With Rising Gas Prices, Cleveland is Perfect Road Trip City

Summer is almost here and that means family road trips. And while we all hope gas prices start going down instead of steadily rising, you might be looking for a destination that isn’t too far from home to ease the burden on your budget. You’ve got some pretty great destinations to choose from, but for many parts of the country, Cleveland is a great choice for affordability. Not only is it less than a day’s drive from many parts of the country, but it’s also loaded with free attractions the whole family will love.

You can either make the trip directly to this Ohio city or add it on to a scenic byway road trip, like the Lake Erie Circle Tour that takes you through Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Ontario, or the Lake Erie Coastal Ohio Trail that explores some of the state’s most scenic lighthouses and beaches. If you’d rather just get to your destination and relax while you explore a new city, you won’t have a shortage of things to do once you get there.

Cleveland is home to some great museums, like Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland Institute of Music, Cleveland Institute of Art and Cleveland Museum of Art. Best of all, these are all free. The Sculpture Center, a space dedicated to digital art known as SPACES, and an art gallery located inside an old streetcar substation known as the Transformer Substation are also great ways to get to know the cultural vibe of the city without spending a dime on admission fees.

Also free are Cleveland Women’s Air and Space Museum, a great way to celebrate girl power, and Federal Reserve Bank Money Museum can teach the family interesting skills like identifying counterfeit money and creating currency. You can even visit National Cleveland-Style Polka Museum (also free) to learn all about the local version of this traditional musical style.

Spring and summer are great times to enjoy the outdoors, and Cleveland has plenty of ways to do that with more free attractions. Cleveland Cultural Gardens is made up of more than 30 gardens of beautiful landscapes intermingled with sculptures. You can explore some or all of this 1.5-mile stretch of the city to enjoy the fresh air. If the family enjoys the gardens, you won’t want to miss Rockefeller Greenhouse, home to a variety of botanical displays like a Japanese garden; Latin American garden; and Betty Ott Talking Garden, a sensory garden that makes the space completely accessible for visually impaired visitors.