Midwest

The following eight states of the Midwest account for one-fifth of the U.S. population:

Although Pennsylvania is classified as a Mid-Atlantic state on Wikivoyage, the western parts of the state around Pittsburgh are Midwestern in character.

See also the pages for the states of the Midwest, for smaller but still substantial cities in the region.

• 🌍 Chicago  – the "Windy City" and third largest city in the U.S., with architecture galore and plenty of deep dish pizza or hot dogs to scarf down for hungry travelers
• 🌍 Cincinnati  – the "Queen City" is the oldest large city in the region with hills and Victorian architecture.
• 🌍 Cleveland  – the "Heart of Rock and Roll" has a revitalized 21st-century downtown on the water
• 🌍 Detroit  – the "Motor City", a.k.a. "Motown", where some of the nation's most popular music acts got their start
• 🌍 Indianapolis  – the "Circle City" and "Crossroads of America;" home of the Indy 500 as well as the world's largest children's museum and a number of arts and cultural districts
• 🌍 Kansas City  – the "City of Fountains" and its own style of barbecue eats
• 🌍 Milwaukee  – "Brew City", "Cream City" and the "City of Festivals"
• 🌍 St. Louis  – "Gateway City", home of the Gateway Arch often considered the easternmost city of the West and the northernmost city of the South
• The "Twin Cities" – Minneapolis & Saint Paul

• 🌍 Boundary Waters  – A large chain of lakes, rivers and marshes known for its seclusion and natural beauty on the border of Minnesota and Canada
• 🌍 Cuyahoga Valley National Park  – one of the country's busiest national parks, along the Cuyahoga River south of Cleveland.
• 🌍 Driftless Area  – A hilly area shared between Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois known for its tourist areas and skiing.
• 🌍 Great Lakes  – the "North Coast" of the United States, and the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface and volume.
• 🌍 Indiana Dunes National Park  – beautiful dunes and beaches, hidden on the industrial northwest coast of Indiana.
• 🌍 Isle Royale National Park  – a beautiful, wild island at the northern tip of the Midwest.
• 🌍 Ozarks  – the famous lakes and hill country at the intersection of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.
• 🌍 Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore  – enormous dunes in a wild part of Northern Michigan.

The term "Midwest" refers to the states generally west of Appalachia, north of the Ohio River and east of the Great Plains. This area is sometimes referred to as the "heart" or "rust belt" of America and is often associated with agriculture and industry (historically manufacturing but this has faded as years have passed). The culture of the Midwest is generally acknowledged to be "down to earth", as much of the population is far from the influences of coastal cities and cultural centers such as New York City and Los Angeles. The Midwest is largely nearly evenly divided between liberals and conservatives, and the region has the highest concentration of swing states in presidential elections.

A synonym, the North Central Region, describes its geographic location more accurately; the "west" suffix is a historical artifact from the country's early history, when most of the U.S. population lived east of the Appalachian Mountains.

States bordering the Great Lakes (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin) are sometimes called the "North Coast", "Third Coast" or "Fresh Coast" as parallels to the East and West coasts. These are the states of the region which make up the rust belt.

Also known as "America's Heartland", for its primary role in the nation's manufacturing and farming sectors as well as its patchwork of big commercial cities and small towns that, in combination, are considered as the broadest representation of American culture. In fact, most national television broadcasters speak with a Midwestern accent. The Midwest was the home of more than one quarter of U.S. Presidents (and that's taking into account that a half dozen people were President before most the Midwest achieved statehood) as well as the birthplace of the inventors and entrepreneurs of most of the technology that fuels the world's economy- examples include airplane, automobile, electric lighting, the transistor, petroleum, steel production.

Major population centers tend to be located either on the Great Lakes (Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee and Duluth) or on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers (Minneapolis, St. Paul, St. Louis and Cincinnati). This reflects the historical importance of waterways as a method of connecting the region to the ports of New York (via the Erie Canal) and New Orleans (via the rivers). Chicago, originally a marshy area, boomed due to being the easiest method of shipping from the St. Lawrence and Erie Canal to New Orleans. Commerce via the Great Lakes remains a major portion of the region's economy. The major exception to this is Indianapolis, which has unnavigable waterways but is a major intersection for road travel. Chicago also became the main railroad hub for the entire country in the 19th century and has kept this position to this day.

With the advent of globalization, much of the heavy industry that many Midwestern cities were dependent on were outsourced to countries in Asia and Latin America with lower labor cost, leading to a decline of many once-great cities. As such, many Midwestern cities continue to suffer from high unemployment, urban decay and high violent crime rates. This is particularly true in cities which were built on a single industry such as Detroit and Flint (automobiles,) and the decaying steel town of Gary, Indiana.

English is, as with the rest of the U.S., the de facto official language. The "Midwestern Accent" is the voice most commonly heard on national newscasts across the country. Some areas with large Hispanic populations might have a majority speaking Spanish, but most native speakers of Spanish in the Midwest have at least basic English skills. There is also a substantial German-speaking history which is now mostly confined to rural areas made up of plain Anabaptist communities.

Most of the larger cities have sizeable diverse ethnic communities with many first-generation immigrants. This is particularly true of Chicago, which is known for its large communities of Assyrians, Jews, Poles, Ukrainians and African-Americans transplanted from the South: dialectical and linguistic diversity vary widely in this city. That said, the classic Chicago accent is moribund, and most younger Chicagoans speak with a general American accent. Milwaukee is home to a large Hmong-speaking population as well. Missouri, Wisconsin and Minnesota have their own minor linguistic quirks, but generally the English spoken here is among the easiest dialects to understand in all America and is largely devoid of unusual terms for everyday items.

Local dialects of other European languages such as German, Norwegian and Swedish are spoken by some elderly residents, though these dialects are now moribund, and most of the younger generation is monolingual in English.

Great Lakes

• Lake Erie Coastal Ohio Trail, including Northern Ohio and Southeastern Michigan.
• Lake Erie Islands. Located west of Cleveland, Ohio and southeast of Detroit, Michigan, a group of picturesque and festive islands in Lake Erie are accessible via ferry. In addition to several Ohio State Parks located on the islands, there is plenty to do including wineries, restaurants, bars, marinas and beaches.
• North Shore Scenic Drive – Along Lake Superior in Minnesota, this picturesque route is popular for stunning vistas of the water and beautiful fall foliage. Follow Minnesota Route 61 northeasterly from Duluth all the way to Thunder Bay, Canada.
• The Mackinac Bridge – Connecting the two peninsulas of Michigan via I-75. An engineering marvel and an important transportation artery.

River Dancing

• Great River Road – The Mighty Mississippi, from Wisconsin and Minnesota through Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri and south to the Gulf of Mexico
• Meeting of the Great Rivers Scenic Route in Illinois
• Ohio River Scenic Byway – a river trail through Ohio, Indiana and Illinois
• Ohio & Erie Canalway – from Lake Erie in Cleveland through Ohio to the Ohio River valley

Inland History and Culture

• Historical National Road – a trail of history running through Ohio, Indiana and Illinois
• Amish Country Byway in Ohio
• Lincoln Highway in Illinois
• Amana Colonies in Iowa

Great Lakes

• Beaches, including the dunes in Indiana along Lake Michigan.
• Fishing, with many charters in most major cities to choose from.
• Boating, in and around the Apostle Islands in northern Wisconsin.
• Lighthouses worthy of a picture in Wisconsin's Door County.
• Resorts along the Traverse City area of Michigan.

River Valleys

• Casino riverboats in Dubuque, Iowa.
• Rafting and tubing along the Wisconsin River in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.
• Boatwatching along the Mississippi River in Hannibal, Missouri, Mark Twain's hometown.

Amusement Parks

• Cedar Point
• Six Flags Great America
• Kings Island
• Michigan's Adventure
• Six Flags St. Louis
• Valleyfair in Shakopee, Minnesota
• Holiday World & Splashin' Safari, Santa Claus, IN

The Midwest is a patchwork of big cities, small towns and farming communities. Being the epicenter of the American Industrial Revolution, it attracted an influx of immigrants and African Americans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, resulting in a diverse ethnic culinary experience from the heavy German, Irish, Polish, Czech, Ukrainian, Italian, Greek, Scandinavian, Mexican, Puerto Rican and African-American urban populations to rural Amish and Mennonite cooking traditions. Due to its harsh climate away from the coast, as well as a history of Central European and Scandinavian settlement, Midwestern cuisines tend to be simple and hearty, with a heavy emphasis on meat, potatoes and dairy products.

Being the main center of cattle farming in the United States, the Midwest is generally regarded as having the best steaks in the country. Chicago in particular is known for having an exceptionally large number of top quality steakhouses.

Big Midwest cities, like Chicago, St. Louis, Cleveland, Detroit and Milwaukee, are known for their bratwurst, kielbasa, Italian sausage and good old American hot dogs. Smaller, rural clusters, like the German Amana Colonies, in east-central Iowa, is home to some of the best German-American food in the Midwest. Known for family-style dining, the Amana Colonies provide hearty foods the Midwest is known for. As many African-Americans trace their family roots to the South, regional specialities of the South are often found in African-American communities.

Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin have heavier Scandinavian influences. In the larger cities, food culture has also been strongly influenced by newer immigrant communities, with strong influences from Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Indian and Middle Eastern cuisines being particularly evident.

Wisconsin is also known as one of America's main cheesemaking regions, with cheddar cheeses being the most popular. Due to a history of Swiss-German settlement Wisconsin is also known for its Emmentaler cheeses (known as "Swiss cheese" in most of the U.S.), and some parts of Wisconsin are known for their localized version of Swiss-German dishes such as rösti and kalberwurst.

Locally grown food is seasonally available in rural areas, often at roadside stands. Spring crops include salad greens, radishes, sweet peas and spinach. Summer's abundance includes sweet corn, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, onions, melons, berries, apples, cherries, peaches and pears. The agricultural abundance can be excellent in season and seems to encourage large helpings year around.

• Beer – The Midwest was historically the center of the American brewing industry, and major domestic breweries Anheuser-Busch (St. Louis) and Miller (Milwaukee) remain headquartered in the area. Many well-known craft breweries are also in the region, including Summit (St. Paul), Goose Island (Chicago), Great Lakes (Cleveland, OH), Bell's (Kalamazoo, MI), New Glarus (New Glarus, WI), Gluek's (Cold Spring, MN), Schell's (New Ulm, MN), Leinenkugel's (Chippewa Falls, WI). Microbreweries and brew-pubs can be found throughout the area. Millstream Brewery, located in the Amana Colonies, Iowa is home to the world's best (2010 World Beer Cup, Gold medal winner) Vienna style lager beer.
• Milk – Wisconsin in particular is renowned for its fresh dairy: milk, cream, and all manner of cheeses.
• Wine – Wine is made in every state of the Midwest. Catawba grapes were first discovered in Ohio in 1802 and thus Catawba vineyards line the shores and islands of Lake Erie. Michigan and Missouri also have significant wine countries. The Amana Colonies, located in Iowa, is home to five wineries featuring their traditional sweet, fruit wines, as well as many varieties of German and French-style wineries. Iowa is home to almost 90 wineries, many featuring the unique flavors of "cold-climate" grapes.

The rural areas and small cities of the Midwest are among the safest for travelers and residents in all America. Parts of the larger cities—particularly southern Chicago, the north side of Milwaukee, the east side of Cleveland, East Saint Louis, and several regions in Detroit—should be avoided after dark.

Weather in the Midwest ranges from blistering heat waves in July and August, to fierce blizzards in January and February. Tornadoes are common in the southern parts of this region in the springtime, but ample warnings are often given to help protect property and lives. If the weather on the road appears to be turning inclement, local radio and television stations will continuously offer advice and information. Disastrous weather is rare and the region is not earthquake prone.