Winter Road Trip from NJ
 

I am hoping that someone can help me with this:

We live in NJ and have a week to take vacation this winter, most likely in late January. I hate flying, and it gets expensive with the five of us anyway. So, we're thinking of a road trip from NJ to somewhere fun/different/possibly out of the box. We don't mind driving pretty far, within reason. We've driven to Orlando, but we don't plan to go back this year. We like the Carolinas, but they are cold this time of year (and without much to do in the winter). We've recently been to NYC, Boston, Philadelphia, and DC. We haven't been to everything in those places, so we would maybe spend a day if it was on the way somewhere, but not the whole week. We have never been West (Chicago, for ex.), but we're under the impression that the winter might not be the best time. Do you have any ideas/itineraries that you could suggest for us? Anything would be helpful!

Thanks so much for your response! To clarify, I am okay with a "winter" location, provided that there are plenty of indoor things to do. I discounted the Carolinas because they are cold, and there is not much to do in the winter. However, Chicago, while cold, seems to have plenty of indoor activities. I am just concerned that the winter might be too intense. Thanks for the skiing suggestion. We are not a big skiing family, but are considering a day of snow tubing or something like that. I just can't see us spending more than one day engaged in outdoor activities in the cold.

Consider taking a train to Chicago. Either the Capitol Limited or the Cardinal (3 days/week) will get you there. There are plenty of things to do indoors in Chicago including the Field Museum (see Sue), the Shedd Aquarium, the self guided tour of the Federal Reserve Bank (see a million dollars in a cube). Take the elevator up to the observation deck of the Willis (former Sears) tower or you can go up to the observation area of the Hancock tower along the Magnificent Mile (N Michigan Ave). You can also see American Gothic by Grant Wood in the Art Museum. There are also some great theaters in downtown Chicago.
For an added stop if you have time, you could stop in Cleveland and see the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

It sounds like you have children but you didn't give ages. If you considered NH I would recommend Concord since you would have a choice of places to go tubing i.e. Pat's Peak in Henniker. Red River Theater is an independent so offers some worthwhile films but there are also regular movie theaters in the area. Concord has a planetarium which isn't my favorite place. A short drive to the south, I would highly recommend SEE Science Center if you have younger children. The free weekly newspaper Hippo Press has a website which might help you with local events. In the past we have attended ice cutting demonstrations, Model T ski mobiles at a farm near Lake Winnipesaukee, sled dog races, etc. If it's a warm winter day without much snow on the ground, I've heard there are some great local short, easy hikes. (One hiker told me on a recent hike they had a fabulous view and it was so clear they could see Mt. Washington.) It shouldn't be hard to find a good local sledding hill which I think might be in White's Park. Depending on the weather you could also make a drive to the seacoast for some great seafood (we like Petey's in Rye which is open year round.) You could even make a stop on Rt 4 to go sledding at Wagon Hill Farm on your way. Again, if you have young children, the Montshire Museum in Norwich VT would be about an hour away and is different from SEE science center. There is indoor ice skating and skate rentals at Everett Arena in Concord.

I discounted the Carolinas because they are cold, and there is not much to do in the winter.
It may or may not be cold and it won't be as cold as NJ.
You could get a nice hotel in Winston Salem that has a pool. Visit Old Salem. Charlotte has nice museums, a white water center with climbing, pro basketball. Raleigh/Chapel Hill have their attractions. There are pro hockey games in Raleigh and semi pro in Charlotte. A day spent in Seagrove and visiting its numerous and some historic potteries is a treat.

I can't edit the above for some reason. You could also go to Asheville vor the day and visit Biltmore House from Winston. It's possible the gingerbread house exhibit may still be at the Grove Park Inn (until end of January maybe).
Winston also has Reynolda House which often has wonderful special art exhibits.
Charlotte has several historic sites--Latta Plantation and the Alexander historic site. Good dining from funky to fine.
The Bechtler Museum downtown is a world class art museum with changing exhibitions. There is the NASCAR museum and just north of Charlotte in Mooresville is the heart of many NASCAR garages with exhibits/tours.

Thank you, everyone, for your ideas! Yes, I have three kids- 10, 7, and 3.

Have you considered visiting Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos? Huge indoor water park and activities.

OR there is one just north of Charlotte in Concord Mills which would be near all the things in Charlotte and environs I mentioned. That is a great idea I think for your kids' ages--maybe just for a couple of nights and then somewhere else too.

An additional attraction in Charlotte is Latta Place (a Catawba River plantation dating from the 1700s that has animals. And nearby is the Raptor Center--wonderful exhibits of eagles and hawks.

I don't know if this is reasonable to consider because of the border crossing but Montreal is also a wonderful city with lots to do. Quebec City is even nicer in a way since it is smaller and bit more accessible but further if you are driving. And of course there is always the weather to consider-so west of south may be more certain at that time of year.

Thank you so much for all of your suggestions! Looks like we might go to New Hampshire/Vermont (including Great Wolf Lodge in MA). We'll have to figure out some back-up ideas in case it snows when we're supposed to travel. We will definitely use all of your ideas at some point in the future.

For closer to NJ, the Poconos has ski locations and a Great Wolf Lodge too.

Thank you, but we are going to take some factory tours in Vermont, too.