We recently asked for your tips of things to do in Nebraska because we’ll be spending the month of June there on our road trip.
Well, it’s time for a similar kind of request but for a different state. That’s because after finishing up in Nebraska we’ll be moving on to Iowa for the month of July.
Shae will be riding RAGBRAI the last week of July which is a bike ride from the western side of Iowa to the eastern side. Before that though we’ll have time to explore the rest of the state.
Our Current List
We’ve already compiled a fairly good list of things to do in Iowa. We won’t end up doing all of it, but it’s a good start and there’s a good mix of interesting things and strange, quirky roadside attractions:
- Field of Dreams Movie Site
- Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge
- Hawkeye statues (sculpture hunt)
- Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum
- Bronze Statue of James T. Kirk
- Strawberry Point
- World’s Largest Popcorn Ball
- Ice cream sculptures
- Bily Clocks & Dvořák Residence
- Cedar Cliff Trail
- Matchstick Marvels
- Blood Run National Historic Landmark
- (Blue Bunny) Wells Visitor Center & Ice Cream Parlor
- Windmill Park
- The Kaleidoscope Factory
- Hawkeye Point (highest point in Iowa)
- JOLLY TIME Pop Corn
- Albert the Bull Park: World’s Largest Bull
- Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge
- Lewis and Clark Park
- Union Pacific Railroad Museum
- Danish Windmill
- Museum of Danish America
- Hitchcock Nature Center
- Waubonsie State Park
- Pella
- The Klokkenspel
- Snake Alley
- Swinging Bridge Park
- National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library
- Wildcat Den State Park
- The Brenton Arboretum
- Iowa State Capitol
- Pappajohn Sculpture Park
- Science Center of Iowa
- High Trestle Trail Bridge
- Ledges State Park
- Traer Salt and Pepper Shaker Gallery
- Dunning’s Spring Park
- Vesterheim The National Norwegian-American Museum & Folk Art School
- Effigy Mounds National Monument
- Pikes Peak State Park
- Fenelon Place Elevator
- South Entrance, Mines of Spain Recreation Area
- Maquoketa Caves State Park
- Palisades-Kepler State Park
- Iowa 80 – The World’s Largest Truckstop
- Fong’s Pizza (has breakfast pizza including Froot Loops pizza)
- Iowa’s Largest Frying Pan
- Loess Hills Scenic Overlook
- Shrine of the Grotto of the Redemption
- Sergeant Floyd Monument
- Big Grove Brewery & Taproom
- Amana Colonies
- Wabash Trace Nature Trail
- World’s Largest Concrete Gnome
- Worlds Largest Wooden Nickel
Your Suggestions
Although we’ve already got a pretty good list of things to do in Iowa, do you have any suggestions of fascinating places to visit, good hikes, great restaurants, quirky things or anything else that’s worth us checking out? Let us know in the comments below.
We will be in Iowa for 3 nights this year. We have never been there, but I have researched the northeast part of the state for our trip. There is a Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque (near the Fenelon Elevator) which sounds interesting, so we are planning to go there. In addition, there is something called the Urbandale Living History Farm right outside of Des Moines that we might check out. I have Fong’s pizza on my list, as well as the Amana Colonies. There is also a minor league baseball stadium in Davenport where the players come out of the cornfields like they do in the movie Field of Dreams.
Thanks for all of the great Wisconsin ideas that you have posted. We’re going there as well, and I can’t wait to sit in the Leinie Lounger 🙂 We are doing a 6 week, 6 state, 6 basebal stadium trip, so I need to check out your Illinois and Kansa reviews . Where do you get the info for attractions such as the World’s largest concrete gnome?
Thanks for all those suggestions – I’ve added them to our list.
As for finding info for some of the attractions, some of them came from our friend Cassie’s site. Here’s one of her posts about things to do in Iowa, but she had several others in a series https://sitesandbitesjournal.com/2021/01/20/iowa-bucket-list-northwest-region/
We also sometimes find quirky roadside attractions like the world’s largest concrete gnome on Atlas Obscura and Roadside America.