Fantastic Midwest Festivals and State Fairs for Summer 2025

May 9, 2025

Looking for some road trip inspiration? These summer festivals and fairs will certainly get you started! Book your next road trip and summer vacation plans around these hot destinations. Enjoy live farm animal demonstrations, high stakes competitions and races, live music and curated artworks, bespoke artisanal goods, trendy food vendors, carnival rides, and more. And when you’re done, hit the road and explore the surrounding areas such as nearby national parks, stunning mountain and lakeside scenery, historic sites and museums, and then some. We’re sure that you’ll find something exciting to tickle your fancy and satisfy your sense of adventure.

The 52nd Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Telluride Colorado will be taking place from June 19th through June 22nd. Headliners for this year’s festival include Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit; Alison Krauss and Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas; Gillian Welch & David Rawlings; Sam Bush Band and so many more! We’ve already noted Telluride on one of our recent vacation destination guides as a top notch Summer spot, so add this festival to your list, too. This iconic festival is a wonderful opportunity to explore the beauty of Telluride and enjoy the scenery of the San Juan Mountains while you listen to some uplifting music. Tent, Vehicle, and RV camping are available for the festival for a fee.

The Sturgis Motorcycle Festival/Rally in Sturgis, SD is a must-see event for motorcycle enthusiasts. Drawing a crowd from around the country, many attendees ride their bikes all the way to the festival to celebrate and showcase. You’ll also have the pleasure of enjoying local bands and special guests sharing live musical performances. In addition you’ll also get a chance to enjoy races, competitions, bike showcases, check out the latest trends in design and equipment, and more. Plus, the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum offers an opportunity to learn the history of motorcycles and the festival itself, which dates back to the 1930s. Join in some of the rally’s group rides, and take a motorcycle tour of iconic scenic landmarks such as Mount Rushmore! The 2025 rally will take place from August 1st through August 10th for the 85th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

The Summerfest Music Festival hits Milwaukee, Wisconsin this year from June 19th-21st, June 26th through 28th, and July 3rd through 5th. This lakeside location boasts an impressive lineup of musicians across multiple genres and has previously broken records as the World’s Largest Music Festival, featuring more than 800 acts across 11 stages. This year’s headliners include Def Leppard, Tesla, Hozier, James Taylor, The Killers, Megan Thee Stallion, Benson Boone, Third Eye Blind, Lindsey Stirling, 311, and so many more! This fest takes place over three consecutive weekends to ring in the summer in full force! Camping is not allowed on Summerfest grounds, but you can check out the Wisconsin State Fair RV Park or any of the nearby hotels.

Utah’s Shakespeare Festival is a community wide event in Cedar City, Utah, spanning from June through October. You’ll have the opportunity to immerse yourselves in the world of Shakespeare at the recreation of the Globe Theater known as Engelstad Shakespeare Theater – an open-air, immersive experience that takes theatergoers all the way back to the Elizabethan era! Learn more about Shakespeare’s works, the art of theater, history of theater and playwriting, and more through a series of seminars, Q&As, discussion groups, and more. Grab tickets to your favorite Shakespeare performances rotating throughout the season. While you’re there, you can take a few detour days and explore Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park for some camping and trail hikes!

The Ohio State Fair runs from July 23rd through August 3rd and has been a local community fixture since 1850. Visitors will be immersed in family-friendly activities such as games, interactive educational displays, interactive live roving performers, kids fishing and wildlife demos, exotic animals and free petting zoo, youth agricultural and livestock competitions, and more. There will be horse shows, fine arts to shop and browse, sporting competitions, delicious food vendors, rides, games, and plenty of excitement. The fair offers a series of free musical events as well as ticketed options with headliners such as Foreigner, Morris Day and the Time, T-Pain, Trace Adkins, and more!

The Wisconsin State Fair opens July 31st and runs through August 10th. The Main Stage event will be packed with an incredible lineup of national touring headliners from hip-hop to country to pop to classic rock, and even contemporary christian music, acts such as Ne-Yo, Boyz II Men, Darius Rucker with Uncle Kracker, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and more will be appearing. Visitors can enjoy fair competitions with live animal demonstrations, Junior Livestock events, art exhibits and curated competitions, rabbit hopping, dog sports, and more!

The Indiana State Fair 2025 is happening from August 1st through August 17th for two weeks of jampacked family friendly fun! This year’s event will be themed “The Soundtrack of Summer” presented by Get Prepared Indiana. Enjoy the “Vinyl Revival: Art of Music Exhibit” celebrating the community’s connection to music and visual arts with iconic album covers; you can also enjoy a pop-up record store with hand-painted displays! There will be horse racing, live music at Pioneer Village, rides and games on the Midway, food trucks and local food vendors, live animals and demonstrations, games and activities for families, and much more.

The Iowa State Fair is proud to be the largest event in the whole state of Iowa, and one of the oldest and largest agricultural and industrial expos in the US! The event draws a crowd of more than one million people from all over the globe. Camping is allowed on state fair grounds, so you can register your RV and get the maximum excitement out of the State Fair festival. Enjoy competitive events and agricultural demonstrations, free music and entertainment, games and rides and family-friendly excitement, and a major headlining events venue with live performances by Forrest Frank, Parker McCollum, Megan Moroney, Pitbull, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rascal Flatts, T-Pain, and more. Iowa State fair rolls into town August 7th through the 17th.