" [To figure out the important LDS historical sites, ] just use the [map] in the back of the Doctrine and Covenants. Mark the main cities and then go to a road map."
"We stayed at the cheapest motels/hotels I could find along the way. We had all good experiences, except at the Omaha motel 6, which was smoky inside and out. I used expedia to find the cheapest lodgings"
"We made a tentative schedule at FHE last week using a route finder (which helped us estimate times and distances, since we already have our dates). We plugged in the for sure spots (Nauvoo, NY, my sisters house) and then are branching out from there. We want to do LDS and History sites, but aren't planning on hitting everything, just what we can do within our time limit and still have fun. I think this is the route finder our son used: http://www.routefast.com"
"They just redid the priesthood restoration site, which is about three hours from palmyra in Pennsylvania."
"I would definitely go by way of Nauvoo, Illinois! It is amazing! Also Carthage Jail. You could also go by Liberty Jail and Adamondiamon. If you go to the visitor center and liberty jail 1st they can give you directions/maps to Adamondiamon. It is in the middle of no where but so worth the trip. We ate doing a mini trip in May. Going to Nauvoo, Carthage Jail then Pella, Iowa and back through Iowa City and a fun is Village in Kalona, Iowa. FYI the shows in Nauvoo are all free but they fill up fast. Might want to call visitors center and see if you can reserve tickets ahead of time. Same for the horse and buggy ride."
"There is also a German/Quaker town to the West of Iowa City called Amana, Iowa. It is lots of fun too."
"Good stops are Independance and Far West MO, including Adam ondi ahman. Also, the KC Temple and Liberty Jail. Then to Carthage and Nauvoo. Go thru Kirtland Ohio and the Temple. Onto Palmyra. I believe once in ny that you can take route 20 to avoid tolls on I-90. It's been awhile. In Palmyra you can see the first JS home (white 2 story), down the road is the newer cabin home as well. You can climb the hill to the top and to the angel moroni statue. There used to be a visitor center. If course the sacred Grove and temple grounds. Also fun is a trip to Fayetteville close by to see the Peter Whitmer farm and the cabin built there is a replica of the one used April 6, 1830. There is a riverboat museum in Keokuk IA (or used to be) that was fun to see also. The old paddle wheel kind."
"My family has done this trip twice (from CA to Vermont)... First trip we stopped at American history stops more (the way through) then on the trip back we hit up the church history stops (palmyra, kirtland, nauvoo, missouri, etc.) The 2nd time we started in MO and then went on to Nauvoo and carthage, and then on to Kirtland, Palmyra, and Vermont (Joseph Smith's home).
I will say of our 4 kids, our 3 year old was a big pill during the trip. Its a lot of classes/tours for the toddlers, but the missionaries I felt did a great job engaging the kids (we had a 5 & 6 year old, and a 3 month baby). So maybe just prepare yourself that you may need some down time to get them happy, or plan on mixing up the classes/tours with outside time (there's plenty of trails and sites to see with the church history). He didn't have the problem in Missouri, it was mainly in Nauvoo because I wanted to go see all the buildings. "
"We're doing it this summer too! Utah to Palmyra. We're taking our 8 kids (ages 11 down to 19 months on the trip), traveling for 2 weeks, and staying in a variety of hotels and campgrounds. We're also showing the kids where daddy grew up in Iowa (since his parents live in Utah now), then we're doing church history sites in New York (Smith Family Farm, Grand in Printing Press, Hill Cumorah, Peter Whitmer Farm), Ohio (Kirtland Temple, Jewel K. Whitney Store, John Johnson Farm), Illinois (Carthage, Nauvoo - 3 days), and Missouri (Far West, Independence, Haun's Mill, Adam-Ondi-Ahman), as well as Nebraska (Winter Quarters), and Wyoming (Martin's Cove). We are also seeing some geological wonders (Independence Rock, Chimney Rock, Niagra Falls), some native American sites (Effigy mounds in IA, Newark Earthworks in OH), and some cultural sites (Ft Laramie, WY, Lincoln Museum, Springville, IL, Field of Dreams, Dyersville, IA). And because our kids wanted to go to Disneyland this year, we are taking them to AdventureLand just outside of Des Moines, IA.
We have reservations at 10 different places, for 14 nights.
We found several of our accommodations on vrbo or airbnb. We also had mild success with sixsuitcasetravel and KOA cabins."
"I recommend stopping in Omaha, NE. There's a lot of church history in this area both omaha and across the river in Council Bluffs."
"We took our 6 kids to Maine and back. We drove there 3 days, back 4. We stayed Sat-Sundays there at a hotel, but camped Mon- Sat at a state park. We did two rooms at the cheapest places I could find, which varied from $35-75 per room. We at out for dinner for the journey and a few times during the week. We spent around $2000 for all, including gas. (We have a 2007 toyota sienna)."
"Our budget is about $200/night for accommodations. We have 10 people and have to get bigger places more often. We also figured about $800 for gas for our van the whole trip. We'll be traveling about 5000 miles total, and for 15 days and 14 nights we are budgeting $5000. We will be taking a cooler and making our own breakfasts and lunches whenever possible (unless a hotel has breakfast included). We did factor in eating out for most dinners, and souvenirs also."
"The city museum in St. Louis is one if the best places I've ever been. Definitely swing through there if you can on your way back from Nauvoo. Google it. It's amazing. Ahhh yes! I LOVED the City Museum as a kid/youth/adult! It's less museum and more giant indoor/outdoor playground made of recyclable materials, but it is so fun! The kids will love it! It's got a ten story slide."
"If you find yourself on I-40 in Alma, AR, the Parly Pratt grave site is right on the interstate, across road from Shell "Hilltop" Truck stop, on the Rudy exit. Not worth making a detour for, but a nice place to look at if you are there.
"The birthplace memorial is a good visit, too. It takes a couple of hours, but isn't too far off the highway. Sharon, VT, of course!"
"If you take I-70 back stop at the Liberty Jail in MO and then visit the Cosmosphere in KS"
"It's hard to get to and not well marked but the Susquehanna river site where Joseph and Oliver were baptized is pretty sacred and beautiful ground."
"Some of our most powerful experiences were at Carthage."
"I think the Little House on the prairie historical sites are on the way. I want to do that road trip someday!"
"In Nauvoo be sure to visit the Bakery and the Fudgery, be sure to see Carthage Jail. If you're coming from that way anyway, head over to the Kansas City area. There's the Liberty Jail, Adam-ondi-Ahman, Independence has the temple cornerstone, etc."
"I would have never known this area existed until I met a woman who said the trail ran through her property in Chariton, IA. There is a Mormon trail marker there. http://www.recreationparks.net/.../the-mormon-trail...
The Mormon Trail Historical Marker - Chariton - RecreationParks.net
"We saw the Parley Pratt grave while we were there several years ago. We couldn't believe the neglect. As a family we stayed for an hour or so pulling weeds and such. If you do goo to some of the off beaten sites I suggest building in a little time for that too. It's one of the most memorable things about that trip for me."
" I recommend Gettysburg, depending on how far South your route takes you ... there is a lot of Church history in that state. The Philadelphia Temple (the first in PA) is being built. It would be worth a stop, too."
"For sure come to Omaha, Nebraska to the Winter Quarters Trail Center! It's an amazing visitor's center with so much pioneer history and a pioneer cemetery. There are activities for kids like pulling a handcart and walking through full scale pioneer home..."
"Go to sharon, vt. There is a visitors center and.monument since that is the birthplace of Joseph Smith. Then drive to palmyra, hill cumorah, visitor center, both smith homes, sacred grove and temple and in fayettesville there is the whitmer home and visitor center.
"We go to the Hill Cumorah for the practice rehearsal, best trick in the book. Go a day or two before, watch the practice, (the same as the real thing) and miss the crowds.....give a couple days. We always stay at the Palmyra Inn...they let you let kids sleep on the floor for big families and it's a fun breakfast."
"Go to Tom Wahls.....homemade rootbeer, great burgers....we go once a day in Palmyra"
"We went to Palmyra in the spring and went to a local maple syrup farm and got a tour of them tapping the trees and making syrup. I loved it. I'm not sure how you'd set that up, maybe just call a couple maple syrup farmers?"
"Plan to go in July and make your reservations well in advance. Kirtland has a musical show and Palmyra of course has Pageant. There is really nothing in the Kirtland Area to see besides the church sites. It is very small. The sacred grove is not to visit off season, but too populated during pageant to really enjoy the sacred nature of the site. Take rain ponchos just in case. There are lots of places that are great to visit in Upstate N.Y. The Finger Lakes are beautiful, Treman State Park and Buttermilk Falls are gorgeous. Lots of hiking and beautiful waterfalls. 3 hours beyond you can cross over and see Niagra Falls, but if you want to see the horseshoe falls you will need your passports or passport cards. There is also the baptismal site (which is not easy to find, at least for me) They have a statue there on the river bank and the Martin Harris Farm is pretty cool to visit as well. If you don't make reservations early with pageant season though you will not find places to stay."
"The Johnson Farm outside of Kirtland is worth the trip. It's where Joseph Smith received a number of revelations found in the D & C. It was a very moving experience for my husband and myself. It's about an hours drive from Kirtland and out in the middle of no where. Regarding the timing, if you don't mind crowds, go during the pageants. Honestly it was a zoo when we went to Palmyra. Luckily we got there in the morning right when the sacred grove area was opened, and it was quiet for about an hour, but after that, it was a complete zoo. If you are trying to have a sacred experience with your family,.I would recommend going when it's not crowded. But that's just us. :-) If you don't mind crowds, then that shouldn't be a problem. Have fun!
"Just be prepared and prepare your children for all the anti-LDS literature and people that will be around the Pageants. There was one year that we went (we lived in Massachusetts from the time I was 8-11 years old and went to the pageant 2 or 3 times during those years) that it started pouring down rain about 45 minutes to an hour before the pageant was to start...and let up about 25-30 minutes before it was to start. Everyone ran back to our cars and the anti-LDS people all left. During the opening prayer they asked that the elements would be tempered so that the pageant could go forward...and you could see the circle of clouds around the hills. We were staying at a hotel in nearby Manchester and the lady who owned it said that it never stopped raining there... It was truly a breath of fresh air to not have all the anti-LDS people there...and truly a faith building experience to know that Heavenly Father had answered our prayer...we could see the stars in the sky above the Hill Cumorah...and yet a few miles away, it never stopped raining."
"If you come to Pa, I believe the priesthood restoration site is opening a visitors center this year (not positive) on that. if you come to pa and the Susquehanna ....Hershey is fun..Philly is of course full of history and all the Smithsonian museums in D.C. are free!!"
