Welcome to Iowa
The Hawkeye State is sandwiched between a pair of the mightiest rivers in the country—the Mississippi to the east and the Missouri River to the west—gifting it some of the most fertile topsoil in the nation. As such, this is farm country, where honest values and down-to-earth charm reign supreme.
You may not find the bright lights or big-city attractions that are found elsewhere in the country, but you will find lots of opportunities to wind down, relax and savor a few slices of heartland Americana.
Nowhere is this more apparent than at the Field of Dreams in Dyersville. As the filming location of the classic 1989 baseball film of the same name, the Field of Dreams in Dyersville appears just as it did on the big screen. You can visit the field for free and check out an on-site gift shop.
In nearby Dubuque, those with kids will want to visit the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium, a 14-acre campus home to 12 massive tanks and a 3-D/4-D theater. A ride on the Fourth Street Elevator (one of the steepest scenic railways in the world) is another must.
In the capital of Des Moines, must-do highlights include a tour of the gold-domed Capitol Building, a stroll through John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park, a lip-smacking visit to the age-old Downtown Farmers Market and a family-friendly afternoon at the Blank Park Zoo.
Adventure
Northern Iowa is home to the Hawkeye State’s most varied terrain, offering up a mix of bluffs, rolling hills, scenic valleys, hardwood forests and an abundance of freshwater streams that teem with trout.
Whether you’re looking for a place to mountain bike, hike, camp, kayak, canoe, hunt, fish or even just explore by car, Iowa has something for everyone year-round.
Backbone State Park in northeastern Iowa is the state’s first and arguably most popular state park. It’s home to a pair of campgrounds and a handful of deluxe cabins, as well as hiking trails, cliffs suitable for climbing, a freshwater trout stream and a lake that allows motorized boating.
Further to the east, hugging the shores of the Mississippi, is Pikes Peak State Park. The park is home to the Effigy Mounds National Monument, a series of ancient earth sculptures created between A.D. 400-1200.