Best Iowa Road Trips

Des Moines

The Des Moines metro has plenty of activities on its own, including the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park, Living History Farms, Des Moines Art Center and Adventureland. But you can also use Des Moines as a base to explore other attractions within an hour's drive or less, including the High Trestle Trail over the Des Moines River Valley, the Iowa Arboretum in Boone County, Ledges State Park, and the famous covered bridges of Madison County.

Okoboji and the Iowa Great Lakes

Generations of families gather each year at the Iowa Great Lakes, a chain of five glacial lakes—including Lake Okoboji—in northwest Iowa. Summer fun includes beaches, boat tours, biking, sailing, water-skiing and a visit to Arnolds Park, Iowa's oldest amusement park. The 38-room The Inn Hotel celebrates the area's golden age with Art Deco decor and a rooftop pool and bar.

Decorah

Despite an elevation below 900 feet, Decorah—in Iowa's northeast corner—feels like a mountain town, a nook hiding more than an hour from any interstate. The land helps, with limestone cliffs and clear streams that dodged the last glaciers. But it's Decorah's 8,000 residents that fuel the town's spirit, with their yen for nature as well as for the town's Nordic heritage. Explore parks with waterfalls; bike or walk the 11-mile Trout Run Trail; and visit Vesterheim, the National Norwegian-American Museum, to learn about area history.

Dubuque

Iowa's oldest city, Dubuque has lively historical districts near the mighty Mississippi. Explore attractions such as the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium, Fenelon Place Elevator (the world's shortest, steepest scenic railway), Eagle Point Park and the Dubuque Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. Add other nearby stops to your road trip, too, like the Field of Dreams Movie Site (27 miles west), or make Dubuque a stop along your exploration of Iowa's Great River Road.

Cedar Rapids

Czech heritage permeates this town 30 miles northwest of Iowa City. Top things to do include visiting the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art (with the world's largest collection of works by Grant Wood), seeing the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library, and shopping at NewBo City Market. In Czech Village, the business hub of the city's Czech community, try a kolache (filled pastry) at Sykora Bakery and browse small shops.

Davenport

The largest of the Quad Cities on the Iowa-Illinois border makes a convenient stop for travelers on a road trip along I-80 or I-74. Local attractions include the Figge Art Museum, where the Midwest Regional Collection features works by Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton, John Steuart Curry and others. The family will enjoy visiting the Putnam Museum and Science Center. Two boutique hotels promise luxury stays downtown: The Current Iowa in the 1910 Putnam Building and the century-old Hotel Blackhawk.

Waterloo and Cedar Falls

These two cities on the Cedar River share a metro area with plenty of activities for a weekend road trip getaway. In Waterloo, the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum tells the stories of America's war through the eyes of Iowans. Kids, meanwhile, will love riding a water coaster or visiting the new theme park at Lost Island. In Cedar Falls, home of the University of Northern Iowa, shop and dine on the historic Main Street. The round Ice House Museum on the Cedar River once stored ice cut from the river; learn about the history of ice harvesting. Step back in time as well at the 1909 Little Red Schoolhouse and the Victorian Home and Carriage House Museum.

Iowa Great River Road

In northeast Iowa, Pikes Peak State Park kicks off (or finishes) a trip along the Iowa Great River Road, a 328-mile scenic byway hugging the state's eastern border. Linger in towns like Dubuque and LeClaire for shopping, dining and exploring.

Loess Hills

Windblown silt piled up during the last ice age to form these hills near the Missouri River in western Iowa. A 220-mile scenic byway links towns, prairies, parks, trails and overlooks. Base your road trip out of Des Moines (about two and a half hours east), Sioux City (an hour north) or Omaha (an hour south).

Two of the best places to experience the Loess Hills: Hitchcock Nature Center, only a few miles south of I-880 and just east of I-29 in Honey Creek, and Waubonsie State Park, both with miles of trails for exploring the hills.

Mason City and Clear Lake

Ten miles apart, these neighbors have distinct personalities. Mason City appeals to architecture buffs. Frank Lloyd Wright's 1908 Stockman House illustrates how Prairie School style suited middle-class homes; the Robert E. McCoy Architectural Interpretive Center next door shows a video on Wright's influence in Mason City. The best stay in town is Historic Park Inn Hotel, the world's only surviving Wright-designed hotel.

In Clear Lake, concerts still rock The Surf Ballroom—best known for the gig Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper played before all three died in a 1959 plane crash in northern Iowa.

Pella

Pella's Dutch heritage shines during the annual Tulip Time Festival (May 4-6, 2023). At Pella Historical Village and Vermeer Mill, see how early settlers lived and worked. Try an almond-paste-filled Dutch letter at Jaarsma Bakery, and cap off your day with a stay at the Amsterdam Hotel.

Southeast Iowa

Tiny and quaint, 1800s ports line the Des Moines River in southeast Iowa. Hike or canoe in Lacey-Keosauqua State Park , or take a leisurely journey through the area on the Historic Hills Scenic Byway. Most weekends find the county fairly quiet, but the annual Scenic Drive Festival in October swells towns such as Bentonsport and Bonaparte (each with populations of 1,000 or fewer) with crafters, pancake feeds, pedal tractor races and old-time medicine shows.