely different UNESCO stories, ancient earthworks and 20th-century architecture; Ohio and Wisconsin add two more genuine UNESCO connections. Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota are grounded in actual National Historic Landmark and National Park Service designations. All twelve Midwest states are now live.
Live now
- Illinois Cahokia Mounds, UNESCO-listed in 1982, and Chicago's Robie House, part of Frank Lloyd Wright's 2019 UNESCO listing.
- Indiana Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a National Historic Landmark since 1987, home to the original 'Yard of Bricks' start-finish line.
- Iowa Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, free to visit, home to the 280-square-foot cottage where the first president born west of the Mississippi was born.
- Kansas Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park, free to visit, home to Monroe Elementary School and the documented story behind the 1954 ruling.
- Michigan Mackinac Island, car-free since 1898 and a National Historic Landmark since 1960, home to Fort Mackinac.
- Minnesota Voyageurs National Park, free to visit, nearly 40% water, protecting a 56-mile stretch of the historic fur-trade water route.
- Missouri The Gateway Arch, 630 feet tall, the world's tallest arch, designed by Eero Saarinen and completed in 1965.
- Nebraska Chimney Rock, the Oregon Trail's most recognized landmark, a 470-foot spire actively eroding, shorter today than it was a century ago.
- North Dakota Theodore Roosevelt National Park, the only US national park named for a person, where personal tragedy shaped his conservation legacy.
- Ohio The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, UNESCO-listed in 2023, ancient mounds destroyed by a WWI army camp and later reconstructed.
- South Dakota Mount Rushmore, carved with dynamite over 14 years without a single worker fatality, no entrance fee but a $10 parking charge.
- Wisconsin Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright's own home, part of his 2019 UNESCO listing, rebuilt after a 1914 tragedy.
